Lennon's childhood is brought to life

[I am the Paulrus]

Lennon's childhood is brought to life


July 18,2005

By Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo



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YOKO Ono has donated memories of John Lennon's childhood to the National Trust to mark his 65th birthday.

The items, including paintings, certificates and a programme for the St Peter's church fete in 1957 where Lennon and McCartney first met, will go on display at Menlove Avenue, Lennon's childhood home.

Most of the personal belongings are replicas, made by experts who were brought in to reproduce the family treasures with scientific precision.

They include four of Lennon's childhood paintings which he did at Mendips - Football, Indians, Teacher "Mr Bob" (all from

1952), and an undated picture entitled Our Own Sykey Slug.

Copies of his first passport, swimming proficiency certificate, an entrance card for the 11-Plus exam to Quarry Bank grammar school, Sunday school attendance booklet and even one of his baby teeth will be on show.

The original tooth was presented to Yoko Ono by a Doctor Rios who had been given it by Lennon's Aunt Mimi.

Simon Osborne, National Trust Liverpool properties' manager, said: "The items are all from personal family archives, and can now be viewed in their original setting.

"We hope many people will visit in this special year, and take the opportunity to see a very personal side of John as a child through this unique collection of memorabilia. We're most grateful to Yoko Ono Lennon for her generous support."

2005 also marks the 25th anniversary of Lennon's murder in New York.

Lennon lived at Mendips with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George from the age of five to 23.

Yoko Ono bought the house in 2002 and donated it to the National Trust which restored it as closely as possible to how it looked when Lennon lived there.

Entry is by guided tour and minibus only. Call 0151-427 7231.

[I am the Paulrus]

Lennon items go on display at Liverpool home

Monday, July 18, 2005

www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/18/lennon.memorabilia/index.html?section=cnn_latest

LONDON, England -- Sixty-five years after John Lennon's birth, items from the late Beatle's childhood will go on display at his former Liverpool home.

The exhibition, which includes a copy of Lennon's Sunday School attendance sheet and replicas of his early paintings -- also comes 25 years after he was murdered by a deranged fan in New York.

The items, chosen by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, will be unveiled Wednesday at the Menlove Avenue home in the English seaport city where he was raised by his Aunt Mimi.

The semi-detached house -- known as Mendips -- was also where Lennon began writing songs with Paul McCartney that became Beatles' classics.

The house is now managed by the National Trust, a charity that oversees heritage sites in England.

"Yoko chose the items very carefully, as she wanted to do something special to mark the year of John's 65th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of his death," said Shelagh Johnston, a Beatles expert who acts as an adviser to Ono.

"She has tried to keep the spirit of the house alive, and to refresh the exhibits so that every few years there is something new for people to enjoy."

Among the replicas of paintings by Lennon as a child is one depicting soccer players and native American Indians -- images he later used on the cover on his 1974 album "Walls And Bridges."

Another is a painting of one of Lennon's teachers, entitled "Mr. Bob."

There is also a replica of his passport from 1960 to 1970, charting The Beatles' history from the early years in Hamburg, Germany, to the rest of Europe, America and later trips to Japan and India.

Copies of Lennon's post-war identity card, swimming proficiency certificate and entrance exam card to Quarry Bank Grammar School will also be on display.

"The items are all from personal family archives, and can now be viewed in their original setting," said Simon Osbourne, the National Trust's properties manager in Liverpool.

"We hope that many people will visit Mendips in this special year, and take the opportunity to see a very personal side of John as a child through this unique collection of memorabilia."

[I am the Paulrus]

Unseen remnants of Lennon's Liverpool life go on show in old home

Jul 19 2005

Daily Post

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John's milk tooth


John's National Identity card

UNSEEN childhood paintings and drawings by John Lennon have gone on display at his Liverpool home.

The pictures are among items of memorabilia loaned to the National Trust by his widow Yoko Ono to commemorate what would have been his 65th year.

Other items on display include school reports, a National Identity card, and a milk tooth.

A passport issued in 1960 chronicles Lennon's globe-trotting around the world with the Fab Four right up until the band's split ten years later.

School reports outline 15-year-old Lennon's dislike of subjects such as maths, with one teacher complaining that "He (Lennon) never really makes a sensible effort".

The memorabilia is on show at Mendips, the home that Lennon lived in with his beloved Auntie Mimi which now houses a collection of Lennon's artefacts.

The house, in Woolton, was bought by Yoko Ono in 2002 and donated to the National Trust which oversees the upkeep of the property.

Shelagh Johnston, from Yoko Ono's advisory board said: "These pieces give a real insight into the mind of a young man who would go on to change the world with his music and politics."

National Trust Property Manager, Simon Osborne said: "This is particularly poignant in terms of John's paintings which would have been displayed in the house for family and visitors originally."

[Hannah]

So is this going to be for this year only?