Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Apple Scruffs


From the Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLello

The House Hippie saw them standing in quiet knots of two and threes all through that first Wigmore Street summer and thought to himself, "They'll go away when the weather gets bad." He was wrong.

After seeing them day after day for month after month he started looking at them. He noticed a handful of faces that were permanent pavement fixtures. When he went to deliver a parcel to Paul McCartney's house they would be there. When he had to go to Abbey Road they were there. When a shorter journey was involved to Trident Studios where one of them might be working they were there.

They would be standing by the cast-iron white picket fence outside Number 3 when he went in at ten and some nights leaving at eight they would still be there. The faces would remind him that he had seen them at least half a dozen times that day as he had exited on a half of dozen separate missions.

There are Beatle fans and there are Beatles fans; that much he knew. It was becoming clearer to The House Hippie that these girls were not just any old Beatle fans. They were always positioned on opposite sides of the steps when the obvious, one-day-wonder fans from America and Europe were out in force for an unimpressive two-hour vigil. They retained an aloofness from these hysterical screamers that bordered on supreme dignity.

It never mattered what the weather was doing. They stood there and allowed the rain to soak them and the wind to cut through their young-girl clothes. At last it dawned on him. He knew they would be there longer than anyone else; after everyone else had left, they would still be there.

46 comments:

  1. my friends cathy, lucy, chris, margo, jill and wendy.

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  2. I love the Apple Scruffs, and I wish I knew more about them all.

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  3. i hope to write a book about us after i finish the one i am writing now.

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  4. Lizzie, li que foi George o autor do apelido. Vc sabe se foi mesmo?

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  5. claudia antunes againDecember 30, 2009 at 5:27 PM

    Lizzie, I read that George was the author's nickname. You know it was you?

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  6. Woah, somebody file a restraining order.

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  7. everyone, claudia is brazilian (i don't know her personally) and is obviously not fluent in english. what she meant (and wrote to me in portuguese) is "i read that george came up with the nickname - do you know if this is true?". i remembered but wanted to make sure i got it right so i wrote my fellow scruffs and just got the answer from margo: "i came up with the name, before I got the job there (apple). yes, it did refer to the fact that we were less well turned out than the female apple employees!"

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  8. I personally think it is a cute nickname and it fits the girls really well. It is neat to know where the name came from. I think since George wrote the "Apple Scruffs" song it is assumed that he came up with the name.

    Lizzie, do you know where this photo was taken?

    I also wanted to say hello to Claudia and say that those who are not fluent in English are welcome here, but please realize that we might have trouble understanding what you are trying to ask.

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  9. Sorry, Sara. I'm Brazilian and I like this blog. But I don't speak English. Parle-vous Français? Je parle. C'est possible parler avec toi en Français? Pardon par mon English (Anglais) terrible.

    Au revoir.

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  10. I would love to learn more about the Apple Scruffs as well! Like: do you remember the occassion of this photo? I would have liked to read "Waiting for the Beatles" but never saw it anywhere, so a book by one of you girls would sure be fantastic!

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  11. I accidentally pulled this Waiting on thew Beatles from the Beatle book section, and it was such a rare story I'd like more too. Out of Print unfortunately and no digital copies even available.

    I''d love to read a book ...From each of you! Apple Scruffs...

    I couldn't put the book down it was so refreshing and interesting. I thought I had read them all. What a treat...

    Lizzie I hope you get typing. :)

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  12. third from left in the photo is Carol Bedford, it is not Chris. from an Apple Scruff.

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    1. None of them are The Apple Scruffs

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  13. Thanks for clearing that up for us anonymous Scruff! :)

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  14. You're welcome Sara. Needed to correct that. I'm not in the photo by the way and don't know where it was taken. I was a "regular" and a Scruff. Regards Anonymous Scruff!! :)

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  15. now that i look at the photo again, of course, that is carol. i have many photos of her from those days. thank you mystery scruff!

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  16. Is it true that Carol Bedford passed away?

    What were some of the discrepancies in her book that other Scruffs were upset about???

