Boy, You're Gonna Carry That Weight
Abbey Road is my favorite Beatles album, with cool songs and a cool album cover. With the 40th anniversary of the Beatles walk across Abbey Road, there recently have been numerous recollections of people who have crossed the famous English street over the years. This is mine…I attended UK Comic Con 2002 in Bristol to promote my then current comic, The New G.A.R.D.E. My friend and traveling companion Jim had never been to England before, so we decided to stay 120 miles east in London.
We did all the tourist-y things (Big Ben, Piccadilly Square, Harrods), but we also decided to do something ambitious: walk the entire length of Abbey Road. As we planned our upcoming journey, I somehow got the notion that I could actually take an Abbey Road street sign and sneak it all the way back to my home in Southern California!
From our Kensington District hotel we took the London Underground at Bayswater to the West Hampstead station. We exited onto West End Lane. From there it was a short walk south to Abbey Road and a souvenir street sign, but I was in for a rude awakening.
What a difference 33 years made! The British urban planning authorities were well prepared for my visit. Not only were the Abbey Road street signs bolted onto twenty foot high retaining walls, many of the signs were 16 feet above ground! They obviously did not want any more street signs stolen.
At least we could take photos as to why couldn’t grab a street sign. During our sojourn, Jim and I took lots of pictures. Halfway through our walk, I noticed an Abbey Road sign that was “only” ten feet high. I asked Jim to kneel over by the wall. Before he realized what I planned to do, I had already vaulted on top of him!
I reached up with the camera in my right hand and snapped a close-up shot of the sign. Shortly thereafter, reality caught up with me. I’m not the lightest man in the world, and Jim’s not the strongest. That combination sent us plummeting to earth!
Trying to regain our senses while sprawled on the ground, we were greeted by a cheery constable who asked us to move along. I told her I felt as bad as Beckham after getting red-carded against Argentina while Jim -- still spitting out dirt -- said he preferred the taste of English grass over California grass (Get Back!). The constable stifled a laugh while she bid us a good day.
We got on our feet and continued our trek, but soon it was over. Unlike famous streets in America (New York’s Broadway or LA’s Sunset Boulevard), Abbey Road was a short three-or-four mile walk. Abbey Road ends where the Beatles’ studio resides.
Jim thought it would be cool to have a picture of us crossing Abbey Road like the Beatles in 1969, but it proved impossible. The crossing is a major thoroughfare, and we weren’t famous enough to stop midday traffic. We spotted the St. John’s Wood Undergound station, and headed east.
I walked into the Underground store to buy a Pepsi, and there I saw them: official Abbey Road street signs for sale! I only had five pounds in my wallet. It was either a cool souvenir or dehydration! The choice was clear to me. I purchased the Pepsi.
When I got home to LA (via Paris, but that’s another story), I developed my film rolls, wondering if I got the Abbey Road shot. The picture is at the top of this blog entry, so I did!
posted by John Villalino @ 6:37 PM
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