SAPPHO KORNER R.I.P.
The first friend i ever made was called Sappho, or Fo as i called her. We were both four years old and she lived next door to me. Her father was Alexis Korner……..the late and magnificant white blues man.
Without Alexis the music scene would not have flourished as it did in the sixties/seventies. Many of this countries greatest musicians, i can’t list them all………it is endless, owe him BIG time and they would be the first to say so.
We used to sit on the front step as the Rolling Stones tried to get past us. I wish i’d been older, then i could have appreciated what was going on.
Those were our formative years………Sappho and i progressed, at the age of nine to smoking menthol cigarettes. Two years later she wanted some Hashish, she strode off confidently…… nothing seem to phase her …………… and came back with an Oxo cube – they’d seen her coming from miles away.
We spent the next two years refusing to wear shoes, instead we had bells round our necks..!. We spent one hot summer prancing round to ‘Dandelion, i’ll make you mine’……….continuously.
She looked tiny when she sang on stage in Hyde Park, after Brian Jones had died. She had the purest and softest voice i have ever heard.
She was a small but gutsy lady, she took flack from no-one.
She is terribly missed by her mother Bobby and her brother, her children and all her friends ……… and by me.
Rest In Peace Dandelion.
Without Alexis the music scene would not have flourished as it did in the sixties/seventies. Many of this countries greatest musicians, i can’t list them all………it is endless, owe him BIG time and they would be the first to say so.
We used to sit on the front step as the Rolling Stones tried to get past us. I wish i’d been older, then i could have appreciated what was going on.
Those were our formative years………Sappho and i progressed, at the age of nine to smoking menthol cigarettes. Two years later she wanted some Hashish, she strode off confidently…… nothing seem to phase her …………… and came back with an Oxo cube – they’d seen her coming from miles away.
We spent the next two years refusing to wear shoes, instead we had bells round our necks..!. We spent one hot summer prancing round to ‘Dandelion, i’ll make you mine’……….continuously.
She looked tiny when she sang on stage in Hyde Park, after Brian Jones had died. She had the purest and softest voice i have ever heard.
She was a small but gutsy lady, she took flack from no-one.
She is terribly missed by her mother Bobby and her brother, her children and all her friends ……… and by me.
Rest In Peace Dandelion.
P.S. .. If anyone should want to find me now .. ie ask questions about Sappho … then I can be found on Facebook as Sarah Darling … not sure I should give out my email address .. X
balletcatblue 
I was looking for Sappho and came across your touching obituary. I would like to contact her family whom I lost touch with. Please, e-mail @ avastander6@hotmail.com
April 9, 2009 at 7:18 am
I will do Ava … Happy New Year to you … X
December 31, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Sorry I do not have Facebook. Was the Donovan Mellow Yellow song include a reference to your friend Saffron? I had read that Donovan was friends of the family? Are there any public photos of Saffron? Thanks.
March 4, 2021 at 7:45 pm
Hi Mark,
That’s a story I’ve heard before … as far as I know Saffron does not mean Sappho … she would have said so or one of her family would’ve done. … so the answer to your question is No the song is not about Sappho as far as I know. I’m not surprised that Donovan knew Alexis tho.
Best wishes from Sarah :-))
March 5, 2021 at 12:59 pm
Hi Ava .. I’m afraid all her family are now dead …. except for children of course …. x
February 9, 2024 at 2:12 pm
She was my friend too. We met at the L\’Auberge in Richmond when we were sixteen. I remember many deep coversations with Sappho and of course much laughter. We last said goodbye as she was off to Glastonbury to be with her new husband Peter. I loved her; she was a very, very special person- goodbye Fo from Mo and God BlessX
April 19, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I remember Sappho from when she played with a band called Satva around 1971, such a nice lady, I was trying to find some info about her now and got such a shock.
November 12, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I went to school with Sappho in the 60’s – she was light years ahead in sooo many ways – she introduced her father to some of us – that I have never forgotten.
Lots of laughs and a few adventures together – was just thinking about Sappho and found this site – had no idea she had left the stage. So sorry
Bill Y
Bill-barb@shaw.ca
May 18, 2011 at 2:32 pm
I knew her when I lived at Moscow rd…………..So many years ago and have been checking her Dad out when I came across this site and the news she had passed away , Like someone said you could help but adore her……………
January 12, 2012 at 4:36 am
Hello Bill , Were you at Holland Park. I think it was called South London Tech College or something. I was there with Sappho and we hung out a lot. A beautiful spirit. I too was looking for her and am sad to know shes gone.
Jan Clarke
March 25, 2012 at 2:41 am
Hi Jan and other friends of Sappho. We were in Box Hill School together back when we were around 14 or 15. Nice to see the recent comments…
June 19, 2012 at 5:30 am
Hello Sarah
Thank you for the Lovely story about Sappho and letting that be the way from me to find out about her leaving us. I knew her in the mid 60’s at school and a little while after. She was my friend too and I have very special memories of going to ‘Gigs’ with Alexis together and enjoying the smokey blues atmosphere as well as daytime fun at her house and mine. We interviewed a few famous people for the school magazine and she was always more nervous than I was> A beautiful. gentle soul and a good friend.
