3 Savile Row: basement.

Not that you'd know at first, second or third glance, but the above is a photo of the basement room at 3 Savile Row, circa 1915 and the very spot where the middle third of LIB was filmed. I recently found a fascinating antiquarian publication by the then owner of the house, Basil Dighton; said tome includes a history of number 3, plus 15 photos of the interior.
It's been surprisingly hard to match most of these to images of the Apple incarnation, but this one I've managed, mainly because a couple of obvious features survived further renovation, namely the fireplace:


...and the wooden roof beams:


The book is in a bit of a state, having nothing much left by way of a spine, and also being so dried out that the paper is beginning to crumble. Even scanning the above pic has led to considerable damage, but I will try and scan more as and when I can. And you try, as ever, to contain yourselves.

Kenwood: '80s exterior.

John Paul Zuni has sent another small piece of the puzzle (if puzzle it be). The sunroom circa late '80s. Clearly the same structure that John built, minus the awning, and with a bit of black paint:


I'd now say the early '90s one is also definitely John's original structure, but with a brick roof and proper fireplace added:


More (but other) late '80s awning "action":


Many thanks to John Paul (winner of Most Appropriate Contributor Name 2012.)(Unless John Paul George Ringo should submit some shizzle before the new year.)
And whither the latter internal pics which must exist, somewhere?

Kenwood: sunroom - December, 1968.

It's been a truly dreadful fortnight, but life, apparently, trundles on, and with it this nonsense, I suppose. Which is possibly the gloomiest sentence I've ever typed.
Anyway. A splendid December '68 sunroom shot, found by Lizzie, and forwarded here.
Not sure who the others are, but the beardie looks quite Lennon-ish himself.

Apotheosis: December, 1969.

In December 1969, John and Yoko had another crack at Apotheosis. This time, they settled on the medieval village of Lavenham in Suffolk:


The Market Square is pretty much unchanged:


Apparently, Lavenham was chosen on the recommendation of friends, though it's perhaps no coincidence that the witch burning scene in the 1968 (non - see comments) Hammer production Witchfinder General also used this location. The BBC's 24 Hours: The World Of John And Yoko doc shows the filming of the pair's latest opus (mainly huddling in the snow waiting for the balloon to inflate):


They didn't return to Tittenhurst that night, but rather opted for the Offord Suite at the Bull in Long Melford. On the right is a contemporary view:


24 Hours shows them being, ahem, woken the next morning:


John, in time honoured fashion, greets tea and camera crew with the traditional "twa fingers o' welcome":


Finally, off they scoot in the auld EUC 100C:


The Offord Suite can be had for 130 pounds per night, including breakfast, should ye ever be in the vicinity and in need of a Beatle related etc.


Thanks to Gary at the Bull.

Cavendish Avenue: more dome etc.

Apparently it's someone's birthday. Here are 3 Cavendish Avenue shots which I'd never seen before, together with a spot o' context. They were originally in an issue of the Observer magazine published in 1969, though the pics clearly date from earlier.
Above, Sir Fumbs admires his newly installed meditation dome (still there, though now containing Groucho Marx's old bed).
Below, Macca, sporting his MMT getup, looks out over the garden:


And, finally, in said garden surrounded by his Alice In Wonderland statues, later Ballad Of John And Yoko-ised:


Extrinsic affections and signalizations. Or something like that.

Non-WABRAD: 20th December, 1974

John and (mainly) George, interviewed in George's Manhattan hotel room (apparently) on 20th December 1974 (again apparently); broadcast the following day on NYC station KHJ AM.
I think the tape is a little slower than it should be - or else something has made George sound particularly lugubrious (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Relations were a little spiky by that point, as can be heard, though there is an amusing moment when John asks (referring to Ringo) "Who was the other one?" and George replies "Bert". I need not explain, I trust.
Was this the last time the two met face to face?
Thanks to Lizzie for the nod.

Kenwood: more cupboard.

The cupboard is currently on view at Christie's South Kensington branch, and, of course, I couldn't resist heading down for a shufti. The staff are extremely helpful; photos allowed, as was opening it up and poking about, missus:


I asked about the vendor: naturally, they can't divulge identities, but they did say that it came via a friend of the housekeeper at Kenwood. I'd guess Dot got it when Cynthia cleaned the place out, and then passed it on to her mate.


The interior shows some paint and the holes used to fix it to the wall. Riveting:



Pleasingly, they have left it entirely "as is", including cobwebs, spider corpse and, intriguingly, some flakes of tobacco on the lower shelf:


6-800 pounds seems a bit low to me. Having said that, there's a recession on, so who knows?

Kenwood: wall cupboard.

Where has this popped up from? Almost (but not quite) unbelievably, the wall cupboard, famous from the dining and living rooms, is up for grabs at Christie's next week:


Estimate? 6-800 pounds. Dimensions, in case you care, are 37.5x32x11in. or 95x81x28cm..
And what else might the vendor have squirreled away?

Sunny Heights: shiznizzle II.

Further estate agent niznit:


Inside too, much remains just as it was; Ringo's decor, there still under wood paneling. And his cinema, famous to contemporary readers of the BBM, endures (albeit updated):


Lovely stuff. Not my words, but the words of etc.

