Beatles Fluff and Stuff

I was familiar with this letter George wrote to a fan named "Susan,"  where he gives her hilarious instructions on how to wash his car.   I was pleased to have found a newspaper article from 1991 that provides the backstory of this letter when it first went up for auction. 

Beatles Fluff and Stuff set to make £2000!

No author listed

The Stratheard Herald

August 16, 1991

    A Jelly Baby destined for George Harrison's mouth, a piece of toast snatched from his jaws, some fluff from under his carpet. All these and more are due to go on sale at Christie's Auction. 

    Sue Henderson, age 44, of Rossal, The Ross Comrie, was brought up in Liverpool, where she became a besotted Beatles fan by the age of 15. She explained that "A girl came to work in my office, who knew John Lennon. She took me to the Cavern Club, which cost 9d to get in, and I met the band backstage."

     Sue was fired by an obsession that had branded her as The Beatles' "number one fan." "I went to the Cavern regularly, and as they became more popular, I had to go down early to be sure to get into the club.  I often got the bus, which George Harrison's father drove. He used to tell me I was crackers to queue up so long just to see them."

     Driven by adoration, Sue called on George Harrison's parents while he was away playing in Hamburg. They asked her in for tea, and her subsequent visits provided ample opportunity for collecting material, such as a discarded sock and a twig from his hedge. 

    "I pleaded with his mother to let me wash George's Ford Anglia. She thought I was nuts!" But her slavish service earned her a letter from George Harrison, which gives humorous instructions on how to go about the task. The letter is now valued at between £ 600 and £ 800.

     Now married with two children, Sue moved to Comrie with her Scots-born husband over two years ago, when they decided to opt for village life. "Obviously, I'm selling the collection because I want the money. I think that's the reason everyone sells memorabilia, if they're honest. I'm hoping it will pay for a family holiday, perhaps to Disneyland."

     Although she hasn't been in touch with George, Sue sent him a note at the time she arranged for the sale, enclosing a photograph of his mother. 

    While not expecting him to get in touch, she said," but I did say, 'Wouldn't your mum laugh to think of this stuff being worth money now?'"

     A spokesman for Christie's said Sue's collection also includes valuable archive material, photographs, autobiography items, and a list of Harrison's record collection showing influences on his music.