March 25, 2012 at 2:53 am
Aw Jan ..I’m sorry that it had to happen at all but many thanks for your sweet reply .. Long may you run .. Love Sarah XXX
June 17, 2012 at 9:35 am
Hiya Jan ….
Nice to finally be able to reply … having just sussed out WordPress all over again ..
I think we must know a lot of the same people …
Take care & I’ll be in touch again .. XXX
June 17, 2012 at 9:53 am
Hiya Jan
What a lovely thing to say ……. wishing you all the best X
June 5, 2014 at 3:08 pm
Hi Jan …. what a really nice thing you’ve written … thank you. I wa sv aware that I didn’t want anyone to think I was profiiteering in any way ….. She was. a beautiful soul … she could also be as hard as nails .. …She was sharp …. Best wishes from Sarah XX
February 9, 2024 at 2:21 pm
Bello Bill. I bet you dont remember me. I’m Paul Lee, from Mount Sinai dorm in the Old Cottage, at Boxhill School. Although I am now in my 70s and been crippled after a stroke a few years ago, I still go to the old school as often as possible. Hey man, it is so good bumping into you after , what, 50 odd years. All the best. Paul
December 16, 2023 at 6:36 pm
Hi Paul … it’s Sarah here. I remember when Sappho went to Boxhill .. but don’t think she stayed for ages. I remember maybe with Sappho more than Nico & Damien .. she didn’t stay anywhere for long. I don’t blame her .. I hated school too… I found the teachers to be condescending and full of really petty rules .. not things that really mattered such as our education.
I’m really sorry to hear about you having a stroke. I can’t walk now as I’ve got something called ‘severe spinal stenosis’ which means that the bones in my vertebrae have worn away.
I guess that’s the price we pay for still being here… all old people’s diseases. Really limiting when it comes to moving around to say the least and extremely painful. Sappho would’ve appreciated the drugs I now have to take 🤣.
I wish you a happy Christmas xx
December 18, 2023 at 10:12 am
December 19, 2023 at 6:34 pm
Hi Paul,
A part of you has been torn away.. a part of your life experience. It’s happening to me a lot. You can get to the stage where you miss all those people you’ve known.
Too right re getting a plaque done but remember it’s Westminster council – probably the most right wing council after Kensington & Chelsea.
More reason to get it done. The thing is where she lived off Queensway is it wouldn’t be seen.
But … where she lived in her early years .. Burnham Court .. it would be seen.
On to another subject and that is despite this .. have a very happy Christmas … think of Sappho and I being 14 .. wearing bells around our necks 😉 & dancing over & over to ‘Dandelion .. I’ll make you mine’ 🥳. We didn’t wear shoes either .. I went for 2 years without wearing any shoes. I got sick to death of every one saying ‘aren’t you cold?’. No I wasn’t cold otherwise I wouldn’t have done it.
Take care, love from Sarah X 🤗✌️
December 20, 2023 at 10:18 am
Just a thought Bill. Do you remember that day when Alexis came to Boxhill school to give us a concert. Apparently he had mislaidnhisbguitarnen route and Nick Raine lent him his acoustic guitar? Oh happy days
December 16, 2023 at 7:14 pm
Funny thing was that her Dad came and did a gig up in ward RS3 in the BEC [ Tooting bec mental hospital ] back in 69 , It was a locked ward for drunks/druggies like me………….
January 12, 2012 at 4:39 am
Hiya William ….. We were all drunks or druggies as you call them at one time …. Hope you’re okay now ….. Lots of love from Sarah XX
December 19, 2015 at 5:25 pm
I knew Sappho when I lived in the block next to hers on the Moscow rd , She was about 7 and I was about 9 , Met her dad when he came and put on a gig in RS3 Tooting bec mental hospital for addicts in 1969………………..I also got a shock when I read she had died , Tell me doe’s anybody know how she died ? , Ilked her her and often asked people wot had become of her …………
January 12, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Sent a few e-mails 2 people I’ve found on this web site but have had no reply …………..It’s just that I often revisit my past and one of those visits is 2 walk around Moscow rd where I grew up B4 moving 2 Kensington , Anyway when walking around Moscow rd [ & other places ] i walk down the side street of Burnham court where Sappho lived with her mum , dad & brother Nico as the other brother was not born if I remember rightly , and @ the back of her apartment block was a massive dog kennel which we would sit it when it rained eating sweets & biscuits ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Anyway would just like 2 know what happened 2 her 2 die so young,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I have cancer myself !!! & don’t know how long I’ve got left on this planet ………………..
January 13, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Sorry William … my email oooooooops better not give it out here ……. will find another way to contact you .. xxx
June 17, 2012 at 9:38 am
William … that wasn’t a dog kennel … that was our house .. well Fo and I made it into a house ….. 🙂
December 30, 2013 at 7:20 pm
I am this moment putting together a CD for my car with selected songs of my Alexis Korner CDs. One of the songs is called Sappho and I remembered from reading somewhere, that this was his Daughter and I wondered if I find something about her in the Net. I`m sorry to find that she isn`t no more here. More and more I realize that this is a wonderful site here. I see how many people here knew her in her Life. I only can dream of this, i was in my childhood and Teenie years far away from England and i saw the big times there always a bit later and only on Photos and Film. I always wondered, where are all the People who was there thin, i always wished to know some of them. For me, England and USA from the 50s to the 70s had the greatest music inspirations ever. I like this site, where Sappho still lives, for all , who came too late to meet her somewhere
September 24, 2013 at 5:30 pm
I saw this after reading the “Eel Pie.org” site about Richmond in the late sixties. My condolences on your childhood friend’s passing.I knew Sappho or Saffron as we called her,peripherally,as part of a group of “habitues” at l’Auberge in Richmond and just remember her as a pleasant ,friendly and quiet girl-Perhaps,compared to the rest of us young hippies- I also knew that her dad was Alexis K.,one of the formative influences in British music of the sixties /seventies. It was rumoured that she was the inspiration behind Donovan’s song “Mellow Yellow”…..i.e. “I’m just mad about Saffron,and she’s just mad about me” Was this true or mereley the product of an addled teenager’s mind? Best Regards,Peace,Fraser
November 27, 2013 at 6:03 pm
Hiya Frazer,
How weird someone told me the other day about Sappho being the influence behind ‘Mellow Yellow’ …. trouble is I never hear her mention it .. I didn’t enen know she’d been called Saffron ….
All the pest to you too ….. A happy New Year … Peace from Sarah 🙂
December 30, 2013 at 10:31 am
Wikipedia gives quite a different reason for the words in the song http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellow_Yellow.
There are some references on the Net that suggest the song was about a 14 year old girl named Sappho. Sappho would have been 14 when the song was released in 1966.
I do not recall Sappho mentioning anything about Donovan or the song that year.
December 30, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Hiya Bill,
I certainly don’t remember Sappho mentioning it either … she was never a bragger but even so … I think she would’ve mentioned it …..
Happy 2014 to you …. Love from Sarah X
December 30, 2013 at 7:18 pm
Yes, agreed. Am thinking 2014 will be a great year. so right back at you Sarah.
Bill
XOX
December 30, 2013 at 7:56 pm
I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a great year as well …. it will be once I stop wasting my time on Facebook
XOX … to you too ….
December 31, 2013 at 6:09 pm
Hello Sarah… I went to primary & infants school with Alexis Korner’s daughter Sappho . It is with great sadness that I found this website and learnt about her passing. She must have been a young woman at the time. I would never have gotten an introduction to Blues music if it hadn’t been for Sappho taking me into her father’s flat, in Queensway, in the 1960s. I remember with great fondness how her father befriended me and introduced me to his musical colleagues. I went on to meet many fine musicians, including John Mayall & Eric Clapton in that flat. From my friendship with Sappho I was invited to many fine Concerts including Jimi Hendrix’s first London appearance & The Rolling Stones concert, in Hyde Park, where Alexis Korner’s Band played with Sappho on percussion and vocals. Sadly I lost touch with her in the early 1970s when I went off to University. God Bless her family and friends and may she rest in peace. My life is richer for having had her as a friend in my formative years.
March 11, 2014 at 4:41 pm
Hiya Anthony ….. I’ll be in touch at a later date… I think we must’ve met … x
March 13, 2014 at 5:37 pm
Hiya Kreppamel … I don’t know why I’m writing in a block .. is this a new thing … wondering how you are. If I give you my name on the dreaded Facebook … we could write there … It’s Sarah Darling-Payne. I hope you’re feeling much better but we will talk more later on. Best wishes and much love from Sarah XXX
February 9, 2024 at 2:15 pm
Sarah – I do not do Facebook but am happy to chat here or in e-mails. My days are mostly spent at home now. I have a heart condition that weakens me.
Love Anthony
February 9, 2024 at 3:20 pm
Ahhhh Anthony, I’m so sorry to hear about your health. I think our age is getting to all of us. I can’t walk anymore … I have something called severe spinal stenosis .. osteoarthritis in my lumbar region and hips. It means the calcium on my vertebra has worn away. The consultant said to me . “we’re going to insert a rod into your spine and then fix it with horizontal rods going across with nuts and bolts. I said ‘NO you’re not’ !. So I’m living in Kent … I live with a friend whom I’ve know for 40 years … he brings me dinner and does shopping etc. I actually love the peace of being in a place called Brenzett known as ‘The Fifth Continent’ ….. London is great but not so great when you can’t move…. Sending lots of love and forebearance to you from Sarah xx
?Sarah ~|~ ________________________________
February 9, 2024 at 6:24 pm
Sarah Apologies for taking time to answer. If they say “60 is the new 40” then someone is lying to me. I console myself with one of man’s greatest gifts ad that is music. Just this morning I was listening to early recordings by both John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green. It was through the lovely Sappho that I met some of these wonderful musicians at her parents home in Queensway. Some of my happiest memories are of my childhood stealing sweets from Woolworths, playing hide and seek behind the bookcases in Whiteleys, sailing a small boat on the round pond and going to Saturday morning pictures at the ABC. Childhood was so much simpler then, Much LoveAnthony Kreppel
February 12, 2024 at 9:51 am
I knew Sappho in the early 70’s when she was living in Gibson Square in Islington,sharing a flat with a crowd of ex Finchden Manor people-she was a sweetie. Lost touch over next few years-so sad to hear she is gone.
May 21, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Hiya SusyB ….. I remember going to that flat with Sappho …..
