Summer Backyard

 John, Cynthia, Peter Brown, Pattie, Paul, George, Jane, Mal, and Neil

Going to India

 

Family Road Trip

June 22 - July 2, 1969

Kyoko, Yoko, Julian, and John relaxing in the yard of Corbett Arms Hotel in Tywyn, Wales on June 23, 1969

Since I've been referencing the Scotland car crash a lot lately in recent posts, might as well make a post about it!

One day at Tittenhurst Park, with Julian and Kyoko visiting over the weekend, John and Yoko spontaneously decided to take a family road trip up to Liverpool and Scotland. The plan was to visit family members and for John to show his new wife and children where he grew up. John used to go to Scotland as a child during school holidays with the Stanley family getting together. Fun, right? Well, there's a big mistake in John's idea: he never told Cynthia about it. I don't know if Tony (Kyoko's father) knew, but certainly not Cynthia. We'll get to more of her part later on. Another mistake: letting John, a known terrible driver, to drive. He had a chauffeur, Les Anthony, but John probably had an enthusiasm to be a normal family man to take his wife and children on a road trip. I think John meant well, and it's not often Julian and John went out on vacations. If Cynthia had known, I'm sure she would have approved but would insist Yoko to drive instead. Did Yoko ever drove? I never thought much of that, to be honest. I don't think I have ever seen Yoko behind the wheel? Anyway, it sounds to me that John had Julian for a week over the Summer (it could've meant to be a longer visit if John hadn't crashed). Julian must have arrived at Tittenhurst Park either on a Friday evening of June 20th or Saturday morning of June 21st as the family hit the road on June 22nd. I should also point out that Yoko was pregnant with their second child (their first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage); not sure how far along but I recall that John and Yoko were planning to name the baby (boy or girl) Amsterdam. Okay, so the baby may have conceived during John and Yoko's first Bed In peace protest in late March of 1969 in Amsterdam (their second one in Montreal was in late May, early June with Kyoko with them; they came home in time for Julian's visit)... so, Yoko was approximately three months pregnant. 

John, Yoko, Julian, and Kyoko on the driveway of Aunt Harrie and Uncle Norman's home in Liverpool on June 26, 1969

John, Yoko, Julian, and Kyoko started off their journey on June 22, 1969 from Ascot. Their first stop was Tywyn, Wales which was about a four and a half hours of driving. They stayed at the Corbett Arms Hotel overnight; from what I read, they had hotel reservations. After relaxing, resting, and eating, the family continued up to Liverpool, about two and a half hours of driving on June 23rd. They first visited John's Aunt Nanny in Rock Ferry to spend the night before going to Aunt Harrie in Woolton. Nanny attempt to feed them a meal but John and Yoko declined due to their macrobiotic diet. However, Nanny's son Mike's girlfriend had a bag of jelly beans- John indulged a handful of few until Yoko told him off. A similar thing happened at Harrie's house: she thought John looked incredibly thin and made them a dinner of roast leg of lamb, mint sauce, roast potatoes, vegetables, and apple pie with cream pudding. But Yoko told Harrie that she and John don't eat that and proceeded to cook their macrobiotic meal of steamed vegetables with Tamari sauce and brown rice. Both Nanny and Harrie were put off by Yoko; John's latest antics of Bed Ins with Yoko wasn't doing well by them; it wasn't a "pro-Cynthia, anti-Yoko" situation, just two completely different worlds collision. Yoko talked a lot about philosophy of Zen to Uncle Norman. I'm pretty sure there was tension in both houses. John's sister Julia was living in Belfast, Ireland, newly married and recently welcomed her first child; he called her up from Harrie's house and they caught up. 

