It had been reported in the press that Paul and Linda McCartney, with Linda’s daughter Heather in tow, would be holidaying in the South of France. This information may even have come from Paul himself, but it was not true; instead they headed to the Greek island of Corfu, putting one in mind of those heady days when The Beatles had considered buying their own Greek island to live on communally. Within the time framework of this blog, that was less than two years ago, but it feels like another era altogether.

More or less simultaneously, Ringo and his wife were boarding the Queen Elizabeth II in Southampton for a trans-Atlantic cruise. Says The Beatles Bible,

The trip was laid on by Commonwealth United, the company which funded the film The Magic Christian, which Starr had a lead role in. With principal photography recently completed, the holiday was by way of thanks to the cast and crew for finishing on time and on budget.

The star of The Magic Christian, Peter Sellers, was also on board, and this has now jumped way to the top of my list of time machine destinations. How cool would it be to take a cruise with Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr? Extremely, I should think — though maybe not quite as much as it would have been if John and Yoko, who had also booked passage, had not been left behind because of problems with John’s visa.

When I’m there I will try to get a picture of John and Yoko gazing wistfully from the dock as the QEII pulls away. If I do it should appear spontaneously on this page; keep your eyes open.

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