We entered the house through the back door just as Aunt Mimi would have asked us to do. The garden is a typical English Garden with crazy paving and the usual selection of flora and fauna. The Kitchen is as it was. The living room, although small, has a big old radio in it where John would have listened to the "The Goon Show" which he loved. No doubt this had an influence on his wit. Its worth taking a break here and just soaking up the vibes. Its not hard to imagine John sitting here with other aspirations in mind than those Aunt Mimi had for him. In fact John managed to fail all of his final exams by one grade. A lesson perhaps to all those parents trying to force their children in directions that they didn't/ and don't want to go in. The living room is filled with a sense of those youngs lads music sessions, tinged with a sense that Aunt Mimi didn't understand what the lads were trying to achieve, and worried about Johns future. The book shelves installed here were meant to encourage John to read. But of course he was a writer not a reader. A paperback writer and a song writer. Johns room, the tiny box room above the front door, is filled with teenage dreams - Bridget Bardot above the bed - his records - a minimalist room over stuffed with musical dreams. I spent more time here than in any other room.
As we entered the house other visitors were leaving, some with tears in their eyes. A woman I got chatting to on the bus thought that this was over the top, but I could only think that those tears were the tears of people tuned into the spirit within this house, and who left it understanding the boy, the dreams, and the loss we all feel when someone we don't know dies before we are ready to let them go.
I'll never forget this visit, and will listen to his music again as though for the very first time. Listening is easy with eyes closed. Strawberry Fields Forever.
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