#aunt MIMI

[gardenwalrus]

Mr Pobjoy’s first year at the school was Lennon’s fifth and final year, so by the time he took up office the mould of John’s irreverence and the troublemaking Lennon-Shotton axis was hard to break. [...] But he faced a major thorn in John Lennon. ‘I inherited an extremely disruptive boy, the legend of the school. He was presented to me as my most urgent problem, he and his friend Shotton,’ recalled Mr Pobjoy, a palpably kind but firm man who tried hard to get to grips with Lennon as a person rather than confront the problem with force.  [...] 'Eventually [Lennon] was brought to me as headmaster as a last resort. On that first and one occasion I gave three strokes of the cane, the ordinary thing to do in those days.’ Shortly afterwards, Pobjoy abolished corporal punishment at Quarry Bank, and it has never been reinstated. ‘Caning never stops misbehaving. I quickly realised that. And with or without the cane, John didn’t stop misbehaving. ‘Missing detention and all the other things John did might be regarded now as ordinary schoolboy pranks, but there was another side to it all. He did take advantage of anybody who was weak. He was extremely cruel.’ There were incidents between John and some teachers which horrified them all in the staff room. Lennon was often brutally tough on teachers who did not know how to handle him. He raised his fists and flatly refused to obey instructions.

[...] ‘I saw his guardian, Mrs Smith, frequently. She has him as not her problem but the school’s. I recall her saying: “The school should do something about it.” Well, with John’s early history and parental background it’s not easy in difficult family circumstances to get a boy to behave well - or even to work well.’  Mr Pobjoy’s worst moment came when he was at an afternoon football match at Goodison Park, home of Everton football club. An announced message called him to the telephone, and a distressed deputy headmaster told him of yet another Lennon problem. I said: “Oh, suspend him.” John was suspended for a few days and I saw his aunt again, but he survived right through that day in February until July, coming to the natural end of his five-year course at the school.  ‘I recall talking to him about his ability and saying he could achieve a great deal if he set his mind to it. But he was only a failure at school because he attached little importance to academic work. He failed each of his O-levels by a single grade, and could clearly have passed if he’d wanted to. It simply didn’t matter to him. He was particularly fond of an English master, Philip Burnett, who was rather advanced in his approach, his ideas, and his own way of life. John was very interested in poetry and wrote it. [...] [John] resented any kind of constraint or discipline. He had no intention, even at Dovedale junior school, of being organised by others. He set out to cock a snook at authority and discipline from early childhood.’

- William Ernest Pobjoy, headmaster of Quarry Bank, in Ray Coleman, John Winston Lennon: 1940-66 vol.1 (1984)

PAUL: I remember the great excitement at 20 Forthlin Road when we had the phone put in. I still remember the phone number: Garston 6922. George still remembers it. It's ingrained. John and I used to play pranks with our tape recorder: record stuff, then ring up people and play the tape recorder to them and record their answers on another tape. We were supposed to be making demos. We made one for Mr Popjoy, who was one of John's teachers from Quarry Bank. We had a message that said, 'That Mr Popjoy?' then there was a wait for some reaction. I’m calling about the bananas.' Then there was another pause. We'd put that to the speaker, call his number, and the minute we heard him answer we'd switch our recorder on and it would talk to him. We had a mic at the hearing end and we would record that, so we didn't know quite what he'd said until it was all finished but we could hear something going on. Then we'd just cut him off and listen back to it. It was great 'Popjoy here. Yes? Can I help? Bananas? What bananas? I haven't ordered any bananas!'

- Barry Miles, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now (1997)

[handfetis]

"John tried to smooth the way for George by telling Mimi what a great guy he was before she ever met him, but once Mimi got a look at his pink shirt, she threw him out the door," reads TLYM.

[ceofjohnlennon]

"He was a very handsome little boy, with silver-gold hair and big brown eyes. I don't think he minds people looking at him now, because they used to do it when he was a child, on buses and places like that. He got so used to it that if they didn’t look at him he would go up to them and say 'I'm John Lennon, l am.'"

ㅡ Aunt Mimi about a young John Lennon. From The Beatles Monthly Book N°25 (August/1965).

[kichisaburo3]

Aunt MIMI of John Lennon To Interview in 1970 from reddit com

The Below is BLOCKQUOTE of reditt com https://www.reddit.com/r/beatles/comments/14njs8t/interview_with_aunt_mimi_1970/?rdt=53135

QUESTION: What do you really think of the Beatles?

MIMI SMITH: The boys had talent, yes, but they also had a lot of luck as well. When they first played “Love Me Do” I didn’t think much of it.

QUESTION: How did you view the troubles the Beatles have been going through these last few years?

SMITH: I don’t know all this business between John and Paul is about and I don’t dare ask John. I did ring Paul about it, and he told me things would straighten up. The boys have been friends so long. I remember them coming home from school together on their bikes, begging biscuits. I’m sure they’ll get back together soon. This is just a phase they’re passing through.