John, Yoko, Julian, and Kyoko visiting Holbrook Special School on June 26, 1969 in Liverpool

While in Liverpool, John showed Yoko and their children the houses he lived in, where his mother lived in, going to Woolton, Penny Lane, probably driving by the Cavern as welJulianrie did note to Julia that John and Yoko seemed very much in love: sitting on the sofa, holding hands, and talking for hours, perhaps reminiscent of when John did that with Cynthia a decade ago. After John, Yoko, and the kids left, Yoko left behind two blouses that Harrie saved for Julia when she came by months later to introduce her baby son to the family; the blouses didn't fit Julia, she didn't realize Yoko was petite. They were in Liverpool for about three days. The day of their departure for Scotland, John, Yoko, Julian, and Kyoko visited Holbrook Special School, meeting with schoolchildren and facility. During this visit, John decided to change the Mini Cooper he was driving to his Leyland Austin Maxi, which Les Anthony drove up to deliver and brought the Mini Cooper back home in Ascot. After the school visit, the family drove up almost 5 hours to Edinburgh, Scotland where Julian and Kyoko got matching Scottish kilts.

John, Yoko, Julian, and Kyoko in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Between the dates of June 27th until the morning of July 1st, the family drove around Scotland: Edinburgh, Durness (where Aunt Mater lived), and Tongue Village. They stayed with Mater, where a similar thing happened at Harrie's: Mater made dinner but John and Yoko declined. Once again, Yoko made their macrobiotic meal. Although this time around, Mater didn't hold back. She said exactly what was on her mind. At one point, John told Mater that he was going to take Julian away from Cynthia. Why? Probably due to Kyoko's custody fight that wasn't settled in Yoko's divorce, John got inspired to do the same. Mater was furious! She defended Cynthia, John had no reason to take Julian away from his mother, and told John to get that idea out of his mind. By the morning of July 1st, John couldn't take it. Angrily, John and Yoko left with the children in tow. The weather wasn't all that great and when John spotted a tourist driving pass him, John panicked, lost control of the car that ended up in a ditch. Up to that point, John was actually doing a good job behind the wheel without any mishaps. I just hope he didn't drive in the dark! Anyway, John, Yoko, and Kyoko were unconscious. Julian managed to get out of the wreck and waited on the roadside for help. Luckily a passerby saw Julian and the car accident and called for help. They were all taken to Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie: John had a bad cut on his face that received 17 stitches. Yoko injured her back and also had a cut on her face, receiving 14 stitches. Kyoko had a small cut on her face, getting 4 stitches. Julian had no injuries and was treated for shock. He was also able to be released from the hospital. Mater heard about the accident and went to pick up Julian. Despite being pissed off at his Aunt, John granted permission for Julian to be with Mater. 

"He used to have an Aunt in Glasgow, which we used to visit. Now I can't remember her name for the life of me, really can't. We used to go up there and she used to cook homemade flapjacks and all kinds of things. That was when we had the accident. Well, I don't know where we were going - no idea. We were probably already there, I think we'd seen her already and we'd been down to the local town and all bought kilts, respective kilts for respective names, I guess, I don't know. The actual accident, all I remember is sitting in the backseat with Yoko's daughter Kyoko, and driving down a long and winding road, the sun was just about setting. I don't recall how it happened - it felt like possibly we were going around the corner a wee bit too fast but I'm not sure, I couldn't say. The next thing I remember is the car - actually opening my eyes in the car, still picture it being upside down on its side. It's funny, because only just a couple of seconds before that had I decided to kneel on the floor behind Yoko - you know where you put your feet just behind the seat. So I crunch up there to think I was going to try and go to sleep, I think that's what I was doing. When I actually woke up, Dad was unconscious, blood everywhere. Yoko was out. Kyoko - I don't even recall seeing her in the car, she was there. I crawled out of the car and got up onto the road. There was a milestone there, some kind of information stone. Before that, I couldn't raise life out of anybody, you know, there was no sign of life, so I didn't know what to do. Basically I just sort of sat on the milestone and cried, because we were in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the mountains. I was fine, didn't have a cut, nothing. Well I sat on the milestone and eventually some people drove by and they saw what happened obviously. I remember the ambulance arriving. I remember sitting in the back of the ambulance with purple windows, going with the siren on. I was lying down on the left hand side and the ambulance was just going as fast as they possibly could. The next thing I remember is waking up with pajamas on with a bowl of cornflakes in my hands and directly in front of me was Dad, with a big bandage and channel thickens. Yoko was behind the screen. I was allowed to get up and walk - I actually went over to see what happened to Yoko. She just had this incredible dent in her forehead which was scary as hell. I recall Kyoko being on the side, something bad had happened to her. They really had to do some surgery to stitch some of her face. Then I remember my Mum arriving, driving up there because I just told Mum that I was going to Tittenhurst for the weekend and the next thing she hears on the radio is that Dad's in a car accident with his wife and son, etc. I just remember helping into the car that was it, went to London."

