Tittenhurst: then unt etc.

Some relatively recent photos of Tittie have been doing the rounds, allowing for the usual guff. No red arrows required, as the new bits are clear to anyone with revolving eyeballs. Me no like (the new bits, not revolving etc.).
The front door area is pretty much still the same, despite a lick o' paint, and, with no small dash of irony, the not here "This Is Not Here" sign (which isn't):

Finally, the swimming pool, these days fully enclosed in glass carbuncle:

Thanks to Eric Nernie for the pics.

Kenwood: 3D sunroom update.

Chris Sileo continues work on the virtual Kenwood; lots more detail outside now, and a shift in seasons to boot.
Link under Friends & Neighbours (3D Sunroom).

Kenwood: knockers (related).

It turns oot the very day our old buddy, pal unt etc Henry Grossman arrived at Kenwood, John was sticking a self-designed coat of arms on the front door, and Henry, bless 'im, had the presence of mind to capture the very moment. To wit, the bovine frontispiece:

Clearly nicked at some point, for by '68, it was the auld Lennon coat o' arms in place:

Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely stuff. Many thanks once again to Lynn Mayes, Jeannette Casarta and the the Cynthia Powell Lennon Yahoo Group for sticking it aw up. Fanks.

Kenwood: 1965.

Some incredible new Kennie pics have begun to seep out, following publication of the reportedly astonishing Henry Grossman book.
So, the living room in 1965 during a visit by George and Pattie. Compare the room now, and the first thing that strikes you is that the old fireplace has also gone... but note the much lower ceiling; I reckon the old beams are possibly still up there:

First ordah o' business when the Kenwood restoration gets under-way will be to remove that new ceiling and see what's up there.
A couple more charming tableaux; this 'un:

Unt this:

What were they up to?
To the first floor, and a glimpse beyond the sliding screen in the master bedroom to the en-suite bathroom sink:

The same room now (as readahs will know, this was a bathroom for years, but is currently back to being used as the master bedroom):

I also couldn't help but notice the Lennon-era decor, and recall the fragments of wallpaper rescued by Joe Baiardi on one of his visits to Kenwood a few years back:

Many thanks to Lynn Mayes and the Cynthia Powell Lennon Yahoo Group for making these available, and to Jeannette Caserta for passing them on.

Cavern Club: August 22, 1962 (unt oder sheisse).

This only has 200 or so views on YouTube, so far. Why God, why? It's all great, but the highlight has to be a complete run through on one camera of Some Other Guy, with no stupid cutaways to them doing Kansas Shitty (or whatever it was).
Regulah readahs will know my fondness for pretentious bullshit. Enuff already! This, to quote Shakin' Speare 'imself, is the shit, the bomb, the flim flam flum: in short, feckin' GENIUS.

Flood Street: 4 Chelsea Manor Studios, SW3.

Above: Chelsea Manor Studios on Flood Street, opened in 1902, and from 1966 "home" to the photographer Michael Cooper, who occupied Studio 4 on the rear ground floor.
Twas in this very space, twas it not, come 30 March 1967, that Ver Fabs assembled to complete the still remarkable Pepper cover collage.
And here is that very same very space almost half a century later; converted for residential use in 2002, below is the former studio from both ends - and note how the camera lies, making the room appear much bigger than it actually is.
Compare, using the radiator for perspective (and, o' course, click on the pics for a better look):

At some point in the intervening period, a mezzanine floor has been constructed, something which makes perfect sense in terms of maximising the useable space, but is somewhat unfortunate when it comes to "then unt now-ing": the new floor sits right where the upper portion of the collage would have been.
Again, compare the door visible in '67, with the doors now:

So, the room inevitably much changed; however, study it for a bit - recognisable features remain...
1) Parquet floor:

2) What was probably a fireplace in the early 20th century:

Now from the other angle - the rear wall:

Widen the perspective a bit, and there's that fireplace/chimney again, and here almost the exact same angle, then unt now:

So there it is, a magikal spot for anyone interested in this nonsense...

...which just leaves a couple o' things.
Firstly, John's quote from Whistle Test, viz "Two of them are flying...", whence twas stated that he and one other Fab had taken something, presumably acid, before the shoot.
If so, this gives the lie to the oft-repeated "fact" that the only time John ever took the dread lysergic at Abbey Road was 9 days previously, by mistake, on 21 March during a session for Getting Better.
Immediately following the Pepper shoot, off they did scoot to Studio 2 at Abbey Road in order to watch Paul add bass to With A Little Help..., all the eternal while John and mystery Fab plumbing the depths of inner space. (Who was it? Not Paul, shurely - he had bassage to attend to. Most think it must have been George, and maybe so. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually Ringo - the majority of photos from this memorable evening show John and Richie as tight as the proverbial "cran du moucheron"):

Lastly, and much more prosaically, following Cooper's death in 1972 the studio became a Beauty School, of all things, and here are 3 vintage pics of Studio 4 under that very guise:

Note that parquet floor. Again. (Or, as ever, don't.)