Paul and Linda McCartney on holiday in Antigua

After spending a month in Scotland, Paul McCartney and his family — Linda, Heather, and Mary — returned to London on November 17, 1969.

On December 10, they departed for New York to visit Linda’s family, before heading to the Caribbean island of Antigua for a holiday. They returned to London just before Christmas, where Paul began work on his first solo album.

According to Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair’s “The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 – 73,” during their stay at the Curtain Bluff Resort in Antigua, Paul sketched a family of cartoon mice on hotel stationery — characters he named Bruce McMouse and family. Other sources had indicated 1973 as the year of conception of Bruce McMouse.

One of the photographs taken by Linda during their time in Antigua was used as the cover of Paul’s debut solo album, “McCartney“, released in April 1970. Additional photos from the trip appeared on the album’s inner sleeve, alongside photos from earlier holidays in Portugal and Corfu, as well as moments captured in Scotland.

The front cover [of “McCartney”] is a picture of a bowl of cherries we got from the barman at the hotel we stayed at in Antigua and we laid them out on the wall in front of our cottage so that the lovely birds of the area could land amongst them, drink the juice, and eat the cherries.

Paul McCartney – From the “McCartney” press release, 1970

And the cherries picture, there was a wall, when we were on holiday, a low wall outside the holiday villa, where we put these out for the birds. We’d get them from the bar, glacé cherries, and put them out so there’s pictures with loads of birds on there.

Paul McCartney – From the “McCartney – Archive Collection” book, 2011

How’s Paul?

I haven’t seen him for months. He’s been on holidays. He’s in the Bahamas at the moment.

John Lennon – From a press conference in Toronto, December 16, 1969

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group.

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