Julian 

John, Yoko, Kyoko, and Peter Brown at Inverness Airport in Ireland after being discharged from the hospital on July 6, 1969. Julian already left with Cynthia a few days before.

Meanwhile, in London, Cynthia had no clue that her ex husband took their son up to Liverpool and Scotland. She found out about the car crash from the television news. Cynthia was livid! I don't blame her at all. John didn't tell her, nor did he tell her through third party (usually Peter Brown), about the family trip. Cynthia immediately embark on her own adventure to bring her son home. Peter arranged Cynthia for a flight to Edinburgh... only except Cynthia and Peter realized too late that they were on the wrong flight, to Belfast, Ireland! Because of the urgency and anxiety, they didn't realize the mistake until after the fact. So, at the airport in Belfast, they caught the flight to Edinburgh, arriving the following day, July 2nd. Cynthia and Peter then took a long taxi ride to Golspie, arriving at the hospital. The hospital informed her that Julian wasn't hurt and was released in Mater's care. Meanwhile, John and Yoko refused to see Cynthia; instead John passed a note to her regarding Yoko having trouble with Julian's behavior. That pissed off Cynthia (I already written about that), but the most important thing to know was his condition and whereabouts. Cynthia called Mater, who confirmed Julian was with her. Cynthia went there, another long drive in the taxi for 50 miles, to find Julian tucked in a blanket drinking hot chocolate. Mater unloaded on Cynthia with these tales of Yoko's macrobiotic diet and John's plan to take Julian away from her. Julian and Cynthia spent the night at Mater's before flying back to London the following day. Cynthia was still pissed off at John but realized nothing was going to change. Peter stayed with John, Yoko, and Kyoko to take them home to London after getting discharged from the hospital. I'm not sure how long after, but the stress of the accident and the injuries Yoko got caused a miscarriage. When John returned to The Beatles to record Abbey Road, John got Yoko a bed to rest on and a microphone hanging for her to make her input, much to the baffled dismay from his band mates. 

When the Marriage Ends, Vol. 2

We last left off in June of 1968 when John officially ended his relationship with Cynthia and going public with Yoko. If the breakup was bad to go through, the divorce proceedings is the worst part. Well, let's get this over and done with…

"The truth is that John was always attracted by strong personalities. After Brian's death, he needed someone to organise his life and Yoko, who had a very strong character, assumed that role. She was very sure of herself."

Cynthia, 1990

“Yoko and I were on the same wavelength right from the start, from that first night. That first night convinced me I'd have to end my marriage to Cyn.”

John

Cynthia and Julian on the grounds of Kenwood after John left for good during the summer of 1968. From Cynthia's personal collection.

In June of 1968, John filed for divorce against Cynthia, citing her “adultery” with either Magic Alex Madras or Roberto Bassanini… I think it was mainly Alex. Alex probably exaggerated to John about Cynthia's three days stay with him and Jenny Boyd. Or Alex told John the truth that Cynthia pushed his advances away but both decided to say it happened so that John could say he got jilted and turned to Yoko for sympathy and revenge. John had his squeaky clean Beatle image to protect but it was obvious to everyone that this wasn't the case; it was clear that John could be an asshole. John was very open about his love affair with Yoko, that didn't help with his tarnishing image. Not long afterwards, John and Yoko became gypsies, moving temporary out of Kenwood to Paul McCartney's, then to Neil Aspinall's, before eventually moving in Ringo Starr's bachelor apartment 34 Montagu Square after Lillian Powell moved out… well, after Lillian, Cynthia, and Julian moved out back to Kenwood, Jimi Hendrix briefly lived there and then John and Yoko moved in. I don't know why John decided to let Cynthia back to the house other than for Julian's sake but it was clear that it wasn't going to be her home much longer. Only enough to get whatever items she wanted; it was also the home that Julian ever really had known as he was just a baby in Mendips, the Powell family home, and the Emperor's Gate apartment. Plus, I don't think John could have handled being there as he was trying to create a new home life with Yoko. It was his home with Cynthia- Yoko must have felt awkward with all the John-and-Cyn memories that were attached to the house.