QUESTION: These days your nephew is very involved in a variety of social, political, and avant-garde causes. How do you feel about that?

SMITH: I’ve just quit reading the papers these days. Apple sends me his records, but I won’t play them. And I’ve asked my friends not to tell me about them. The shameful album cover and that [erotic] art show of his. He’s been naughty and the public doesn’t like it, and he’s sorry for it. Now he wants sympathy. That’s why he’s come out with all these fantastic stories about an unhappy childhood. It’s true that his mother wasn’t there and there was no father around, but my husband and I gave him a wonderful home. John didn’t buy me these furnishings, my husband did. John, Paul, and George wrote many songs together sitting on the sofa you’re sitting on now, long before you’d ever heard of the Beatles. Why, John even had a pony when he was a little boy! He certainly didn’t come from a slum! None of the boys did. The Harrisons weren’t as well off as the other families, perhaps, but George wasn’t from a slum, either, the way the press had it. And that’s why you never saw photographs of John’s boyhood home. We certainly weren’t imperished, the way John’s talking now ?

QUESTION: What do you think changed John so much from his early days as a carefree kid?

SMITH: She’s responsible for all this, Yoko. She changed him, and I’m sure she and Linda are behind the split between John and Paul. Cynthia was such a nice girl. When she and John were in art college, she’d come to my house and say, “Oh, Mimi, what am I going to do about John?” She’d sit there until he came home. Cynthia really pursued him. He’d walk up the road and back until she got tired of waiting and went home. I think he was afraid of her, actually.

QUESTION: You realize, of course, that to many people John is something of a political leader with such songs as, “Power to the People,” for example …

SMITH: Don’t talk to me about such things! I know that boy. He doesn’t know what he’s saying! It’s all an act. If there were a revolution, John would be the first in the queue to run! Why, he’s scared to death of things like that! That’s Yoko talking, not John! Yoko is not exactly right in the head. Everytime John does something bad and gets his picture in the papers he rings up to smooth me over. See that new color television? It was a Christmas present, but he had it delivered early. A big present arrives every time he’s been naughty. I usually have a huge photograph of John hanging in the lounge. When he’s a good boy, it’ll go back up again!

TAG of BEATLES in my Tumblr https://kichisaburo3.tumblr.com/tagged/BEATLES

12 NOV 2024 Tuesday

[eppysboys]

5 September 1960, John Lennon sent his Aunt Mimi a postcard from Hamburg. 

Dear Mimi,

Sorry I haven't written much but we're terribly busy and don't finish playing 'till about 2 in the morning and by the time we've eaten we're "dead beats."

This is the street we playing (the little yellow bit at the end). I'll write a proper letter soon as I get time. I hope you're well and everything  and don't worry about me I'm eating and sleeping well and keeping out of trouble (Scribbled out writing)

 Ok and no trouble. I'll be home in 5 weeks I think (we might be going to Berlin).

Cheerio,

Love John

[darkroomalleycat]

The Beatles (and co) as “things to never say to someone who just came out”

Part Four:

[beatle-stories333]

john playing at the cavern club and mimi telling him to get off the stage is so pink pony club

[harrisonsbabygirl]

John in his Liverpool home

Featuring- John’s Aunt Mimi

[javelinbk]

The Beatles in Australia/NZ part 9 (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 part 7, part 8)

The boys arrive in New Zealand, John tells the best dad-joke of all time, and Paul loves big things

