More Marrakesh: New Year, 1967.

You wait 50 years for a photo of John's sojourn in Marrakesh and then 2 turn up at once... so here's the second.

On a theme of new year, a belated happy one to all readahs.

Less happily, ye will no doubt have heard that Allan Williams and Alexis Mardas have both recently gone to, respectively, that great night club and that great electronics lab in the sky. One can't help but feel that Mr Mardas has been treated somewhat unfairly by "history".

As for Mr Williams, perhaps the first stop should be his book, one of very few Beatles-related tomes to receive a personal endorsement from 'imself... and another posthumous one is in from Mr Lewisohn who has penned a pithy appreciation of the contribution made. It can be read HERE.

Kenwood: garden, ca. March/April 1967.

Wot a splendid pic. Just yer average psychedelic family, friend unt felines out for a stroll on a spring afternoon. I'd guess this was taken around the time of the Pepper photo shoot (30th March, 1967), judging by the trousers. (We all know it was the trousers.)

The usual season's gratings to readahs, and, in this instance, a special grating to Mr R.

Marrakesh: New Year 1967.

Sotheby's is currently selling a few candid snaps at a ludicrous price. Still, one or two interesting ones including this; almost certainly taken in Marrakesh during John, Cyn and Victor Spinetti's post-Chrimbo holiday in 1967. If I had to wager on a location, I'd put my offal infested plastic fiver down against Talitha Getty's Palais de Zahir.

John Hopkins (that's John Hopkins the American writer and friend to the Beats, not to be confused with John Hopkins the British counter-cultural figure and friend to the etc.), who attended the end of year party at the Palace in '67, described it thusly in his Tangier Diaries: "Last night Paul and Talitha Getty threw a New Year's Eve party at their palace in the Medina. Paul McCartney and John Lennon were there, flat on their backs. They couldn't get off the floor let alone talk. I've never seen so many people out of control."

Now, Macca certainly wasn't there; he was flat on his back in another location. But to someone who wasn't really paying attention (fill in your own reasons), I suppose from a distance Victor Spinetti might have been mistaken for Paul (and indeed, in this instance, probably was). If you examine the picture above, that's almost certainly Victor to Cynthia's right.

Incidentally, a quick search on-line reveals a few interior images taken in le Palais, which is full of similar alcoves:

Thanks to Lizzie Bravo for forwarding the pic.
Also, further apologies for the lack of activity round these parts. Can't be helped at the moment, but there will be occasional posts as and when...

Dorinish: Dot Jarlett archive.

From the pages of the Irish Independent, dated (errr... I'll get back to you on that one), found amongst Dot Jarlett's clippings archive (presumably that's her writing next to the headline), here is the original skinny on John's purchase of Dorinish in 1967. As ye will know, of all of them, John was keenest on a rural idyll for the Fabs, whom he envisaged living together in a communal arrangement somewhere isolated; hence Dorinish, Greek islands, even Tittenhurst, apparently.
Anyway, Alistair Taylor bought it on John's behalf (and that is actually bought it - he was the legal owner and eventually had to write to John in order to remind him that the title needed to be transferred), and John duly transported the Kenwood caravan over as a first step, before visiting on a couple of occasions... though of course the plan came to naught in the end.
Hats off to Alistair for some impressive bullshitting here, nevertheless:

I didn't know the bit about George A. Birmingham and his Inviolable Sanctuary before. I bet you didn't either. Here is the relevant passage from that very tome re. "Inishbawn" a.k.a. Dorinish, in case ye are interested:

Kenwood: summer, 1967.

These have been on here before, in sub-standard quality. Here they are again, much bigger unt better...

Thanks to Joe Baiardi.

Kenwood, Kinfauns & Sunny Heights: summer, 1967.

Way back in the summer o' '67, had you made your way to St George's Hill and utilised the naughty knocker at Kenwood, this might have been what shambled forth as a result - a fabulously dishevelled John, resplendent in dressing gown, talisman and norralot else.

A colour shot of the caravan from around the same time:

George outside Kinfauns, engaged in 'graphs:

Mr Starkey at the front door of dear old Sunny Heights, likewise:

I've stitched the following further Sunny ones together (each is a composite of 2 separate photos, fact fans) to provide a wider perspective. The upper floor here was home to the Den, where the Fabs did frequently hang:

No idea who took the black and white ones, but should you ever happen to read this then please do get in touch for a credit - I'd like to hear the story behind them. Thanks also to Joe Baiardi for passing on the colour caravan shot.

Kenwood: ca. February 1967.

Dot Jarlett's archive is up for auction, and amongst other examples of Kenwoodalia are these; "innaresting" because they show a small slice of vérité from what I'd guess is the early part of 1967. Have a look at the pic above, for example. That at least appears to be Cyn and a fully tached-up John peering down from the sunroom:

Another one of Julian messing about by the pool, but again there seems to be someone in a chair in the sunroom, gazing out over the grounds:

Note feline on the left:

A little seen corner of the pool. Note the door in the wall on the left, and the collection of junk under the garage:

To wit:

There are also a number of photos showing a visit to a local park by Cynthia, Julian and another couple of people, who look to me like John's aunt Mater, and his cousin Stan:

I could well be completely wrong about that, but once again have a look at the sunroom in this one:

Mater chatting to Cyn as John sits looking out the window?:

Palpable nonsense. Finally, a shot of the interior sunroom. No Monterey poster yet, o' course, as the titular festival had yet to happen, but most of the other familiar elements in place:

Ahh, sweet flagrant trivia.

