Quarry Bank: May 1957.

These unfortunates were tasked with educating one J. W. Lennon, being the teaching staff at Quarry Bank during his time there. John, o' course, held them in low regard generally, verbally (and possibly even physically) assaulting them, and so being sent to the Head to be assaulted in turn. Such was the fairly brutal nature of educashun at that time.

There was one pedagogue, however, whom he latterly recalled fondly (I believe this was his English teacher, who appreciated John's writing and recognised "something". I have some footage of John and Yoko being interviewed on the roof of their Bank Street apartment in NYC, where he talks about etc.).

How old they all seem. (The teachers, that is.)

Winterbourne House: HDN locale.

It goes without saying, so I won't, and this is certainly one of them. Iconic photos of the manic-era Fabs, as per above left, are all about running, jumping, waving, posing with soft-toys, and crawling on hand and knee from Dutch bordello at 6 in the morning (errr..has anyone actually seen that photo? Maybe I have but didn't peg it as such). I digress.
HDN parodied much of this in fine post-modern style, o' course, and never more so than in the famous scene where Ver Fabs are chased up a dead end, only to etc.. The intrepid trio ('oo else?) of Lewisohn, Schreuders and Smith tracked down the locale, a tricky job as the cul-de-sac in question is long gone.
However, on-location photos reveal a bit more detail, including Winterbourne House in Notting Hill Gate, still very much there:

Buy The Beatles' London, sez I, and not for the first time.

23 Mount Street: Robert Fraser.

As Miss Cyril "Cilla" Black might put it, there's been a lorra lorra history in these rooms. Plus a lorra lorra skag.
For this was once the second floor flat cum "salon" of art dealer to the stars Robert Fraser, much frequented by Paul and JohnandYoko. Here they would come to hang out with passing Pop artists, indulge in whatever might be indulgeable (pretty sure that's not a word), and lend unrecoverable sums of money to the titular Bob.
Fraser, o' course, was also well in with the Stones, and it was whilst looking out of these very windows upon a storm-lashed Mayfair that Keef wrote "Gimme Shelter":

Mr Richards also recalls, in his highly entertaining memoir, how Fraser would often disappear off to riffle through the pockets of the finely cut suits hanging in these very "cupboards", seeking stray heroin "jacks":

Pharmaceutical heroin was available on the NHS back then, provided one was a registered junkie. The musicians' chemist of choice for this purpose was, apparently, John Bell & Croyden of Wigmore Street; still there, though no longer a dispenser of "doojee".

Kenwood/Tittenhurst: the caravan also endures...more or less.

The caravan, or what's left of it, has resurfaced! Apparently, Ringo had it restored in the early 1980s (hence the different colours), and then took it with him when he moved, only to then leave it rotting in a garage.



Not a great deal remains of the woodwork.



The bits that are left have now been acquired by an Ascot charity, and are going to be sold to raise funds.



You can read the full story HERE, and see more photos HERE.
Thanks to Chris Sileo.

Kenwood: June 29, 1967.

Uncropped! Nuff said.

Via beatlesneveroutofstyle.

Kenwood: the graffito also endures.

Above, 2 fans just inside the gate at Kenwood, circa February 1967, courtesy of Lizzie Bravo.
Now, as ye are aware, this blog mainly concerns itself with rooting around in the muck, like an enormous sow, looking for remnants of a long vanished etc. And here's another one...
Watching Nick Cowburn's footage of Kennie from the late 90s, one bit caused a funereal bell to start tolling somewhere deep in my etc., namely, the bit of the "I LOVE" bit:



A couple of years back, I wrote about the old garden shed which once stood in the grounds, and included the following pic which I assumed showed a graffitied section of it:



I suddenly realised that this is what was causing bells to ring. Knock me down and hit me in the face with a shovel, if that isn't the very same graffito (grammar fans), all those years later, clearly not on the auld shed, but actually a part of the front gate:



It seems highly improbable that it would have survived for over 30 years (at the time Nick shot his footage), so a bit more comparison is called for. Note the relative positions of writing, and white object:



Again, using Lizzie's pic this time, compare white object and box:



Clearly the same location, and so, equally, clearly the same writing, which is banal but remarkable (possibly remarkably banal, I grant ye).
I'd guess the white object is a doorbell (or gatebell in this instance), and the box is obviously a letter box. The area underneath the graffito would have been a door (long gone by the 90s), which explains this pic of Julian, in full "Daddy says,'Fuck off'" mode:



The wooden gate slid across to close, as it is in the Julian pic; and the rear of the aforementioned door can be seen in Lizzie's photo, with the gate (obviously) open:



I promised ye flagrant trivia, and flagrant trivia is what ye shall have.
It's highly unlikely that anything now remains of the old gate, let alone the graffito, but back in the late 1990's, another tiny piece of John-era Kenwood endured.
Cheers Lizzie and Nick.

Kinfauns: c. late 1990s.

