Turn Off the Lights

Last week, almost in passing, I referred to one of the effects that World War II had on my childhood, namely digging air raid shelters.

As well as the restrictions living with food rationing (which continued for some products until 1950) and shortages of every imaginable commodity imposed on our daily lives, all our houses had to be “blacked out” at night. Essentially this required every window in a house to be covered, so as no light was visible from the street, or to a Japanese fighter plane.

In 1918, the so-called “war to end all wars” was concluded. History shows that on the huge majority of days since then, someone, somewhere in the world, is firing bullets at an enemy, or at someone they are seeking to subjugate.

I trust that the only blackouts I will experience in the future will have nothing to do with a war, however much global warming will intrude into a normal lifestyle.