We had no electricity in the pre-war days, just Kelly lights to see our way to bed. These were very tiny paraffin lamps, which we carried in our hands but were much safer than candles. Paraffin lamps with mantles lit the main living room, giving out a warm soft glow. In those pre-war days there was a comfort in listening to the hiss of the lamps and the sound of the radio playing, which disappeared when war broke out. The radio then became primarily an instrument of information rather than a listening pleasure. In wartime a working radio was a necessity, not a luxury. It had an accumulator which had to be taken to the blacksmiths to be charged up.