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  17. That photo is a complete scam. I was an Apple Scruff, believe me, we never looked that good.I'm sure other scruffs such as Margo will agree, that is not a photo of The Apple Scruffs

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    1. what are you talking about?! Margo is actually in this photo! Regards May 7th Scruff :)

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  18. From what I understand this photo (which is from the book, The Longest Cocktail Party) was taken when a few of the Scruffs went to a dinner where they were interviewed by Rolling Stone Magazine (shortly after the song was out). That interview is here somewhere. Not that I am one that wants to argue with an Apple Scruff, but a few of those girls look very familar from other Apple Scruff photos I have posted. They would have cleaned up a bit more for an interview with RS, I would guess. If they aren't a few of the Apple Scruff girls, then who are they?

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  19. To Anonymous May 5th comment...if you do not know these girls then you were NOT an Apple Scruff. We actually weren't very scruffy anyway. Some people think that because they were 'around' at the time they were automatically called an Apple Scruff, that is not the case at all. We were a small group of regulars who became Scruffs at the split of The Beatles for reasons only we know.

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    1. So who are you Anonymous May 5th????????? Don't be shy...if you were a Scruff then you should be proud!!!!

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  20. i have known each one of the people in the above photo since the 60's and they are definitely apple scruffs, as anonymous from may 7th has stated.

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  21. Hi.
    I just read Carol Bedford's book. I was looking around on the web to see where she was now. Does anybody know what is she doing now? And what about the other Apple Scruffs? Thanx a lot! :-) JPGRfan

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    1. I Read Carol 's book - Apple Scruffs- it's amazing how a girl from America came to England to be a loyal fan, sleeping rough, waiting for her Beatle and actually the wonderful relationship that transpired with G. I read that Carol was unwell and in long term care, does anyone know if she is still with us, that blogger said she was sad no one visited her and she was proud to be a Scruff. Surely the Scruffs could get back together. I am just a fan but you had amazing experiences

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  22. Hello everyone, I
    This is Emma, and I am in the photo's in Carol Bedford's book. I was actually appalled when I saw that book and photo's of me in the book as well! I have no idea how she got hold of those photo's. I do know that when she wrote about the girls going into Paul's house, she writes as though she was there. She wasn't, because I was and I can honestly say she wasn't there. So a few things in the book I took with a grain of salt! Anyway, my email address is emmbritt123@gmail.com. I would love to hear from Lucy, Sue-John, Jill or Margo. I have often wondered what became of us all. I recently got in touch with Chris O'Dell. She worked at Apple for a while. She runs a rehab clinic down in Tucson, Arizona. Funnily enough, I have lied in Phoenix, Arizona for the past 32 years but I am leaving to go back to England on July 16, 2013. !

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    1. Hi Emma!
      As much as I liked reading Carol's book (it is one of my favorites), I read the whoel thing with a grain of salt. Just from my own knowledge it was obvious that things were written in chronological order and things were added to make it sound more exciting.

      Welcome to the blog! Always glad to have someone who was there with us. I hope you get ahold of your old friends. I know that several of them do post on here. I am leaving England from my holiday on July 16, so I will just miss you!

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    2. Hi Emma!!! Its me Suejohn!!! How brilliant. I will email you!!! :))

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    3. Hey Emma. We have often spoken about you and wondered where you are and now we know! Have a look at the Apple Scruffs section on here, you are in a couple of the photos with me!! Will also email you.

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  23. hi emma! i will send your message to the girls, i am still in touch with all of them. i will e-mail you privately.

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    1. More than getting rare Beatles photos and stories sent to me, this by far is my favorite thing about having this blog! It has allowed many friends from the 1960's get back in contact with one another.

      Friendship is one of the major things about being a Beatle fan. It is so much more than just those four guys. The connections you make with someone who shares the love of the Beatles is unlike anything else.

      So knowing that I can help re-connect former friends, especially ones who were regulars at EMI when the Beatles were recording there is an honor and makes this project worthwhile.

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  24. What happened to Carol Bedford, does anyone know

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  25. Carole Bedford passed away. I am not sure when.

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  26. Carol really did pass away after many years of illness. I remember her from London and she was one of several at the time waiting outside who lived a lot in fantasy concerning the lads -George especially of course-and interesting as it is, her book wasn' t entirely true. RIP Carol.

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  27. Thank you one and all for a most interesting comments! I totally enjoyed reading each and every one of them....Either way, it was just a great time to be 'there' watching the activities at Apple or a Paul's house ...The Apple Scruffs should have collaborated together and joined forces to write one spectacular book! What memories all of them have, they should have been shared with all the world for the cool manner in which they did what they did...just being 'there' Thank you all for the great comments...

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  28. My name is Gloria Wilkes, best friend to Carol Bedford, and still living in Texas. I have recently found out that Carol passed away Feb. 16, 2012 after being in long term care at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, MS I believe. I was in contact with her family about 5 years ago, knew where she was, and intended to try to visit, but obviously waited too long.....just to put in my opinion on her book.

    When her book was published, we had been going through a "rough patch" in our friendship, (if you knew Carol, you know what I mean!) so not a mention of me in the book, though we did patch up our differences later. As for the authenticy of her tale, I believe she wrote honestly her stories, while some of the tale may have been her perception, to her it was what really happened. But the story was filled with a strong love for George (and the other Beatles), with pasison and commitment to her love. The book is very much an emotional, obsessive, and teenager-y view of her escapades, but her recount of encounters with George was true. She wrote me pages and pages of each day in her letters to me. I visited her end of 1971, and one of the other Scruffs (Jill) invited us to her family's home during the Christmas holidays. What a loving and committed group those girls were, and I will always remember the warmth and love, even for me, yes, an Apple Scruff, but living in L.A. and watching from afar. And I agree, I wish the original and core (ha, ha!) Apple Scruffs could collaborate and write one book with everyone's story. I am so proud to be a part of this group, and feel connected to all the girls and their stories. And all I had was what Carol made happen, she had told George about my visit, and when he came out that evening (morning), he nodded and smiled at me.....and I dropped to the sidewalk, after flying 10 hrs. from LA, staying up all day, then waiting until 3 or 4 am in the freezing middle of winter, my true Apple Scruffs heart showing through!

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    1. I commissioned carol to write WAITING FOR THE BEATLES and edited the book through to its publication when I was with Blandford Press. I have often wondered what happened to her after she severed all connections wi the book's publisher, even declining royalties after about a year following its publication. No one knew anything.

      Thanks

      Stuart Booth

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  29. I agree with Ms. Wilkes that the book was an "emotional , obsessive & teenager-y view of her (Carol) escapades " and the truth is as young female fans we ate it up as drafts were passed around way before it was published. There were some of us who didn't belong to the Scruffs circle but spent many hours waiting for the lads in London & NYC over the years and had good and bad experiences with them. George had the most gorgeous penetrating brown eyes and when he smiled and spoke to you, it was fantastic.

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  30. Hello, I read Carol's book & was inspired to write a fictionalised account of some of what the Apple scruffs got up to. The book I wrote is called Mal Dixon's Moon Diary. It's set in 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission & tells the story of the Apple Scruffs as a subplot. I'm hoping to self publish it in time for the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. Emma Hamley

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  31. Does anybody know anything bout Little Jimmy Layford

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  32. amusing comments from 'scruffs'? as to who are the people actually in the photo

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  33. Hi all, not sure if anyone will see this so many years down the line but I am looking for the contact details of Beatles Scruff Carol Allen. She met my uncle Colin on the steps of Apple back in 1971 and they struck up a friendship that continued over post as he lived abroad, but he lost touch with her and is hoping to reconnect. He still lives in South Africa. If anyone can help me please respond to this comment. Many thanks

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    1. Sorry, that’s Nancy Allen, not Carol Allen. He is looking to reconnect with Nancy

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  34. Hi,

    Having had a huge respect for George Harrison for many years, and read "Waiting for The Beatles" several times, I was curious to find out what ever happened to Carol Bedford and stumbled across this site. How sad to learn that she passed away in 2012.

    In the late 1980's, as a junior secretary in White City, London I jumped on the tube at Ealing Broadway Station, as normal, to start my morning journey to work and who should be sitting opposite me but Carol, well at least I thought so. She had short hair, wore trousers and a shirt, and looked nothing like the hippy Carol from the late 60's so I wasn't 100% sure it was her.

    Just as my stop was approaching, I finally plucked up the courage to ask, "Excuse me, are you Carol from Texas?" to which she replied she was, thankfully! I then explained to her that I'd read her book about five times and really loved it.

    I regret to this day that I didn't chat to Carol for longer but I was so embarrassed and therefore got off the train abruptly at White City. She seemed genuinely pleased to be recognised and chuffed to receive the compliment. R.I.P. Carol from Texas

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