Bob: Now you're in New Zealand, what are you looking forward to seeing? George: I don't know... have a look at a couple of Maoris I s'pose! Bob: Anybody told you about these tikis that you have souvenirs of? George: Yeah, well we saw some in Tahiti, the tiki gods. And I don't know if these are gonna be the same... actually John and I ordered two six-foot-high tiki gods made out of wood... two each Bob: How are you going to get them home? George: Well, we ordered them in Tahiti and asked some fella to post them! Bob: John, you looking forward to seeing your Aunt Mimi again? John: Ah yes, I don't know whether I'll see her on this trip, because the place she's staying at she said is miles away Bob: Will she be going back with you? John: I don't think from this trip, no we're joining her at Sydney, you know... or Eric, or Dave, somewhere like that Bob: John, what's your reaction to the Australian trip? John: It was marvellous, well worth the trip, and we hope to come back! Right? Bob: Correct. What about the circular stage at Sydney stadium? John: Well, it was a bit off-putting the first half of the first night, you know, you don't know what's happening, you keep going one way and then going the other, but you get used to it after a couple of days Bob: Ringo, we see that Jimmie Nicol's had a lucky break back home, what do you think of that? Ringo: Well, he's having quite a few lucky breaks - all the best to him, good old Jimmie Bob: So what do you think of this kiwi that's been given to you? Ringo: What kiwi? John: That thing they gave you when we got on the plane! Ringo: That big monster? Marvellous! Bob: That's a kiwi! That's a nearly extinct New Zealand bird John: Are they that big? Ringo: Well... they're not that big really are they? Bob: No, they're about ten inches tall John: Ah well... Ringo: Well, this was about three foot! John: I knew it was a kiwi because it started polishing me shoes! (Paul sings in background) Bob: That's Paul singing in back Ringo: Yeah, that's Paul singing at the back Bob: And well, you know about tikis, these traditional symbols? Ringo: Yeah, we've got one actually, but they're a dirty load of cheats, 'cause they're only made of plastic, I want a real one! Bob: Are you going to buy one? Ringo: Well, I suppose so, if no-one gives me one Bob: What do you think of the beautiful scenery of New Zealand? Ringo: Mountains look alright (Paul keeps singing - possibly O Sole Mio) John: It looks like the moon! Bob: What's that, John? John: It looks like the moon from here! Bob: Hey, listen - what about the egg throwing at Sydney stadium? John: Well, nobody threw any at us, I don't think... oh yeah... Ringo: I wish they'd fried them first! John: Yeah... one night somebody threw one at us, we didn't know actually till we got off there was a bit of egg on my trousers, but they'd stopped throwing them by the time we got on... anyway we had people posted so as soon as they threw them we were going to get them dragged on stage and smash eggs all over the place, all over 'em! Bob: Now Paul, you were given a kiwi, a very large one - how do you feel about it? Paul: Was it a kiwi or an emu or what? Bob: It was a kiwi, that was what you wanted to see! Paul: Yes! True, well I've seen it now... we're gonna take it round with us, you know in New Zealand. I love those big things. Bob: What about the tiki, you see... they told you all about tikis? Paul: Yeah, some little gods, aren't they? Very nice. Not as good as that kangaroo you gave me though. Bob: Thank you. What about Sydney? Did you like the reception? Paul: I loved it. Knocked out completely.

More about the plastic tikis here - Beatles tiki tour – How John Lennon's plastic tiki became a Kiwi family heirloom

[quinnallerton]

One last photo.

I went to see May Pang in Omaha to get a poster for my friend in San Francisco. She remembered my name and gave me back my vinyl sleeve I had left at the show in Des Moines!

She spent 30 minutes talking to my girls about their schools, hobbies and favorite photos.

My daughter complimented May's handwriting.

May proceeded to tell us a story about correspondence letters from Aunt Mimi to John, written on the thinnest tissue like stationary. Apparently Mimi had the most perfect penmanship when she wrote front & back sometimes eight pages to John in LA. It was a surreal experience hearing firsthand stories about letters back and forth between John & Aunt Mimi.

She genuinely loved visiting Omaha and I gave her some restaurant recommendations before she headed out to the next stop on her tour.

At the end, she gave me a hug and took a polaroid with us. What a lovely woman 💜

[gardenwalrus]

:(

[ilovedig]

How do you know Mimi was abusive?

You must be joking. Please say you're joking.

Um okay, on the off chance you're not joking.

Here are a few of the things I remember off the top of my head

She didn't let John have friends for most of his childhood. He had to play alone in the backyard. She was more okay with him playing pretend as Alice than seeing other boys his age.

She also only let him go to the pictures once a year, on easter, that was it. Uncle George took him more, but once he died it was only once a year.

She put his dog down

She frequently told him he was fat

According to John's sister she literally kidnapped him at 5 because she really really didn't like her sister and thought she was a bad infuence

There's more, that's just off the top of my head.

[ceofjohnlennon]

"At first, when he was naughty, I sent him to his room, but he was always so quiet when I did this that one day I decided to see what he did up there, I crept up to the door and looked in; there he was, sitting very comfortably in an easy chair reading a book. He was perfectly happy, and all the time I thought I'd been punishing him. He always loved reading, but only classics, I never saw him look at a comic ora novel, To this day, I don't think he has ever read a novel. His favourite books were all about painting and painters, like John Ruskin' 'Book of Beauty'."

ㅡ Aunt Mimi about a young John Lennon. From The Beatles Monthly Book N°25 (August/1965).

[mydaroga]

Mimi was fierce, stubborn, openly snobbish, pointed, bluntly uncompromising, nobody’s fool – and John was never not aware of it and always gave back . Though she might suddenly break into a Charleston dance to make him laugh (which he often copied), she was never demonstrative in her love, concealing it behind a coded series of verbal scoldings. She never hit him: her worst punishment was to ignore him, because he always had so much to say that needed to be heard. When she did, he’d plead, ‘Don’t ’nore me, Mimi!’

...

Her aim was to raise him as an individual. Both were as sharp as tacks, he exasperated her and she infuriated him, but theirs was always an earthy two-way relationship in which both could grow.

Mark Lewisohn, Tune In

[beatlepaul4ever]

Look at his dirty knees. A real ‘Just William’.

[dbp]

Aunt Mimi and John