John and Yoko in Abbey Road Studios during The Beatles/White album recording sessions in 1968

Photographed by Linda Eastman (McCartney)

At some point in late June, maybe early July, Paul McCartney drove over to check on Cynthia and Julian… I promise you that I will have an entry solely dedicated to Hey Jude as it deserves its own post… but other than Paul, no one else visited Cynthia and Julian. Not Maureen Starkey, not Pattie Harrison or even Jane Asher. Well, maybe exception of Jane as she too was going through a breakup with Paul. But Maureen and Pattie? I have heard many times over the years that John made it very clear that if anybody in his world- friends, employees, hanger-ons- reached out to Cynthia, they would receive John's wrath. Only Paul rebelled. Probably a way of saying f'off and their partnership was starting to deteriorate on its own. I don't know why the rule 'talk to Cyn, feel John's wrath’ would affect Maureen and Pattie but I guess tensions were running high and The Beatles were struggling to keep it together. Ringo and George probably told their wives that it wouldn't be a good idea. However, I do know that it didn't last a long time until Cynthia, Maureen, and Pattie reignite their friendship. Anyway, let's stick to 1968. John started to bring in Yoko to the recordings and didn't blink an eye or anything whenever Yoko started to voice her opinions on the songs, which did not sit well with Paul, George, or Ringo. For 6 years, the recording studio was the guy domain… sure the ladies would come in to visit but it was rare, not a long visit, and they would leave. But from morning to night, every day? Must have been weird! They barely knew Yoko and she's all of the sudden talking on how the song should be like she was a 5th Beatle band member while love-struck John hung to her every word. They weren't happy and this continued well over a year until the band’s breakup unraveled. However, because if John could bring in Yoko, then Ringo and George could bring in Maureen and Pattie more often and Paul brought in his new girlfriend Linda Eastman. Fair deal.

“At HQ Apple, we only heard bits and pieces of all this as it went down. Most women whose husbands betrayed them, get on the phone and call everyone who will listen and then start at the top of the list again. Cynthia was very shy and very private. As far as I know, the only person she fully confided in was Paul, who made her smile and feel better when he said, ‘Hey, Cyn, how's about you and I get married?’ Paul really lit into John before he sat down and wrote Hey Jude, one of his most beautiful and successful songs, to express his love and sympathy for Julian, who was caught up in the middle. Paul, who believed strongly in the family and in family values, told me that he felt as if it was the Beatles themselves who were heading for divorce, not just John and Cynthia… By now, she was Yoko of Kenwood, much to Mrs. Powell's despair. She told Cynthia to put up a fight; but Cynthia was too upset and frightened of what she had seen in Yoko's eyes, and fled to Italy with Julian. With the press camped all around the house, Kenwood was impossible to live in, so John and Yoko escaped the back way and holed up in Ringo and Maureen's old home when they first came to London.”

Tony Bramwell

John and Yoko at their art exhibition You Are Here at the Robert Fraser Gallery on July 1, 1968

