Kenwood: more drive, 1967.

More "fannage", in the drive at Kenwood, summer, 1967. "Fannage", I tell you. "Fannage".

Kenwood: summer, 1968 - part 8.

The front gate at Kenwood, summer, 1968. You'd think the gate would be as "iconic" (for want of a much better word) as the sunroom or the attic studio. After all, this is where the Yoof would congregate, and there must have been days when the heavy sliding gate was shut and stayed shut. Under such circumstances, what would there have been to do, other than a) get to work defacing as much of it with knife and ink as possible, and/or b) take a few snaps, as a memento of your day, standing in what was very likely drizzle, and occasionally being told to "fuck off" by Julian from the other side. (See some prior post or other for that particular tale).
But where are these snaps? It's odd that there has, to date, only been one photograph to surface of the gate (the one of Paul arriving), and that didn't show much. So, this one is most welcome; the first decent (not to mention colour) photo of the Lennon-era gate to appear.
Again, questions answered; that does indeed look like the sign later sold at auction by the gardener at Tittenhurst (apparently John took it with him when he finally sold up, and then passed it on):


...and a quick comparison with the same spot from a couple of years back. Note there isn't much left of the roof:


Happily, Cathy wasn't left outside, but found the gate wide open, as it often was at that time. Making her way up the curving road towards the house, she took a few photos as she went. First, this odd, raised bit of bricked up foliage, a "feature" or some such similarly despicable word:


And the same "feature", this time in relation to the house. The windows visible in this pic let light in on the Lennons none-more-60s "his and hers" (his 'n' hers, if ye must) basins on the first floor, and the attic studio on the second (UK speak):


The top of the drive, looking back down towards the gate:


..and the area around the front door, scene of many seen and so far unseen shots of a dishevelled, but seemingly almost always patient and amenable John, hanging out with those representatives of the Yoof who had the nerve to ring his doorbell:


To wit:


(To woo.) Plus, the same spot from a couple of years back. Note the hulking presence of the new garage to the right, and the completely re-built bit where the old garage was to the left:



Note too the rather forlorn sight of Cynthia's car, standing on its own.

Many thanks go again to Cathy Kelleher Sarver and Lizzie Bravo. (And another quick shout to Joe Baiardi for his contemporary pics.) The final batch of Cathy's photos coming soon.

Kenwood: circa June, 1968.

Tis the Brunts! (Apparently.) Mr and Mrs Brunt were haulage contractors to John and Yoko, last seen on these pages proving good to their job description by hauling the caravan from Dorinish to (probably) Tittenhurst.
And here they are again with unknown others, outside the front door at Kenwood, posing in and around John's white Roller. You can see the entrance to the big garage on the left, the other end of which overlooked the swimming pool.
Dating this is a bit tricky; it's obviously not December, 1968, when John and Yoko were extensively photographed making their last stand at Kenwood, following several months chez Starkey at Montagu Square.
So I'd go for (circa) June of the same year, around the time that Smile and Two Virgins were filmed in the grounds, and just before the move to Ringo's Marylebone maisonette. From the home movies shot on the day of filming, it's clear the weather was more than mild enough for short sleeves.
Placing the above pic next to one of the many fan photos taken here gives an idea of the whole perspective:


The other point worth noting is that the area to the right was very likely the venue for the Rubber Soul cover shot:


Even this bit of Kenwood hasn't managed to escape the ungainly hand of renovation; the wall has been rebuilt, partly as a result of constructing a whole new garage in the mid-1990s.

Much gratitude goes again to Dennis Toll for these.

Kenwood: June 29, 1967.

A slight variation from THIS sequence (the photographer has moved a bit), and what I reckon was one of the final photos taken on June 29, 1967.
Blog activity will be much reduced next year due to the demands of reality, which was largely avoided this year. However, comments and contributions to the header email address will be welcome as usual, and there are at least a couple of interesting things in the offing; the long promised 3D reconstruction of the sunroom is nearing completion, and there should be some footage of Kenwood dating from the 1980s on the way too. Doubtless other stuff will arise in the course of time.
In the spirit of the above pic, I too intend to remain prone as the Yule grinds its way to a climax, and so, until next time, whenever that is - Season's Gratings to ye all.

Kenwood: drive, December 1968.

Four more from the drive. Intriguingly, I've seen photos from this session labelled as being from the Ballad Of John And Yoko promo film. The two variations in wide circulation certainly don't feature any footage from Kenwood, but there is a rarely seen third version which, apparently, is soley comprised of 1968-era John and Yoko stuff. Anyone out there seen it? Also of interest is the fact that one of the versions available on YouTube has a couple of seconds of mid-1969 John and Yoko leaving Sunny Heights right at the beginning, lending credence to the assertion that they lived there for the first half of that year, before moving in to Tittenhurst.

Kenwood: driveway, 1967.

Two of John posing in the drive at Kenwood circa mid-late '67, plus what appears to be Ringo admiring the newly psychedelicised Roller in the same location. It was the drummer who suggested that John get the distinctive paintwork applied to the car during a visit whilst John was filming How I Won The War in Almeria, Spain. The car had been painted black, but the Spanish terrain had not been kind to it. When John mentioned that he was going to have to get it redone back in Britain, Ringo suggested getting something distinctive, instead of a boring monotone. John, as was his wont, took the idea to extremes. The last pic is, inevitably (where would I be without it?), from Joe Baiardi's video - the drive in 2008.