June 5, 2014 at 3:01 pm
I was a friend of sapphos I met her through my friend Annie Holden n I was her hairdresser for a few years when’d been on my mind last fee days when I came across your site was so sad to hear of her passing have fond memory’s of hanging out at her home in west london she had a great heart n I miss her
June 18, 2014 at 12:00 am
Hi Sarah and all Sappho’s friends,
I was searching to find info on Sappho as I had been thinking of her and found she had passed and her younger brother, Damian who I never knew.
I knew Sappho from 76 to about 80 when I left Wales and moved back to London. In 76 she took me and my baby daughter in when we had nowhere to live. She had a beautiful showman’s wagon with a tiny cast iron stove and beveled glass windows. We got stoned together and listened to a lot of Stevie Wonder on her turntable driven by a car battery. She had a son who was a young toddler at the time, I think his name is Jesse.
I was about 19 and very down on my luck. She filled me with her wonderful wisdom, made me believe I could make it happen and most of all kept telling me I was beautiful. Wow what a lovely, kind, beautiful woman. I am so blessed to have known her. May she rest in peace.
Blessed be Sappho, love Susan
June 29, 2014 at 10:03 pm
I’ve read the comments from Bill Young & William Taylor and feel that I must have known you both or at least met up with you at some time in the early 1960s. I grew up and lived for my first eleven years in Queens Court, Queensway and met Sappho when we were both at Primary & infants School. That Bayswater area was dripping with musicians and artists and I loved being around them during my younger days and my teenage years.
My abiding memory of Sappho will always, undoubtedly, be the Rolling Stones Free Concert in Hyde Park when I spent the day with her and her father at the Concert and rubbed shoulders with some musical greats that made me more passionate about all music genres and how music will always bring people together in friendship.
Love to you all.
Anthony
December 19, 2015 at 10:33 am
Hiya Anthony,
I remember Queen’s court ,… I still have an extraordinary fondness for Queensway …
I’m sure we must know some of the same people …
Which Primary school did you go to .. ? Hallfield or Fox … or neither of course 😉 ..
Have a great Crispmess … and I’ll be in touch after it ..
Love from Sarah … X 🙂
December 19, 2015 at 12:00 pm
I went to Hallfield. I am still friendly with some of my friends from those days. If it helps I was born in 1952.
I wish you and your family and friends a wonderful time over the festive season and may 2016 bring you all you desire.
Anthony
December 19, 2015 at 2:28 pm
I went to Hallfield as well … & we were born in the same year …. We must know each other …
Happy Christmas to you too ..
P.S. My surname is Payne …. we lived in Windsor Court … I’m the eldest … of 4 brothers and one sister …
December 19, 2015 at 4:01 pm
At 63 my memory is not as crisp as it used to be sadly. But is it at all possible that Windsor Court is in Moscow Road and one of your brothers was Edward…I always knew him as Eddie?
Cheers
Anthony
December 19, 2015 at 4:52 pm
Yep … Eddie was my younger bro … and soul mate …. I don’t know if you know this … but he was run over and killed when he was 19 …. sorry to have to break this to you if you didn’t already know …… My life would’ve been v. different had Eddie been around … he was an ally … 😉
December 19, 2015 at 5:21 pm
I am so sorry to hear that news about Eddie. As a family we moved to Notting Hill when I was 12 but I always felt Queensway was like a magnet. Eddie and I, I think he was a little younger than me, met in Kensington Gardens and often went there. He even came with my parents and myself on Sunday afternoons in the days when the Serpentine Gallery was a Cafeteria. He was mischevious but I really liked him.
I seem to remember that your sister was very young when I visited and I wish that I remembered you better. My School days at Hallfield were a real mixture of fun and being bullied…but not too horrendous.
One of my closest friends that I grew up with, who I am sure knew your family, is Barbara Diamant who lived with her mother, in those days, across the road from Windsor Court in Shatesbury House. She is still there and that is my link now with the neighbourhood.
I am now out near Twickenham but if you are still a Londoner, or nearby, it would be lovely to meet one day and swap stories.
Isn’t life strange but wonderful to think we shared the friendship of Sappho.
Cheers
Anthony
December 19, 2015 at 6:05 pm
after as I’m in panic about Crispmess I’m on my phone so seriously hope you can make sense out of this as I canT see mode -what I’m writing. Will go on the laptop tomorrow Bye for now 😊
December 19, 2015 at 8:48 pm
GreatAnthony thanks… Then I can delete it afterward…Good thinking & thanks🙂
December 19, 2015 at 8:38 pm
Got it YAY, Let me know if any of your info is still visable 👓
December 19, 2015 at 8:52 pm
No…thanks for your quick work…look forward to communicating with you some…I know this week is going to be busy…Have a great Xmas.
December 19, 2015 at 9:27 pm
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all and may 2016 bring all your hearts can desire.
Anthony
December 24, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Hi
I knew Sappho briefly mid 90’s when she lived in London W9. Was sad to read of her passing. Can you let me know what happened? Our children were at school together.
October 20, 2017 at 10:48 pm
I remember Eddie , he had reddish hair didn’t he?
