Newspaper Taxis

ACTOR Robert Carlyle could soon be starring as John Lennon in the true story about how the famous Beatle struck up a relationship with a local Free Church minister after crashing his car in Sutherland in 1969.

The accident occurred while Lennon and Yoko Ono were visiting the Durness croft house where he spent childhood holidays with his cousin, Stan Parkes. They spent five days in the Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie receiving treatment for their injuries — an episode that drew national media attention to Golspie and is talked about yet in the village.

Glasgow film maker Derek Yeaman has been working on the story and discovered that, during his stay in the Lawson, the Beatle struck up an unlikely relationship with Brora Free Church minister the Rev David Paterson, who reportedly challenged Lennon on his views and lifestyle.

Three years earlier John Lennon had outraged many with his remark that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, and when he met Mr Paterson there was apparently “an honest exchange and interest in each other’s position”.

Although their views on that subject were poles apart, they hit it off sufficiently well for Lennon to welcome a return visit from Mr Paterson, whose son Eric is now Free Church minister in Golspie.

Yeaman is now planning a film about the untold story, using the car crash and the encounter with Mr Paterson as the starting point for a fictionalised portrayal of the impact the Beatle’s presence has on the local community. With a working title of “Mhari And The Lennons” it is already said to be exciting producers and Carlyle has expressed interest in playing John Lennon.

Coincidentally, February sees a work of fiction by Michael Russell, The Next Big Thing, being published by Balnakeil Press about the discovery of previously unknown lyrics by John Lennon on the walls of a ruined croft house in Durness. This coincides with the 40th anniversary of the release of the iconic Beatles album Sergeant Pepper.