I've had a fairly busy weekend so didn't get round to reading the papers until tonight.  In The Times' Saturday Review I learnt that Julian Lennon has a singer-songwriter stepsister, Chloe Charles: "I have some fanatical fans who are not fans of who I am but fans because I have this little connection" (p10).

In the magazine, I was pleased to see that at the top of Caitlin Moran's list of the "31 People who have Influenced me" are "The Beatles: Four boys change the world from B & W into colour" (p31)

"Geoffrey Maitland Smith - Personal accountant to Paul McCartney ..." died last month and his obit appears in today's Times (p57).  It's an interesting read - with insights into the aftermath of Brian Epstein's death and the Beatles' break-up. He was also involved in an attempt to buy Northern Songs, the company with rights to the Beatles' songs in 1981 - but he failed: "marvellous songs, which people are still humming and will go on humming for years to come" he said.

Late last night I finished reading my paper's supplement.  In an article about Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood's move into classical music he's compared to other rockstars who've done the same: "a piece like Greenwood's 48 Responses to Polymorphia is barely on the same spectrum as, say, Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratoria".  Apparently a better comparison is Frank Zappa's "Yellow Shark".

Dylan's draft of Like a Rolling Stone "was expected to break a record set by John Lennon's handwriting lyrics for A Day in the Life, which sold for $1.2 million in 2010" (The Times, p35)

Paul McCartney got two mentions today: 

• In The Times he's listed as the patron saint of "The Vegangelical" type of foodie (T2 p3).  As a veggie of many years I can't fault his dietary habits!
• He also popped up in a BBC Music trailer for Glastonbury - wish I was going.

I was a little late getting out of bed this morning but it meant that I heard "I feel fine" on the Breakfast Show.  I'm beginning to think that Chris Evans plays a Beatles tune or two every Monday morning.  I'll test my theory next week.

Recycling day tomorrow so just before putting out the papers I glanced through a couple I hadn't read properly.  In Thursday's Times the death of Casey Kasem, American DJ, was announced (p58). He presented the Top 40 and was the USA's equivalent of Alan "Fluff" Freeman.  His first show was on July 4, 1970 "when both Elvis Presley and the Beatles were in the top ten"

Tonight on ITV "The Beatles: The Night That Changed America - A Grammy Salute"

An electric guitar collector, Guy, featured on Wednesday's "Antiques RoadTrip" (I watched it tonight on Catch-up).  Guy was smitten with the instrument in 1963 when a friend booked a band for a birthday party ... and the band was The Beatles.  Oddly, Guy is a drummer!

Jagger in Lennon's car filming "Performance"

Nice article in today's Times 2 (p8) "Portobello - the road of rock and reggae" illustrated with a photo of Mick Jagger sitting in "John Lennon's Rolls-Royce"(above).  

Read today in Pat's latest "Total Film" that "Hard Day's Night" is being released.  The magazine also mentioned the new movie "The disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" but a little research doesn't reveal that this "sensitive, talented debut that makes the gimmick of telling the same love story twice, from his and her viewpoints" has anything to do with the Beatles' Eleanor.  It'll be interesting to discover if the film includes the song in the soundtrack.

Richard Allison on the radio this morning - just after the 7.00 news he announces you can never have too much Beatles on R2 - then played "Gotta get you into my life".  Within minutes a trailer for "Performer in the Portrait" included a soundbite from Peter Blake about doing an LP cover for the Beatles - so guess Richard is right!

I don't usually to listen to R2 on Sunday evening but with all this football on telly ... and I'm glad I did because Michael Ball (7.45 pm) asked listeners to name their best Beatles' song then played "She's leaving home": a personal favourite of mine - always makes me sad though.

When I did turn the TV on (to catch up with Wallander), a Virgin Media trailer for a documentary series "Reel Lives" included the programme "Lennon Naked".

I got my first reference at 6.40 am - still in bed and a bit groggy but I definitely heard Chris Evans tell a listener, No - the mystery guest was not going to be Paul McCartney.

And he popped up again - exactly 12 hours later - in a Times2 article (p4) about Burt Bacharach.  Apparently his "walls are peppered with framed keepsakes - a thank-you note from Paul McCartney,..."

I spent a few moments sitting in the evening sun reading articles in yesterday's Times2.  One of them was about Agent Barry Dickins (p8) who entered the music industry "in 1964, Beatle time" and considers himself lucky because "I got to live through not just the prime of the Beatles but ..." and the first gig he saw was "the Beatles opening for Tommy Roe at the Granada bingo hall in East Ham in 1963". I wondered what ever happened to Tommy.

Not much on telly tonight so browsed my "catch-up" menu.  I chose the BBC programme on the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  One of the new academicians, "Bob and Roberta Smith", was paid a visit.  Sitting on a shelf in his shed/studio was the Sgt Pepper Lonely Pepper Band logo - it was a large badge or a small plaque. Either way, it one of those truly unexpected sightings that always delight me.  I expect the artist would probably like this blog - he does word paintings (ie sign-writing)  And I might like him because one of this works (about keeping art in schools) is addressed to Mr Gove

George Harrison Jigsaw

I decided to buy Dad some jigsaws for his birthday.  Browsing  Puzzle      Direct I saw several Beatle ones including this one of George. 

I didn't add this one to my cart - but I did find the perfect present for him.

I had two Beatles songs to help me get ready for work this morning: "Goodbye Sunshine" and "Lady Madonna" (Chris Evans Breakfast Show R2)

No Beatles references today - so far.  But two did crop up yesterday.  The first was in Age Concern in Hinckley.  A Record Collector magazine from 1980 was displayed under the glass-topped counter: "Beatles - Fact from Fiction" - one of the by-lines on the front cover.

When I got home from shopping I spent an hour in my summerhouse.  Lisa Tarbuck, on her R2 show, announced a record as being by "the Spanish Beatles" ... they sounded more like The Searchers to her (& to me)

Three Beatle-free days - must be a record. 

Doreen Speight in 1961

But everything is back to normal today because ... "Ringo's love letters shed light on birth of the Beatles" (Times p23). A former girlfriend (Doreen Speight) is selling her letters from a youthful Richard Starkey.  They chart his rise from Butlins to Beatles. They are expected to reach £8,000.

I wasn't surprised to read more about the anti-fracking campaign in The Times today: "Supporters of "We need to talk about fracking" include Sir Paul McCartney, his daughter Stella, Yoko Ono ... (p20).

But I did not expect to discover that "Sir Paul McCartney has fracking right in one of the great Beatles songs" (p28).  He contributed the middle section of John Lennon's "A Day in the Life" (1967) - and its the first great fracking song because the lyrics include the line "four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire" even though most of the gas is to be found on the other side of Preston! 

This must be one of most bizarre Beatle references I've ever come across.

I've always loved "Under Milk Wood" - since I studied it in school (aged 15).  I watched a little programme about Peter Blake's artwork based on the play (BBC 4 10.00 pm).  At one point he talks to the camera and says I don't think some people take me seriously ... they just think of me as someone who does album covers. No need to name his most famous one!

Paul McCartney calls for halt to fracking http://thetim.es/1hpIEsv  (Getty) pic.twitter.com/3OyCMqSuAr

I follow The Times on twitter - and this is what greeted me when I signed on a few minutes ago.