Kenwood: June 29th, 1967.

Almost certainly another June 29th shot, taken, I'd guess, just before the famous one of John and Julian looking back up the steps to the door to nowhere, next to the sunroom.
You almost get a J'n'J-eye-view...but not quite:


Thanks to the sainted Lizzie Bravo for passing this 'un on.

Sunny Heights: shiznizzle.

Sunny is back on the market, this time as a rental (if you have to ask, you can't etc.), and some splendid new photos have been "done" to accompany the ads.
Note: all that remains of the Flying Cow these days are the authentic pub glass window panes. The bar, housed in a small ground floor room, survived into the 90s, before going to make way for an expanded dining room:


That wall was built by Ringo, or rather by Bricky Builders on behalf of Ringo. The pool is new(er):


The grounds a little more ordered these days:


That's all.
Thanks Guus.

HDN: tits.

You have no doubt seen A Hard Day's Night many less times than me, and yet will still have vivid mammaries of the titular sequence where Les Fabs are grilled by the lads and gentles of the press. Papable nonsense.
Perhaps the most memorable tit is the bit where John is asked about his hobbies, and responds with a shocking scribble.
Ever wondered what he titty? Wonder no more: the answer, inevitably, is "tits".
Watch it again if you don't believe me, as if you needed an excuse.
Thanks to Sir Thomas, as ever.

Kenwood: August 28th, 1967.

Serenity Now! On the afternoon of August 28th, 1967, a very stunned (albeit serene) John and Ringo gathered with Ray Coleman round the pool at Kenwood to discuss the previous day's events. Pete Shotton had driven up from Hayling Island that morning to lend moral support, but, having found John very serene indeed on his perch, headed off again to tend to matters supermarket.
John, of course, was later to regret the whole Maharishi-led Serenity Now response to Brian's death.
As it sayeth in Seinfeld: Serenity Now - Insanity Later. And so it came to pass that under the influence of Arthur "Insanity Now - Serenity Later" Janov, John, fresh from Primal-ing, resented the way he'd bottled up his real feelings of anger/guilt etc., and characterised the Maharishi as a "f**kin' idiot" in the Wenner Rolling Stone interview.
Though he was later to turn on Janov in similar fashion, if certain accounts are to be believed John stuck with the notion of "squeezin' the real feelin'"(TM), occasionally in ways that might generously be described as "somewhat insensitive", right up until the end of his own life.
Alas, no pics from the day in question, but plenty o' text; download and zoom in to read.

Hyde Park: further shiznit.

The venerable Meet The Etc. recently posted some rather good new Hyde Park pics, so I thought I'd go for a stroll and see what other Then Unt Nows might be found. Firstly, the above pic. Some reasonable doubts have been raised as to whether John's Roller was at the '67 Hyde Park session, but the location certainly seems to match the pic on the right, "done" today. If so, they parked up near Hyde Park Corner, on the mix of sand and horse-shit between Rotten Row and South Carriage Drive.
They'd then have walked round to the eastern end (absolutely riveting stuff) of Serpentine Road, and headed along toward the Serpentine itself.
This pic would seem to have been taken near the Cavalry Statue; the shape of the paths is the only one that fits, though there have clearly been changes in the ensuing half century:


After a spot of tea (covered elsewhere here), they were pictured on a bench or two. The new photo on MTB finally gives the exact location - note the 4 trees in the background, looking almost exactly the same still:


There's no bench on the spot now, but the same ones, presumably refurbished a bit, are still there dotted around the edge of the lake. I'm going to need a hand etc.:


And this:


Finally (thank feck), the Beatles, o' course, had form when it came to Hyde Park pics; apparently, according to tome o' tomes the Beatles' London, this is the very spot where Beatles For Sale was, errr, also "done":

29/04/67: Die Blumenkinder von London

As Alan Partridge might say, "extra ordinary". John, plus, I'd hazard a guess, Terry Doran (though I could be wrong), doing the "eye" thing at the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream, having driven up from Kenwood, on Owsley.
And here's a John's-eye view of the whole aforementioned "thang":


Someone or other has uploaded a German doc onto YouTube, stuffed with milieu, and full of Fabs-related interest.
Dandie Fashions on the Kings Road (later to become Apple Tailoring)? Try 16.04. John Crittle much in evidence.
Apple shop opening? Previously unseen (by me, and I assume, probably wrongly, by you) footage at around the 28 minute mark, or so.
Plus the above of John at the Ally Pally (16.40 or thereabouts).
Enough o' my yakkin'. Here 'tis:


Many thanks to Master Julian Carr for sniffin' this oot.
PS: Some (including me) have questioned whether that is Terry Doran. Well...take a look at the 'tache on that:

Montagu Square: September, 1968.

John during the Cott interview in September 1968, in the main room downstairs at 34 Montagu Square. A mountain of junk (or non-junk, as the case may be) has followed him and Yoko from Kenwood, including the Brennels from the attic studio:


The flat has been characterised as a tip by various people who had access during the period, with musical equipment, old newspapers, "knickers" (dirty or otherwise) strewn hither and, indeed, thither in every room; and so it would seem. Others recall that the temperature was overly hot, and the air always thick with Indian incense acquired in Rishikesh.
These days, it's a much more spartan affair: