Monday, May 19, 2014

Miracle meeting with McCartney

I love this!   I love that 1973 was a time when fan could just literally ring the buzzer at Cavendish and ask if Paul could come out and he would!    This story also answers my question about when did Paul have his house painted yellow.  It looks like 1973 is the answer!  


Photos by Pat Dees


By Pat Dees
McCartney Ltd. 
Nov-Dec 1973

Friday, September 21 (1973)

It was my last day in England and the next day Paul was returning from Africa.  So it was with a heavy heart I stood in line at the Air Terminal that Friday, my mind hoping and praying for a miracle to happen.  But when it did, it was a shock.  After we checked our luggage through we were turned away because my mother didn’t have a certain card on her that allowed her re-entry to the United States (she was born in Ireland).  So we had to stay in England for a few more days.  We (my mother, my sister and I) were at Paul’s just before noon, Sunday as Rosie had told us the day before that Paul would be in late Saturday.  Two girls from Maine that we had met before came along.  Some character who looked a sounded exactly like Peter Lorre came down the street telling us to knock as they certainly would have us in to eat.  Around five he was walking down the street and saw us and came down to the house again.  He told us lots of girls used to be there before Paul got married and they used to never leave. 

Heather occasionally opened the gate looking up and down the street but never across at us.  One time she was wearing huge orange earrings.  We thought perhaps she got them in Africa and was showing them off.  Once Mary and Stella were with her.  One of Paul’s dogs, Poppy, had run off and two kids found her, bringing her home.  They were looking for his house so we pointed it out, telling them to ring the bell which they did.  The gate opened a minute later and the dog went in.  We yelled at them to keep the gate open, as we ran across the street.  We looked in and saw Martha sitting on the steps and Linda looking out the door, telling the children to shut the gate.

That gave us the idea to ring the bell and ask if Paul would come out.  So my mother was the brave one.  She rang and a women’s voice answered.  She asked if Paul would come out because she had been there all day with the girls and was famished.  The voice said they were still in bed because they hadn’t gotten in until 5am.  Well, we knew Linda was up because we had just seen her.  So we waited a bet and decided we would try again.  My sister said that she would ring and ask, but she kept chickening out so finally one of the girls from Maine decided to do it.  We were told they had just gotten up to which the girl said, we had to go back to New York the next day.  She asked if Paul and Linda would come out and they said yes.

So they came out a few minutes later, Paul wearing dark pants, a blue and white striped shirt, Wings button.  Linda wore a blue shirt with 50’s lace on it and a knee length orangish-skirt.  Paul was unshaved and hair a little tossed; he looked super good and sexy.  My mother said something about us waiting all day to see him; he answered with “And now you can’t think of a word to say can you?”  So I asked him how the recording went in Africa and Paul said good.  “Will you have another album out soon?”  “Yes.”  We aksed how Africa was and they said quite hot but they were beginning to like it.  Paul was shivering as he only had a sleeveless top on.  Then he commented on how he had just gotten out of bed.  Then I asked if we could take some pictures to which they answered yes and posed.  I love looking through a camera then that face is on the other side.  They were asking where we were from and when she heard the others were from Maine Linda said she used to be a counselor in Washington, Maine but we had probably never heard of that place.

Two girls who had been hanging around in a car nearby came over.  Paul looked at Linda saying one of the girls had on a shirt like hers.  It seemed to me that he said it to cover up the fact that he’d been giving the girl “the eye” or so it looked to me.   The girl asked for an autograph, so while he did that I asked Linda for hers.  The other girl asked Paul for one for her husband who as sitting in the car.  Paul looked surprised that she was married and asked her how old she was.  She replied 16.  Very surprised and still staring he asked how old her friend was and she answered 20.  He replied, “Twenty? My you are getting up there in age.  You better watch it. “Linda, upon hearing this remarked, “Yes, you are almost getting as old as I am.”  I got my autograph, and my mother told my sister to get one saying her name was Janet.  Paul, hearing the name Janet, said “Janet, Janet, oh Janet.”  He noticed my sister POW bracelet reading the name and asking who it was.  I told him it was for a guy in Vietnam to which he replied, “Oh is that when you pick a serviceman and root for him?”  While saying “root” he swung his fist through the air.  The girl said they thought the war was over, and Paul added, “Oh it’s on in Cambodia.”

Ni the meantime, one of the girl from Maine was going slightly insane and Paul noticed her.  “I think the English weather is getting to her, yes, the English weather is getting to her and she’s cracking up.”  He gave her a whack across the shoulder and she looked as if she were going to pass out.  She wanted an autograph yet she didn’t quite know how to ask since she didn’t have any paper.  “Don’t go daft just because you have no paper.  Come on…” Taking my pad and pen once again.  I continued to take pictures and ask questions.  Anything to keep him there.   Someone asked if he were wearing a wedding band, as he had a band on that ring finger.  “Yes,” he replied where upon he showed it to us, turning his hand over showing the other side that had little green hearts on it.  He said Linda had one also like it.  Then with a grin he put his other hand out, up to my face saying “I have a have, see?”  He’d drawn a horse on it.  The guy’s crazy.

He asked how we liked his house, since they’ve had it painted quite wildly in yellow, red, pink and blue.  We all said it looked quite nice.  He turned to my mother with that mischievous look in his eye and asked her if she were going to paint her house like it when she got home.  She replied, “Sure!”  He laughed.  During this time my mother had also mentioned that she was from Ireland, to see his reaction.  He only rolled his eyes back just like at the end of “Help” and I just happened to have my camera taking a picture.

He glanced down the street seeing a gang of people coming, and then said it was time to go in.  One girl made it in time to ask for an autograph so he stayed out, signing for the newcomers.   Then after a few minutes and comments, said it was time to go in as it was chilly.  The poor boy looked like he needed some warming up as he was shivering.   The gates opened and they went in, stopped to say goodbye.  He started to close the gates then pulled them open saying, “Now, you’re not going to hang around the house all night, are you?”  Looking at my mom as if to get us going.  We had already begun to walk away, so she said 

‘We’re leaving” he gave us one of those sexy smiles and closed the gates.  So we left quite content on our time with him.

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