Nick also got a few photos of Kinfauns, shortly before it was destroyed to make way for a carbuncle. Above, the drive (the only part that remains the same these days. The whole section of garden visible through the gate has been sold to allow construction of another new house).
Below, inside the gate, looking down towards t'bungalow:



To wit:



I wonder how long it took the owner after George to whitewash the walls. Though not often. Apparently, before moving to Friar Park, George offered to give Kinfauns to Pete Shotton, who said "Naaaah":



Some you know wots:



And again:



Note how much of George's gardening remained at that point:



And now nothing does. Toodle pip!

Fanks, yet again, to Nick Cowburn for his generosity.

Kenwood/Sunny Heights/Kinfauns: video footage, c. late 1990s.

Some "new" footage of Kenwood (up the drive and back again), a smidgeon of Sunny Heights, and a bit of Kinfauns, very shortly before it was demolished. Oh and a few obligatory "then unt nau"s, plus more of John's Kennie attic mellotron meanderings for noise value (which, the attentive viewer will note, run out before the end, due to wanton "can't be arsed-ness" on my part).

All filming done late 1990s by Nick Cowburn, on good old VHS, and many thanks to him for agreeing to put it up here, as it were.

Kenwood: late 1990s.

There has been a veritable glut o' Kenwood shiznit turning up of late, and let's add to that glut with these, taken circa 1998 by Nick Cowburn.
Above and below, so far, so familiar:



However, round the other side and the place is looking almost derelict. Note the boarded up windows, and unsightly pile of "stuff":



More unsightlitude, and the last stand of John's pool. Shortly after this, the whole thing was demolished to make way for...err...another pool facing in a different direction. Oh to have too much money:



Having said that, it does seem to have fallen into a state of some disrepair:



Then unt then:



Looking back towards the sunroom; a familiar spot for photographers down the years:



This bit entirely new, next to said sunroom:



And a final view, somewhat overgrown:



Many thanks to Nick for allowing these to be used here. He also got some photos of Kinfauns (also on its last legs at that point), plus some video footage, all of which shall go up immediately. BY THE WAY - anyone else here in Blighty see Yoko on Jonathan Ross this evening? Fellow guest Vin Diesel seemed to say at one point that he was renting a house in St George's Hill "next to Yoko"...but I wasn't really paying attention, so maybe I misheard.

The Beatles: All These Years Volume 1.

The cover is oot! In related news, Amazon UK have cut the pre-order price on the standard edition, as expected, and it has also now appeared on the Amazon US site HERE.

Nice!

UPDATE: A heads up for US/Canadian readahs. It's been revealed that the massive "deluxe" edition is only being issued in the UK, for the time being at least, the US publisher having opted to issue the standard edition alone. There is no news about how limited the deluxe is (though it is limited), nor whether there is any likelihood of it ever being reprinted if/when it sells out. However, the tome has jumped to first place in the UK Amazon chart for Beatles-related books, presumably as readahs from across the "pond" get their pre-orders in to ensure obtaining a copy.
There's also no news about whether a non-English language deluxe edition is being published anywhere (I suppose Japan might be a possibility), but anyone prevaricating over splashing oot might do well to bear the above in mind.

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: autumn '66?

More Lizzie soon... but in the meantime...

Regulah readahs will no doubt be familiah with the above; it's been on here before, albeit in nasty lo-res. Always having found it a fascinating little slice of Kenwoodalia, I've been keeping an eye out for a better example.
And lo, and, moreover, behold - here one is. Prised from the pages of the German mag Bravo, edition number 5, dated 23 January 1967, it allows one to scan the images in the kind of hi-res that causes yer laptop to issue a Hal 9000 type warning about the wisdom of so doing. (Click on 'em for the bigger picture.)
So when were they actually taken? Clearly the beginning of autumn - one of these trees suggests the rise of the fall (if you will, and I wouldn't, if I were you):



Either 1965 or 1966 then, with the probability being the latter (though I'd like to hear from any readahs who may have seen this pic in, say, a US mag of the time in order to nail a definitive date).
Right, let's res this to the... err... highest.
Even in the lo-res version, it was possible to discern a figure in the grounds. The image in the mag reveals something else there, and zooming in shows it to be none other than... Julian!:



Actually, I can't be sure it's Julian, but it's probably him, looking up to see what the noise is (these pics having no doubt been taken from a helicopter):



Next, the sunroom, and lookee here: it isn't finished! (Not sure if that warrants an exclamation mark, but in the context of all this nonsense, it might as well...errr...do. But I digress.)
The roof isn't quite complete, and the distinctive decoration has yet to be added:



Zooming in once again, 3 people can be seen. The figure in white is seated in the sunroom talking to a second individual, and in the upstairs spare bedroom, someone is looking out the window, again trying to see what all the noise is:



Readahs can download the pics above and find for "themselfs" more details that I am, sadly, too lazy to go into here.
More to come on the other Beatle pads.

Kenwood: dubb owld boot.

Why did John get rid o' the boot? This pic probably gives the answer: not being designed to withstand the vicissitudes of a British winter, the thing was beginning to fall apart. But here the boot sits, shortly before getting it, down at the bottom of the garden.

Whatevah, great photo. A doff o' the cap to updownsmilefrown for finding this.

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.