Rome • 4.30pm show

The long and the short of a lunch-date with the Beatles

The long and the short of this particular Beatles’ lunch-date was that the Beatles weren’t exactly the world’s champion spaghetti eaters! It’s not that the four boys didn’t like the stuff — they did. It was a question of HOW did they ever get to eat it!! Like their spaghetti, our story begins here and goes on…

■ When in Rome, do as the Romans do. That’s the old saying — and the Beatles (non-conformists that they are) went along with the idea just for a laugh and a giggle! Every good Roman has his daily spaghetti, just as the Scotsman has his porridge. So, with two days to spend in Rome, John, Paul, George and Ringo decided to have a go at spaghetti eating at a special luncheon in their hotel.

This all took place on the Beatles’ last European tour. All over the Continent they went, tasting wine in Spain, delicate dishes in France, so it was only natural really that spaghetti in Italy was to be the next in line.

The results rather bewildered the Italian photographer, as you can imagine, with comments like: “Is it dead?” from John, as he inspected a single strand from his plate. “No! One of them just wriggled off my fork!” George replied, looking rather dubiously at his mountainous pile. Ringo, meanwhile, had wound most of his spaghetti over his fork, and it was now progressing up his arm: “Get back you fools!” he shouted to the advancing white strands. Paul twirled on…

John, however, soon decided that the best way to win was to twist the spaghetti round his fork until it was the size of a candyfloss and then take big bites out of it, candyfloss-style — unsuccessfully we might add! His next move was to take a huge handful, hold it above his head — and just let it all drop, well, most of it anyway, into his mouth. George nodded approval at John’s move, “Yeah, John — think you’re right — it’s quicker by hand! Can’t understand how Italians get fat — it’ll take me a week to get this lot untangled, let alone eat it!“

Ringo, meanwhile, had been taking spaghetti eating tuition from an Italian girl present at the lunch. She was the President of their Italian fan club, and thought it only fair to help. Her name was Anna Maria Cecchi, a cousin of Gina Lollobrigida, and naturally enough, an expert on the matter at hand.

Now spurred on to great things, Ringo started eating professionally from his plate and Paul’s too — at the same time. A continuous stream of spaghetti going into his mouth.

“Beat that!” said John. They could not, so the other three retired (covered in most of their lunch), leaving Ringo as the champion of the day. A very unusual day in the life of a Beatle.

From RAVE Magazine – February 1966