December 31, 2017 at 1:04 pm
Eddie was that quintessential cheeky scamp. Shorter than me by perhaps a foot, in your young teenage years, with a patchy face that a loving mother would always want to take a wet hankie to. Life’s little ragamuffin, who I sadly lost contact with all too soon. I remember conker collecting in Kensington Gardens, failing to sail origami boats on the Round Pond, Tea in the Cafeteria, now the Serpentine Gallery. My dear mother giving us two sixpences to Pitch & Putt, or just Putt in Hyde Park. Climbing on the Peter Pan statue and falling in the fountains.
Happier, innocent days, around 1962/4, at first when I was 10/12 and Eddie, possibly, two years younger … and Finally, The ABC CINEMA, BOBBIES, WHITELEYS, WOOLWORTHS and NORRMANS were our shelters and scenes of devilment,
Keep it real, precious and present
Anthony
August 19, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Anthony Eddie was my little bro …. I’vce Only just seen all your comments and Tis late here ….. but I’ll be back to talk about ‘the Saturday flicks’ …. swimming … conked alley ….. Keep it real indeed … but sending much love your way …. something which the world is sadly lacking in these days …. and I’m still present … and so are you … so far so good ….. as far as the rest of the world goes …. If I were Alice in Wonderland … stood up side down on a hookah while smoking opium there’d be no way I’d be able to understand what’s become of this world …TRUMP…… JOHNSON …. who knew that evolution meant going backwards so far ….. until another time …. hugs from Sarah … 😎🥳……. X
August 20, 2019 at 5:16 pm
I had a very brief but intense affair with Saffo while I was at a school in Kent. We were both very young but I could never quite get her out of my head. We met a couple of times after that and I guess I was pretty smitten but sadly the feeling wasn’t mutual.
March 25, 2018 at 12:01 am
Dominic I’ll reply more later ….
March 19, 2020 at 3:29 pm
so much sad news of ex hallfield students … RIP all of you , Chris Pierre
December 5, 2018 at 4:38 pm
Chris Pierre ….. I know …. there was a time when it took it’s toll in a very big way …. I lost my brothers Eddie Payne …. he was run over and killed at the age of 19 …. words can do nothing to explain the awful sadness ……
August 20, 2019 at 5:19 pm
Sorry to read about her passing..I was just watching a DVD of Alexis & Friends and remember her. We’ve back in the early 80’s at a place called Flask Walk, in Hampstead..I think Nico was around too. Not long after I was with Alexis in one of his Rocket 88 gigs in mid Wales..a friend took me backstage to meet him, and he was such a gentleman..I’ve spoken to him about Saphon and he seemed concerned with her health..He introduced me to the guys in the band, including Charlie(Watts) who was the drummer around that time…I’ve often wondered about her. Thanks for this memory of her.
March 25, 2019 at 12:25 am
You’re welcome … Alamo ….. I remember visiting Sappho in Flask Walk …… Nico isn’t around any more either …. which is very sad …. a whole generation just wiped out … the only one who still remains is their mother …
March 19, 2020 at 3:32 pm
A quote entered my head today … “Imagine what it must have been like when the first Botanists discovered Cannabis Leaves; dried and pressed them between the pages of a book and they gave off that sweet scent.” Sappho said that in 1966.
The memory meant that I had to touch base with you.
I hope that you and everyone who comes here is well and that “the spirit” still moves you.
God bless
Anthony (it’s Kreppel.)
August 18, 2019 at 11:30 pm
Great memory, thanks for sharing with us Anthony.
August 19, 2019 at 5:54 am
Bill – Great to touch base with you. Are those who have contemporary memories of Sappho, Alexis & the family still here? I don’t Facebook, never wear gloves at this keyboard, but, by my full name or kreppant, I Tweet. Keep it real Southern & urban blues. Cheers …
August 19, 2019 at 6:27 am
Anthony … I’ve just seen your face in my mind.
I remember coming round to Queens Court to visit you.
I lived in Windsor Court.
I can remember your mother very clearly too …
October 18, 2019 at 11:03 am
If you have were any link in the chain that included Hallfield School, Woolworths, Bobbies Sweet shop & newsagent, Portobello Baths, ABC Saturday morning cinema, 6d & 9d, throwing aniseed balls from the back-row, YO-YO competitions, Batman, The Spike Milligan painted elves, the playground with an actual sandpit, football, cricket, 3 or 14 per side, Billy Edwards, a professional footballer with Wimbledon, tall Susan Painter and all from 1956 to 1969(?) – never overlooking the much-loved Sappho & Alexis Korner, Portobello road, The Notting Hill Carnivals and a “one-eyed -cat.”
Please write here or Tweet me, search my full name – the tall boy, in class, who cried because he couldn’t be “Alice” and was given the role of the Mad Hatter. (ouch.)
August 19, 2019 at 4:35 pm
I remember all those things so well ….. Anthony at least you weren’t cast as a peasant in The Caucasian Chalk Circle ….. my mother said sage knew it was me the moment I sasheyd across the stage …. there was no way I was gonna play a peasant …. all brown sack cloth …. 😬
August 20, 2019 at 5:21 pm
I hope you can read predictive text …. one day I’ll let it run away with itself …. and call it a ‘book’. …..
