"That's What I Want" Wednesday!

I love Taschen art books, I love photography collections, and I love anything to do with the Beatles (who knew!), so this new book of Linda McCartney's photos don't need no fake ID to get onto my Most Wanted guest list this week. But at a princely triple-figure sum it's going to have to join all those gems from Genesis Publications on my Amazon Wish-for-a-lottery-win List cos this mama's got little kitten mouths to feed.

More in keeping with the sensible 'look after the pennies and they'll take care of the pounds' side of me is another book of photos, this time from May Pang (who I can't help adoring) called Instamatic Karma - worth the cover price for the great title alone, and which makes me want to trawl ebay for another addition to my vintage camera collection.

While looking for a photo to publish with this posting I found the image at the top of the page, which is taken from May's book. Now I know I gotta have it! Of course I was aware that John and Paul had hung out at least a couple of times during the 70s and I've even tried to listen to A Toot and A Snore all the way through, but I never in my wildest dreams imagined there had been any photographs taken of them together, and then I come across this. My heart is in my mouth as I write and I keep stopping to look at the picture again, as if it might vanish if I take my eyes off it.

It's been a bit of a downer lately what with all the recent articles and news items going on about the 40th anniversary of the official Beatles break-up (I'd much rather spend time and energy celebrating what they created while they were still together), so this picture is a reminder that the break-up was just the end of a chapter of John and Paul's relationship, and not the final word (as we all know, that tragically was to come later).

I'm depressing myself now, so to lighten the mood a final must-have today is for anyone like me who still gets a thrill from playing games which involve throwing dice and moving pieces on a board (call me old-fashioned...or just old). Spotted here on a great beatles blog by Megan (who has opinions and isn't afraid to wield them!) is the Beatles edition of Trivial Pursuit. Yeah I know I'm probably the last person on earth to hear about this, but it just means I'll get it at a discounted price now :-) Anyone up for a game?

"That's What I Want" Wednesday!

Although I try to adhere to John's plea to 'imagine no possessions' sometimes there's just that item of memorabeatlia that I really really want! So "That's What I Want" Wednesday will be a chance for me to share the latest greatest fab gear to buy, sights to see, and places to go.

Come August this year it will be exactly 50 years since John, Paul, George, Pete and Stu first arrived in Hamburg to play a variety of seedy clubs in the notorious red light area of the Reeperbahn. So a must have for my wardrobe this summer has to be a Star Club t-shirt to go with my bag of the same design, which has been a fave accessory for a few years now.

Next up is an exhibition that I have no excuse for missing as it's just up the road in Dundee. "From Dundee To Abbey Road" is a celebration of the late scottish photographer Iain Macmillan (the Abbey Road cover shot is just a tiny portion of his long career) and runs till 3rd June at Dundee's Discovery Point Cafe. The lovely May Pang, John's girlfriend during his estrangement from Yoko in the early/mid 70s, was a recent visitor to the exhibition (nice wee interview about her attendance here). I just wish I had had a chance to meet her (she did make an appearance at Beatleweek in Liverpool once but it was only to introduce a band), as she is someone who has always upheld John's memory with respect and obviously loved him a great deal.

Last today is something I do already own, but fear I may have lost amongst the clutter of my home. It's a replica of a necklace John wore in the famous New York City t-shirt photos taken by Bob Gruen in 1974. The necklace consists of a silver cross and a tablet engraved with the astrological sign for Libra. I bought my copy of the necklace from The Beatles Shop in Mathew Street a few years ago now. It's probably a geeky step too far to wear it with the famous NYC t-shirt, which I also have in my wardrobe, but what the hell!