January 25 - February 7, 1965
Andrea Badrutt, John, Han Haas, Cynthia, Judy Lockhart Smith, and George Martin in front of Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, January 1965
"St. Moritz, Switzerland, skiing."
John, 1965
"This will be the first time we ever been on skis."
John, 1965
It's been said that John went on a skiing vacation so he could get a better grasp of skiing to prepare himself for his upcoming film, Help!, that was set to start filming in March of 1965. However, Cynthia wrote in her first book that the idea to go on a skiing holiday was from Judy Lockhart-Smith. Maybe John learning to ski for the film is true, yet George and Ringo didn't bother (Ringo said since that that was his only time on skis) while Paul took his own skiing vacation a year later in 1966 with Jane and occasionally since then with wives Linda, Heather (who is an accomplished sports skier), and Nancy. Anyway, skiing... why not? I personally wouldn't, too much of a Floridian... maybe beginners sloop for the fun of it would be as far as I could do. Judy was George Martin's girlfriend; they got married in 1966 and remained married until George's death in 2017; at the time of this writing, Judy is still alive. I'll write more of her another day; let's continue on to St. Moritz.
Cynthia and John in St. Moritz outside their hotel
I personally love this vacation for John and Cynthia: in pictures there's quite a lot of affection going on from John tying Cynthia's shoelaces to helping each other up from the snow after falling down. Of course, how could I forget those bench pictures?! This is the only vacation that John took with George Martin. I don't know how they decided to go as it seems like an unlikely match (think School Principal and pupil) but obviously they were social and seemed like a fun idea.
John and Cynthia traveling to St. Moritz on January 25, 1965
On January 25, 1965, with Julian under the care of housekeeper Dot Jarlett, John, Cynthia, George, and Judy went to Switzerland. They arrived in Zurich and traveled two and half hours or three hours to St. Moritz by train, staying at Badrutt's Palace Hotel for two weeks.
"Yeah, I didn't take Julian, because it's too young, two, to learn to ski, they learn about four. I'll take him when he's four. But I took my wife, yeah. It was great."
John, 1965
"A marvelous winter skiing holiday in St. Moritz secured us one such break from pressure. George Martin and Judy suggested it. George was a true gentleman and Judy a perfect lady. George's quiet manner, and shy humor, and tall elegant stature reminded me a great deal of Prince Phillip and if you had the pleasure of sitting next to Judy in a restaurant, her voice would ring out more queenly than the Queen. A delightful couple, beautifully matched. Judy was the only one of us to have skied before, so we all started from scratch. Our ski instructor was a very dishy Swiss and obviously fond of the ladies. We had our first hilarious lesson and returned to our hotel for a few drinks in our rooms before changing for dinner. As John and I were about to get changed we heard a lot of giggling and shrieking from the next room. Judy was having a fit.
'John, Cyn, you must come here and have a look at George,' another burst of laughter followed. 'Oh, George, you do look an idiot!'
We rushed in to be confronted by George dressed only in his black tights and ski under garments posing with arms outstretched in a very dainty fashion about to attempt a 'pas de deux'. He pointed his long legs in readiness for his dance and promptly tripped. Poor George fell in an agonizing heap at our feet, clasping a badly injured ankle to him like a baby. Whenever I remember that holiday I get a picture of us all rushing into the plush hotel lounge after a day's exhilarating skiing to find George sitting glumly and miserably in an armchair with his foot on a stool encased in plaster of Paris.
'Are you all right, George, did you have a good day?' we would ask, trying hard not to show our amusement, 'No, I damn well haven't. If anyone else asks me where the accident happened and on which mountain, I'll scream. I have never felt such a fool in all my life.'"
Cynthia, from her book A Twist of Lennon, 1978
Han Haas, Cynthia, and John skiing in St. Moritz
Their ski instructor was Hans Haas. On their second day, George injured his toe in his hotel room. I think it was reported somewhere that George injured his toe while skiing ... maybe that was for the press to hide the real story of injuring his toe by acting foolish in his hotel room? Soon, word got out that a celebrity was there and photographers started coming around. There was an agreement for John (and Cynthia) to pose and allowed to be photographed for a day in exchange to spend the remaining holiday in peace.
Cynthia helping John up from the snow in St. Moritz
Photographed by Arthur Steel
“I started work on the Daily Herald in London in January 1965 and I invited my girlfriend Irene down from Manchester. However, as she was travelling down on the train to see me I was sent off to St. Moritz to photograph John Lennon skiing with his wife Cynthia. When Lennon fell over in the snow, Cynthia came to his rescue and he shouted, ‘Come on! Me bum’s getting cold!’ – On my return, Irene eventually forgave me and we later married.”
Arthur Steel, Photographer
"Yeah, well I fell down a few times, but for that actual photograph, I couldn't fall over. It was one - you know, when they waited for the fall, I didn't- I kept doin' it right, so I had to - the ski instructor taught me how to go down a hill and fall over, as well. So, I did- but I did fall over a lot, obviously, everybody does."
John, 1965
"Well - both my wife and I did well because we had a private instructor, you see, and all the people that sort of were in big classes were still doing the same stuff at the end of the two or three weeks. And we were going down from the top, so I suppose we were just above average, because it takes a long time if you're in a big class of forty, they can't teach you properly."
John, 1965
John was heard telling Cynthia to grab hold of him whenever he fell and felt skiing was grotty. One time, John went skiing 20 yards then his enthusiasm and energy vanished. Only when a taxi was found to take him the remaining 180 yards to the cable railway did he continue. After 10 minutes of tying boots and fitting skis, John got exhausted. Eventually he arrived at the nursery slopes at Chantarella Station where he promptly fell. While he was still untangling, two chic English women swept expertly by and one said to the other, "I think that's Ringo, darling!" They didn't spend all their time skiing: they shopped (bought Dot an ivory clock), and John was writing songs, most notably Norwegian Wood that later appeared on Rubber Soul later that year.
“It was during this time that John was writing songs for Rubber Soul, and one of the songs he composed in the hotel bedroom, while we were gathered round, nursing my broken foot, was a little ditty he would play to me on his acoustic guitar. He’d say, ‘What do you think of this one?’ It had a slightly sick lyric, which was very apt to me nursing my injured toe. The song was ‘Norwegian Wood.’”
George Martin
Peter Baumgartner, Luc Modolo, John, Fredy Enz, Franco Bussmann, Walti Grütter, Cynthia, unknown, Hans Haas, George Martin, and Judy Lockheart-Smith at the nightclub at the Palace Hotel.
More about Norwegian Wood another day. Occasionally at night when not so tired, John, Cynthia, George, and Judy took in on the entertainment to see The Five Dorados in the hotel's nightclub. They even played a few Beatle songs, which John thought was wonderful. George was impressed enough to want to record in England but there was a problem with work permits so it couldn't be done
John and Cynthia arriving home in London from Zurich on February 7, 1965
On February 7, 1965, John, Cynthia, George, and Judy arrived home.
"On their return from one holiday, John gave me a gift and thanked me for the nice holiday they were able to have, knowing Julian was well cared for. John and Cynthia went away for a holiday. I'm not sure where, but I believe it was Switzerland. I stayed at Kenwood with Julian, and when John came back, he thanked me for his best holiday ever, and gave me a little ivory clock."
Dot Jarlett
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