August 20, 2019 at 5:23 pm
I see two messages, e-mail alert suggested four. C’est la vie. That Yo-Yo contest … Adrian Norrman won, got a bike, So competitive. I came second. The other Hallfield School memory, in my final year, was the cancellation of a Summer camping trip to the IOW, because the group the year before had been to rowdy. Not to mention, a teacher taking me aside on leaving the Hall, after “prayers,” on my very first day, not yet 5 years old, and telling me, in future, to move my mouth but not to sing.
Bit late for a Reunion I guess.
Cheers
August 20, 2019 at 6:26 pm
Hiya Anthony …. still trying to work out this site ….. I seem to have 2 accounts. If you’re any good at explaining things to someone particlarly dim …. HELP …. hope all’s well with you xx
March 5, 2021 at 12:55 pm
Sarah
My technological skills are nonexistent. I can chat here, e-mails or Twitter … otherwise it’s all a modern mystery to me.
March 5, 2021 at 6:41 pm
Sarah My technological skills are nonexistent. I can do e-mails … twitter … your Sappho Korner page and that about covers it. Keep wellAnthony Kreppel
March 5, 2021 at 6:44 pm
kreppamel … the fact that you can do anything on this site is a miracle. That has nothing to do with your being competent & everything to do with this site. I’ve had other sites where I’ve had to design everything from scratch … great fun to do but also much easier than here.
For some reason I can’t make this work ~ having said that I’m using a mobile phone and it seems much easier than with a computer. Let me know if there’s a way we can inbox each other and I can send you my email.
You too take care, love from Sarah 😊
March 6, 2021 at 1:57 pm
This may not be the best place to place my e-mail account details but who knows … maybe nothing ventured nothing gained … kreppamel@aol.com
Keep well
Anthony Kreppel
March 6, 2021 at 2:26 pm
Got it Anthony .. so you can remove the address now if you want. Odd I seem to be able to use WordPress on my phone .. so there is light at the end of a tunnel… take care from Sarah …. I wonder what an emoji for Bayswater would look like … probably best that there isn’t one ⚔️😊.
March 6, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Another beautiful memory, from a very different time, 1969, was this Hyde Park Concert – https://youtu.be/gqtJELaLG5k – which you, like myself, may well have attended, and where Alexis Korner and his Band also played, with Sappho doing some delightful vocals. Her voice was more dreamy & folksy than her gravelly-voiced Bluesy father. Their close relationship is also something I remember with fondness.
Anthony Kreppel
August 29, 2019 at 3:44 am
Wow just followed the link to the Stones concert in Hyde Park….
Immediately felt as if I was there again.
My younger brother and sister aged 8 & 6 got the crowds to carry them over to the Stones caravan where they spent their time.
March 6, 2021 at 11:44 pm
Can you believe that another year is hurtling towards its end. When I think of the days of my youth, thoughts of old age were so far from my mind as to be almost non-existent. I have just had the all-clear following the removal of a Cancer a few years ago. One’s own mortality makes one think back to more innocent times. I now reflect that I was blessed to be a child of the fifties, a teen of the sixties, with all the good things that that time brought to me. My thoughts are with all those who visit, here. Much Love…
October 18, 2019 at 9:53 am
Hiya and best wishes 🤗xx
Re the cancer … what can one say. Good news sounds lame but of course isn’t.
It’s a massive turning of a corner and I’m really pleased for you.
I was 67 this September… for some reason the age of 67 seemed absolutely monumental. I couldn’t work out why …. was it the ‘7’ on the end that hinted at being 70. I suspect it was more shock that I’d got to this age at all.
I remember when I was at Hallfield reading in the newspaper about a man dying at 30. Aged eight I couldn’t work out what the fuss was all about … I thought he’d had a good innings.
Appalling when I think of it now.
Anthony I sincerely hope that the years we have had continue … even though I know it’s gonna be decades of listening to idiots discussing Brexit… I still want to be around.
But you’re correct … all we have lived through and the amazing times we’ve had.
I too remember mention of the Isle of Wight .. I wouldn’t have been going anyway.
I used to spend my time in Kensington Gardens … plus my family never seemed to have any money … there are and were so many of us at Hallfield. Dunno if the surname ‘Payne’ is remembered.
Apologies for stilted writing as I’m using an iPhone and a stylus … my body doesn’t move in the way I want it to anymore … hugely frustrating.
I wish you well and long may you proverbially run.
I look forward to speaking to you in ten years time.
Be nice to yourself with lots of love from Sarah XXX
October 18, 2019 at 10:52 am
If I have answered, here, or somewhere, and my machine, like my body, has been sick of late, then I completely , absolutely, apologise for that.
I thought I had read the Oct 18th entry and answered. However, everything in the last month has been so unreasonably poor, me and the computer, that I might have tried an entry, here, but it failed, as the Computer failed to talk to the Printer, vice-versa, and my body has been refusing to liaise with my brain and vice-versa. A new ailment having laid me low, bit enough of that.
We approach our, Sarah, 68th birthdays, come January and our 67th Christmasses and Hanukkahs. So with a bad heart but a light one, I am happy, in another year, to be wishing the “Hallfield” Sappho contemporaries all good things for the Festive Season.
My 67th Birthday, was touched by the strangest of moments, as I suddenly realised that I was the oldest member of my family. You never thought of that when a child at “Hallfield” or anywhere.