John and Cynthia's only source of communication was Peter Brown during this time and afterwards to organize Julian's visits with John. Cynthia wanted to meet with John face to face to talk. At this time, their lawyers were handling the divorce. But, Cynthia wanted to talk to her soon-to-be ex husband to clear the air, discuss any terms and agreements, Julian, and closure. For awhile, John refused until Peter wore him down 'get it over and done with’. John and Yoko did turn up and the meeting didn't go as well as Cynthia thought it could be. John was icy- cold, accusational, and putting Cynthia in a bad light that she was no angel herself. Well, honestly, compared to John, Cynthia was an angel… she didn't cheat, she didn't get hooked on drugs. Not only the Magic Alex thing, but John assumed Cynthia had an affair with Tom Simcox, an actor, while in India. There was no affair other than Tom asking Cynthia if she had a twin sister; otherwise all their interactions happened in public view and John was ignoring Cynthia anyway. John claimed Tom wrote Cynthia a note that he gave to George but he gave it to John out of loyalty. Cynthia never received this note… she did get curious, what did the note say? I'm curious too… too bad Cynthia and Tom didn't eventually hook up, I would've had loved to see John's reaction to that! I did Google Tom (as I honestly never heard of him) and he's quite handsome, still alive. Well, needless to say, this meeting got Cynthia no where. Cynthia wrote in her book John that they met again in the lawyer's office to sign paperwork but according to Pete Shotton, there was an additional meeting at Kenwood with the lawyers and according to Ray Coleman's Lennon biography, another 3rd divorce meeting at Paul's house. John filed for divorce in June but Cynthia countersue for divorce on August 22, 1968 (a day before their 6th anniversary) citing John's adultery with Yoko. John, probably on advice from his lawyers, didn't fight it as there was evidence that he couldn't hide nor deny. The final divorce meeting was at the lawyer's office to finalize the deal.

“The terms of the divorce were hammered out at a meeting in Kenwood, attended by John and Yoko, Cynthia and Mrs. Powell, and their respective lawyers. Though I was in the house at the time, I once again refused to take part; for all my pleasure in John's newfound happiness, I had grown extremely fond of Cyn over the years, and found the denouement to their marriage more than a bit painful. I did, however, make a point of greeting Cyn and her mother when they arrived for the meeting. Cyn managed a sick little smile, indicating to me that she absolved

me of any blame in the break-up; her mother, by contrast, refused even to acknowledge my presence, and stormed through the door with a fixed scowl on her face. After they left an hour or two later, I asked John how the meeting went. ‘It was total fucking nonsense!’ he wailed. ‘Every time I tried to say something to Cyn, her lawyer would interrupt and say I wasn't allowed to speak to her. I could only talk to my lawyer, who'd speak to her lawyer, and he'd speak to Cyn! Finally, I just said: 'Look, Cyn, just take whatever you fucking want. Sort it out among yourselves, let me know, and I'll fucking give it to you!’’ According to John, however, Mrs. Powell was permitted to forgo the services of Cyn's lawyer when she took it upon herself to tell her son-in-law exactly what she'd thought of him all these years. ‘You lout, you scum, you long-haired Teddy Boy!’ she screamed. ‘I wish my daughter had never laid eyes on you!’

Pete Shotton, 1983

One of the final offers John was willing to hand over to Cynthia was £75,000 because he didn't think Cynthia deserved much… yeah, I disagree with that! Cynthia was with him for 10 years and gave him support, stability, love, a child, a comfort of home, a muse, etc. But, with Yoko there and whispering sweet nonsense in his ears, plus no doubt drugs, particularly now heroin, John was playing hardball. Cynthia eventually got £100,000 as an one-time alimony and yearly child support and school fees of £2,4000 for Julian. A trust fund for Julian was set up for £100,000 but it was to be cut up in half or so if John was to have another child; so, when Sean was born in 1975, both boys’ trust became £50,000 each plus interest. Too bad Cynthia didn't know Heather Mills (who was a baby at the time) who managed to get £24.3 million or so from her divorce from Paul in 2008 after a few years of marriage. While many viewed Heather as a gold-digger because of that, many viewed the opposite of Cynthia as she should've fought for more. Cynthia did get less than Heather, Maureen (who got £500,000 plus child support as well as regular alimony payments), while Pattie got a similar amount as Cynthia's but she was involved with Eric Clapton at the time who was able to provide for her and had a no-fault divorce; I do believe George would've been more willing to provide more to the settlement. Ringo, George, and Paul were more generous to their ex-wives, unlike John. Cynthia realized she was lucky but, in my opinion, not lucky enough. But Cynthia got what she really wanted: primary custody of Julian.

"Everyone told me go for more, but I couldn't do it, I took what I needed and I think it's made me a better person. I would rather be me without the money than Yoko with."

