I seem to have been in stasis a bit since the coronavirus lockdown, dabbling in this and that but not really getting on with any of my planned projects. Random by name, random by nature, then; I will not wait until I’ve organised my thoughts and information (might never happen) as I’d hoped to do a bit of a family history recording on here, but will start to pop things up as they occur to me and before my attention span wanders yet again!

I was scanning this cutting, which I think came from the 60s or 70s in a feature in a local paper, probably the Halifax Courier but I haven’t been able to track it online, so apologise for lack of proper credit.

It must have seemed so surreal to my mum and friends (at ‘Trinity Tripe Shop’ as I believe it was affectionately known!) doing the air raid drill, clutching her mask in its cardboard box and wondering fearfully what the war would bring. I find the situation we are in difficult enough now, but how much worse for a (just) teenager, anticipating that the industrial town she called home might be a prime target and wondering how long the war would last.

More cheerfully, I remember a few of the friends from this picture managed a reunion in the early 70s, perhaps triggered by the publication of this photo in the paper. I do remember that my mum was so pleased to meet up with them and look back.