Be it, now, 63 years, and very unlikely, I pledge, through here, and elsewhere, to bring together as many, as possible, of “Hallfield,” Bayswater, Queensway, Salem Road, Moscow Road, + contemporaries. Now approaching their 68th, or very close, Birthdays.
Maybe we might stumble over, Sarah, yourself, Billy Edwards, the Soccer Star, Adrian Norrman, my best friend, and son of the Cafe owners, of “Norrmans”, Susan Painter, the good looking, very English, tall, straight-up, young, lady whom I last met, by complete chance, on the forecourt, call it, of Bayswater Station, in 1968, when we had a few minutes discussing our O level results and then parted, others who have written, here and visit, and finally anyone of that “era.”
Anthony Kreppel reaches out, here, again, and might, on “Twitter.” and elsewhere, to unite others, those whose names have slipped my failing memory, but were, all of Sappho’s time, in that little triangle that has the 3 points … Bayswater, to the East, Fox’s School, Notting Hill, along to the West of that, and Westbourne Grove, slightly to the South, encompassing Queensway, “Hallfield,” Whiteleys, among other notable points, and finally The Prince Alfred Pub, Queensway, Cellar Bar, as a meeting point, on a Friday evening, for a tight little group.
November 22, 2019 at 5:01 pm
That is, ANTHONY KREPPEL, of 90 Queens Court, Queensway, from 1952 – 1963 and then, still, visiting, the area often, but living at 24 Prince’s Hose, Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill, from my 11th Christmas to my leaving, as a young rebel, in 1969, to live in Ealing… and then further West. Let’s Get Together!
November 22, 2019 at 5:09 pm
Among my record collection is a signed copy of “R & B From The Marquee by Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated,” from a live concert in 1962 (I was only ten at the time and thus could not attend.) I mention this fine album as having Spotify, on my computer, I have been able to add it to my Record Library, there, for free.
I hope everyone is well and looking forward to a warmer Spring.
God Bless all
Anthony
March 9, 2020 at 6:55 am
BalletCat-Blue
I note that we have not engaged here since October. I cannot know whether, of course, you have visited this part of the site.
I do hope that March finds you well and all other attenders, here, in the light of the BIG issue that is a horror, now, and is masking, don’t mind the pun, Brexit as the UK’s most pressing problem.
Cheers
Anthony
March 13, 2020 at 5:39 am
Sarah
May I take you back to the first paragraph you wrote here … “The first friend i ever made was called Sappho, or Fo as i called her. We were both four years old and she lived next door to me. Her father was Alexis Korner……..the late and magnificant white blues man.”
If I am not being impolite were you and Sappho born in 1952? I was and, thinking back, I thought that you were a little older than myself. Although I was one of the youngest in the class, having started at Hallfield in Sept 1956 aged just 4 years and 9 months.
The only reason that I bring this up, and I don’t know whether you’ve discussed it before, is that I was recently talking to friends about meanings in song lyrics from the 1960s. And we came to talking about Donovan’s Mellow Yellow from 1966. The song in which his lyrics talk about a fourteen year old girl, possibly, named Saffron. We wondered whether or not he might have been talking about our dearly departed friend.
Looking forward to touching base with you again, soon, and I hope you are keeping well.
Best wishes
Anthony Kreppel
May 4, 2020 at 4:50 am
Hiya no I was born in 1952 as well. Happy Christmas Anthony xx
December 17, 2023 at 9:55 pm
This thread seems oh so quiet now. I would love to touch base with Sarah once again and others from that Queensway times of the 50s and 60s … I can be found most often on Twitter by my full name or “kreppant.” Keep well all.
September 16, 2020 at 8:30 am
Kreppamel .. this place has been quiet. That’s because I’ve moved to a house in the country.. Kent to be more precise …
I’m not on here a lot as I don’t want to ‘waste’ the summer…. but will be back once winter has set in.
I’m concerned about spending too much time on the net … my body doesn’t like it … but I will be back .. and I’m still around.
Do hope you’re okay … I’ll write to you properly soon. Tomorrow I’ll be 68 !!! How on earth did that happen and I’m so glad it did.
Love from Sarah XX
September 16, 2020 at 10:26 am
Hope you get this comment …off to skip through fields 😊x
September 16, 2020 at 10:28 am
My body isn’t doing great either … adjusting to it isn’t easy but is some of the reason I’m not on here much.
I remember Susan Painter with a lot of affection .. she was one of the few really decent girls at school. I also remember her mother v fondly.
I’m afraid my mother died this January 😰.
September 16, 2020 at 10:32 am
So sorry to hear of your loss. So your just hitting 68. Gosh … you are younger than this old goat. Hit that one last January. I wish you a very Happy Birthday. I hope your move went well. I am sure you are happier being out in the country.
I completely understand about not being trapped indoors in the summer… I did 12 weeks isolating because of underlying health conditions. I lost two City Breaks and the planned visit by my son, daughter in law and grandson. I am definitely going out to Barcelona for a few days next month, even if I have to quarantine again when I get home. I need a break away.
Please don’t be a stranger. Always drop me a line when the mood takes you.
I wish you well and let’s hope that the Winter does not bite too deeply.
