Strawberry Fields

Strawberry Fields

Let me take you down...to Strawberry Fields Forever...so sang John Lennon.

I took a trip from Australia to visit England on a Beatles “Rock n Roll” trip.  My friend, from Sydney, had placed a coupon in a competition, (he bought two bottles of beer) and stuck the coupon in the little box on counter of the bottle shop on the way out.  The local radio station called him some time later to let him know that he had won the trip! 

He called me at work and I said jokingly that I would carry the bags and pay for the booze for the trip.  Little did I know that a few days later that he called me back and offered for me to accompany him on a 7 or 8 day tour of Liverpool and London!

My friend’s wife had twins and was in no way able to make the tour. 

We had a great time despite some trouble flying over the USA without visas (that is another story!).  We assumed (incorrectly) that as we were flying to England, via USA that we did not need visas (we do not need visas for short stay in England, as we are from Australia). We had some troubles but made it across the USA from Australia to England and back.  You could not travel without a visa now across the USA!!!

One of the highlights of the trip was a bus tour of Liverpool, and on one of the stops we all piled out of the bus to view the gates of Strawberry Fields.

My painting shows (I hope), a contented John Lennon looking on to one of the happy places of his youth.