The Beatles Plus 50 It was fifty years ago today…

Today John and Cynthia Lennon took major step toward being officially divorced with the issuance by the court of a “Decree Nisi,” which according to www.gov.uk is “a document that says that the court does not see any reason why you cannot divorce.” Adds Cotswald Family Law,

Once the Court are satisfied that you are entitled to a divorce, your Decree Nisi will be pronounced. At any time after the Decree Nisi is pronounced the parties can file a consent order with the Court that deals with the financial arrangements they have agreed.

Once an agreement is reached, the Decree Nisi is followed by a Decree Absolute, which is the end of the process.

I’m sure this is more than you wanted to know about British family law. What about the emotions, man? Here’s Cynthia:

Walking into court beside my lawyer was terrifying. The place was packed with the press and I had to swear in front of them under oath that my marriage had broken down irretrievably, that my husband had publicly admitted adultery and that Yoko was pregnant by him.

Throughout this awful, surreal experience I felt humiliated and painfully aware that I was alone.

The consensus seems to be that John didn’t handle this situation terribly well, to say the least. He was a complicated man, and there’s a lot still to learn about him. I have been careful to avoid reading the most famous biography, Albert Goldman’s The Lives of John Lennon, which is also one of the most infamous hatchet jobs in the history of publishing. A promising-looking new one, Being John Lennon: A Restless Life, arrives in a few weeks. I’ll tell you what I learn.