Best wishes
Anthony
September 16, 2020 at 10:51 am
Talking to Richard Lee today and he was telling me he was friends with Sappho when they were in Stage One Productions. He also lived near their house and often went back there with Sappho. Richard was wandering if anyone on here remembered him from those days as he lives in Cornwall now
November 21, 2020 at 8:40 pm
Not sure Graham … I knew so many people in those days .. we all lived in Bayswater ….. I grew up there and so did many others of my friends ..
November 21, 2020 at 9:07 pm
From another Bayswater boy, by birth, may I wish all here compliments of the season and may I hope your celebrations over the festivities lead to a marvelous 2021. Much love.
November 24, 2020 at 11:23 am
I can’t remember him personally but I wonder if he remembers my brother Eddy Payne. X
December 12, 2023 at 12:52 pm
Graham, the name seems to ring a bell. I was greatest of friends with Sappho in her days at Boxhill School. Probably because we both had so much in common. Sadly I lost touch with her until the late 70s, when we met up again at the Ad Lib club. I was the guy that booked all the bands there, and so was there every evening for several years. I am currently working on her biography. So any interesting tales and anecdotes which you feel free to impart to me would be very much appreciated. Many people have asked me why I am trying to write this book. The truth is, we had so many great times together that I feel this is the best way to commemorate such a wonderful human being. Thanks for taking the trouble to read this and I hope to hear from you soon. Best regards and seasonal greetings. Sir Paul L. Lee KBE
December 22, 2023 at 1:09 am
Hi Graham …. I could tell you everything about Sappho but feel it would be a serious breach of trust … it makes me v uncomfortable the v idea …. X
February 9, 2024 at 2:11 pm
Back to Queensway this June 23rd to the now named Gold Mine Chinese Restaurant to celebrate the birthday of my lifelong friend … Barbara Diamant.
June 4, 2021 at 6:13 am
In addition, I was part of the Hallfield trip to the Isle of Wight that was so rowdy! We were told that the people on the previous years trip had played a lot of pranks so we went overboard! We stole the clothes from the teachers so that they could not get dressed! That was one prank I can remember. Sarah, I guess I never knew you but I must have seen you in the playground at Hallfield. I went on to Burlington School mainly because Barbara Diamant had gone there. I have clear memories of Anthony. We lived in the same Queens court block of flats until after my grandmother died and I moved to Westbourne Grove. Listening to Alexis Korner was a big part of my teens. I was much like Sappho being a teenage girl who sang Blues but I was not so well connected. I was very shy and awkward on stage so I never made it my career. I was connected to Victor Brox who had worked a lot with Alexis, and doubtless also knew Sappho very well. Talk about 6 degrees of separation!
June 16, 2021 at 11:50 pm
Hiya Anne, for some reason I don’t remember Sappho at Hallfield … I remember her going to Fox in Notting Hill Gate. You must know a lot of friends of mine if you went to Burlington. I was sent to a grammar school in Chelsea called ‘Carlyle’. I was considered far too shy to go to Holland Park which is where Sappho went after Fox xxx
December 12, 2023 at 12:50 pm
Hello. I can’t find you on Facebook. Did you know the Korner family well? Can I ask some questions? I’m confused by the wiki page that suggests that all of Alexis’ kids are now dead. Seems like a very tragic situation.
August 18, 2021 at 11:45 pm
In 1950, Korner married Roberta Melville, daughter of art critic Robert Melville.[15] Korner died of lung cancer aged 55 years, on 1 January 1984.[4] He was survived by a daughter, singer Sappho Gillett Korner (died 2006) and two sons, guitarist Nicholas ‘Nico’ Korner (died 1988) and sound engineer Damian Korner (died 2008).
September 28, 2021 at 2:32 pm
This is such a sad page. The Korner family totally devastated. I knew Sappho when she frequented the Old Swan pub in Notting Hill. She struck up a relationship with one of my chums, Little Stevie, a Scottish guy from Motherwell. I believe she fell pregnant and Stevie was petrified as to what Alexis would do to him. I lost touch with everybody at the end of the 60s.
R.I.P. everyone.
November 6, 2023 at 2:36 pm
Tony … you’re right … and now that Bobbie has died that’s all of them .. but I can assure you there are masses of grandchildren & their children… so hope springs eternal .. especailly as we can’t change the past … but I really get what you mean. XXX
November 7, 2023 at 5:17 pm
Tony .. it’s not meant to be sad .. yes I sobbed when Nico died … but I’d prefer it if this was a page of appreciation.. I know I sound callous .. not at all. I miss them all to very much. Remember I knew them all from when I was 4 … so all my siblings were friends with different children. I knew them all extremely well. When they lived in Burnham court .. I was right next door facing them from Windsor court.
I also want it to be more upbeat for Bobbie & Alexis .. plus their children.
I can feel them looking down thing .. What a bunch of saddos … live life while you’re alive. From Sarah X
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=uYIQisQB5eQ&si=FwXKA_4gGMi4XEsg
December 21, 2023 at 9:52 am
Sarah
Good to see you chatting here once again. I will never forget the free concert in Hyde Park with the Rolling Stones as headliners when Sappho joined her father and others on stage. A magical time. All my love and sincerest wishes to you and yours for the festive season.
Anthony Kreppel
December 21, 2023 at 10:10 am