Kenwood: summer, 1967.

Sara over at MTBFR has turned up this photo of John, George and Julian, outside the front door at Kenwood in the summer o' lovin'. Compare with Lizzie Bravo's shot of the garage. There's also a glimpse of the old Tarrant garage on the right of the new pic. Lovely, as Partridge would have it, stuff.

Kenwood: John's home movies.

Apparently, there is just over half an hour of John's 8mm home movies in the Lenono archive from 1967 alone - and around 16 minutes of these are specifically labelled "Weybridge". Andrew Solt's "John Lennon:Imagine" documentary from 1988 utilised a few seconds, to good effect, though one can't help but wonder what else there is.
A rough cut of the above (JL:I) circulates in fairly abysmal quality, but does include a bit more - to wit, above: Lennons Snr/Jnr enjoying interaction with livestock, presumably not on St George's Hill, and below: John engaged in more filming, very likely in the garden at Kenwood, plus furry friend:

Why not get a documentarian in to make something of all this, eh? Answers on a balloon...

Kingsley Hill party: 27th/28th May, 1967.

Kenny Everett's contemporary account of the fabled housewarming/Pepper launch party at Kingsley Hill is laced with fascinating detail, not to mention sly references to "joss sticks". It also throws up (and I use the term advisedly) a couple of questions. The schwing-ding is famous in Beatle-watching circles for (at least) 2 reasons - Cynthia's nightmarish acid meltdown, culminating in an aborted suicidal leap from a top floor window, and Paul's non-appearance, causing Brian to drape himself over a piano (or some such), declaiming melodramatically,"That he didn't come, on this day of all days." Palpable nonsense.
Actually, at least one of these may in fact have been palpable, as I say, etc.. The party has hitherto been dated Sunday 28th May, thus explaining Paul's absence: on that date he had to pick Jane up from London airport, returning as she was from her State-side theatre run.
Now, Kenny (and let's not forget this was written shortly after the event) explicitly contradicts this: he not only dates it to Saturday 27th, but also places Paul very much at the party, clad in "wild ascot tie" amongst other things.
Explanation?
I dunno - maybe there was another party that Paul didn't attend, and memories of the two have somehow become conflated over the years. Maybe Paul really didn't appear, and his absence was covered up (ie someone asked Ken to pretend that Paul had been there (which seems far-fetched)). Or maybe someone mis-remembered Paul's absence, and this is another example of a "fact" that never was.
It should be noted that, with it being a Beatle party in the summer of 1967, almost everyone was toasted on Owsley, amongst other things; it's amazing that anyone can remember anything whatsoever about goings on, so perhaps the last explanation makes most sense.
Kenny later went into rather more explicit detail regarding events, including the, frankly, excessive quantities of puke involved. Lovely stuff indeed.

It's also "innaresting" to note the references to "Cynth", who not only displays an "acres-of-teeth" smile, but also manages to make chit-chat about ongoing renovation at Kenwood (which needn't, of course, contradict her account of events). At one point, too, it's John who appears at a top floor window. Palpable etc.

From the pages of quarterly publication Teen Datebook, published November 1967. As usual, scanned in hi-res, so download and zoom to read.

Kenwood: 26/2/1967.

Four more from Lizzie's Kenwood file, and fer once none o' my yap.
Above, the master bedroom en-suite at sunset.
Below, psychedelic vomit on the front door:



Kitchen window:



Cattus:



There are various other random shots which I'll put up here in the coming weeks, and so another huge thank you to Lizzie for her generosity.

Kenwood: summer, 1967.

More Lizzie, and this time in colour. Most of these clearly taken in summer, and the gate remains open to all comers.
Two of the caravan, the left by Lizzie, the right from her collection, but snapper unknown (get in touch if it's you).
Quite splendid:



Two of the den end; circa, respectively, March and June 1967:



Kenwood, obscured by foliage:



Innareshtingly, most of the above may well date 26th June 1967, ie the day after Our World (and 3 days prior to the Leslie Bryce Kenwood session).
Fantastic "stuffs" - thanks Lizzie - further to follow.

Kenwood: 19/2/1967.

Lizzie's first visit to Kenwood was on Sunday 19th February, 1967, and here are some of the photos from that very day. To begin at the back, garage/sunroom/dining room, above.
Note the bird table/hat, soon to re-appear in the garden:



The front door. What's "interesting" here (no, really) is the paint job.
Regulah "readahs" will recall that the last load o' pics, dated 21st January 1967, revealed the door still in its original state. Pete Shotton, in his memoir, recalls arriving at Kenwood one Saturday night to find John and Terry Doran "spray painting the front of the house in psychedelic day-glo colours", after which he is ushered in to the house and introduced to "Magic" Alex Mardas for the first time.
Thus, the emergence of the Greek "wizard" can be dated to the early part o' 1967 (and it's another example of John's "Winter o' Lovin'" mind-set - spray paint, flying saucers, force fields etc., etc.):



The den/library:



Garage. Note the presence of Cyn's Porsche 911:



Blah:



As far as I know, the current whereabouts of this car are a mystery. I'm also not sure if any photos showing the license plate have surfaced before; hard to make out, but I reckon that reads GAN 7E, registered (as a quick on-line search reveals) between January and July 1967 in West Ham, London.
Anyway, if the car still exists, it should be traceable by someone who can be arsed (ie not me):



Finally, the living room exterior, and the first decent photo of the equally exterior entrance to that room:



These black and white pics are lovely (stuff), but, perhaps appropriately, things are about to get colourful...

Many thanks yet again to Lizzie.