Either CBOB knows his UK rules of the road, or he knows a lot about hand rolled cigarettes.... 🙂
Thanks Blister.
I tend to travel a bit, and sometimes, as I've learned over the years, you simply CAN'T see all the things you want to in the short time you have on the ground if you're on a business trip.
So instead of trying to rush through some sort of silly self-made "tour" where you simply spot key highlights and attractions as you wiz by the souvenier shop in a taxi, I try to make it a point to pick ONE particular thing of interest, research it before the trip, and spend as much time on location as I can to let the feeling, atmosphere, history, and ambience "soak" in.
There is NOTHING exciting to see at the Abbey Lane crossing. What you see in the photo is ALL there is there. Abbey Studios themselves are a simple two-story white building that looks just like every other house on the street. You would walk right past it if you didn't know it was there.
However, since I was a kid, I've recognized the photo of the Beatles as they crossed that road. I'd say, to folks that like music, it's probably one of the most recognizable photos one could imagine.
So I woke up in the morning and took the express train downtown. I switched stations and lines a few times, and ended up at St. Johns Cross Station. Walk out the station, cross the road and walk about a half mile or so, and if you know what you are looking for, you will find the crossing.
When I got there, there was two African girls, and a girl from Malaysia looking around in circles trying to locate it......not realizing they were standing on it. Along came a cool cat from Brazil named Freddy.....yes, Freddy.
I was the first to kick my shoes off, and make a few dashes across the crossing while Freddy tried to take my photo. It's not easy. The stretch of road in the photo is quite visible, and you can wait for a pause in traffic. However, the road "behind" the photo has a very sharp turn in it, and the cars come flying around the corner. The only way to finally get a photo, was when I put my shoes back on and had the two African girls get ready, while I walked into the road and put up my arms to stop traffic. Once the cars were stopped I spun around and had the girls walk. A perfect photo.
Freddy was next, then along comes a pretty Japanese lady of about 40 or 45. She was short, busty, and had on jeans with go-go boots and a tight red sweater. On her head was a white knit cap with a bill on it and I swear for a moment, I thought she was the ghost of a 1970's Yoko Ono. She was all alone. Of course I proved my bravery in the face of angry motorists one more time for her to get a good photo of herself. Chivalry is NOT dead!
I kicked my shoes off again and made my walk. The result is this photo I posted.
Total time travelling to the site was one hour. Total time on the site was an hour and a half. Travel back was an hour. 3.5 hours and I made two new friends in Africa that I intend to meet (one day we all meet again), a friend in Rio that I DEFINATELY will meet again (a guy friend that knows the scene in Rio is a good thing!), and a 40-45 year old textile fabric designer from Tokyo that I intend to meet next week upon her return. Dinner will be in Ginza.
I put my not so new "Bose-Quiet Comfort III" headphones on my head, pushed play on the Ipod, and walked away from Abbey Road listening to John Lennon singing "Come Together." With each riff of George Harrison's guitar I heard Lennon sing "shoot me." Although the "me" is drowned out by the clap of the hands, you can clearly hear the "shoot" part. I thought about this as I walked back to the station. I felt good and bad at the same time. I'm glad I went there.
I was a year old when that album was released.
There's a good chance that two generations after mine will not know, nor care about four young guys that once walked across Abbey Road.
