I can remember being bowled over by them, and feeling as though I was in fairyland. I remember some families made special trips to London just to see the lights. Does anyone else remember this? > >Eileen > Hi Eileen,

For some reason I can't remember this happening, but I do remember having to carry a torch at night when we went out. When the batteries weakened, we warmed them up in the overn to give them a little more life.

I also remember putting up the blackout blind at my foster mother's house. It was a wooden framework covered with a tarpaulin or old blankets. It was held in position on the outside of the window with a couple of wooden clips.

In our flat in London, my father painted the inside of the bedroom windows with black paint, so we didn't have to bother with curtains. It did make it rather dark during the daytime, so we left the windows open most of the time. Of course we had strips of brown paper tape criss-crossing the panes. My clever brother Norman painted spots of luminous paint on the walls so we wouldn't bump into them when visiting the lavatory during the night.

Regarding your comment about drabness. Martha & I visited London in '97. I took her to my old neighborhood in Hackney, and I couldn't believe how pitifully drab & neglected the area has become. I almost felt embarrassed to admit that I had lived in the area for about 10 years. Perhaps it was drab back then, & I was used to it, but I don't think so. Bye for now,

Gerry Wiseman