Cynthia, 1999

"The lawyers told me to ask for more but I didn't want to, I loved him."

Cynthia, 2000

John and Yoko leaving Marylebone Magistrates' Court in London on October 19, 1968 after being arrested the previous day for drug possession.

Meanwhile, while recording the White album, managing Apple, doing drugs (heroin was the new favorite), and expecting a baby with Yoko, they were arrested for drug possession. They claimed to have been warned 3 weeks in advance. Because Jimi was in the apartment before them, John and Yoko cleaned the apartment from top to bottom. It was later discovered that the drugs were planted after George and Pattie were arrested the following year but the damage was too late; John would have trouble with his passport/visa and would have to fight tooth and nail to live in the United States. John and Yoko were arrested on October 18th and appeared in court on the 19th. In fear that Yoko could be deported, John claimed sole responsibility. On October 25th, John and Yoko announced their baby news, due in February. How John's arrest didn't affect the possibility of his visitation custody of Julian in court amazes me; I think in today's standards, it would have.

Cynthia outside the divorce court in London on November 8, 1968

Yoko and John in the hospital during the miscarriage of their baby in November of 1968

On November 4th, Yoko was admitted to Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital; I guess she was feeling pains and went as a precaution to save their baby. John was at her side all the way, sleeping in the bed next to her until the bed needed to be used so John slept on the floor. They watched on the news of Cynthia arriving and leaving court on November 8th to swore under law that her marriage to John has ended by the judge. Yoko lost the baby boy on November 21st, they named the baby John Ono Lennon II. A small coffin and a secret burial site for the baby. They recorded his heartbeat that appeared on their second album, Life With Lions. When Cynthia heard the news, she was genuinely sorry. It's been said that the unborn baby died due to stress of their arrest… and, I believe more so than anything, Yoko's consumption of heroin. Honestly, I do not think or believe that John and Yoko were ready for the child. Especially in that time period of their lives and their relationships with Julian and Kyoko were fragile enough as it was. There was so much going on then; although I have no doubt that the loss really affected both John and Yoko.

Yoko and John on the grounds of Kenwood after Cynthia and Julian moved out in December of 1968.

Photographed by Susan Wood

As part as the divorce settlement, Cynthia had to move out and get her own place. There was no way that she could have managed to maintain the house with the amount John paid out. It was also too large for her. After Cynthia moved out, John and Yoko moved back in for a few months before settling to Tittenhurst Park after living like gypsies while getting married on March 20, 1969. Yoko's divorce from Tony Cox became finalized in February of 1969 however custody of Kyoko continued to battle until 1972 when Tony and Kyoko disappeared.

"If only he had kept his own house in order, he wouldn't have had to preach peace and love to the whole world. There was always that discrepancy with those who were close to John."

Cynthia, 1999

"I wanted to get away from that house. It had too many memories for me. I took Julian, bought a house in London, and asked my mum to move in with us while the divorce went through. She came at once. She's always been there in times of crisis. But on the day of the divorce I insisted on her staying at home while I went to the court. It was something I felt I had to do on my own. The publicity was terrible. I couldn't move without being badgered. But I must admit some of the press was very kind and said some lovely things about me. Marje Proops wrote a beautiful piece in the Daily Mirror which gave me a great lift, because I was feeling very low and rather frightened about the next step in life, and wondering where I went from there."

Cynthia, 1976

“In mid-February my brother went to India with Cynthia. I heard it on the news… My head was in another space. I had been swotting like mad, then celebrating in the same way. We didn’t have a television and we listened to music rather than the news. When I did finally learn that John and Cynthia were parting I was terribly sad. Cyn had been a part of our lives for so many years, and a friend to me and Jackie. I knew how hard it must have been for her, and I felt so sorry for Julian, who was only five. That November John and Cyn’s divorce came through, and three weeks later John and Yoko released the Two Virgins album, probably best remembered for the two non-virgins on the cover.”

Julia Dykins Baird

"There was nothing basically wrong with my marriage to Cyn. It was just like an amber light. It wasn't on go and it wasn't on stop. I suppose that me being away so much during the early years of our marriage, I never did feel like the average married man."

John, 1968