WELCOME TO LONDON....(cough, cough...)

When the old BOAC Flying Boats operation finally closed down, my father needed to find another job. Now, both my parents had always been keen on the `licenced trade` and took the opportunity to learn the business from my mother`s sister and her husband, who had a `pub` of their own.

What followed was nothing short of a traumatic life-change for me. From that sleepy village on the shores of Southampton Water, we moved to an off-licence in, of all places, Catford in the south-east of London.

This was late 1952 - just in time to experience the worst smog London had ever seen (or not seen, if you get my drift.)

The Great Smog befell London starting on December 4, 1952, and lasted until March of 1953. It was a great disaster that killed thousands and formed an important impetus to the modern environmental movement. In early December of 1952, a cold fog descended upon London. Because of the cold, Londoners began to burn more coal than usual. At the same time, the final conversion of London's electric trams to diesel buses was completed. The resulting air pollution was trapped by the heavy layer of cold air, and the concentration of pollutants built up dramatically. The smog was so thick that it would sometimes make driving impossible.

It entered indoors easily, and concerts and screenings of films were cancelled as the audience could not see the stage or screen.Since London was known for its fog, there was no great panic at the time. In the weeks that followed, the medical services compiled statistics and found that the fog had killed 4,000 people—most of whom were very young or elderly, or had pre-existing respiratory problems. Another 8,000 died in the weeks and months that followed.

All this on top of having to move to a school where my Hampshire burr set me apart from the rest and provided a grim introduction to life in the metropolis. I guess that is why, ever since, apart from the occasional peaceful Sunday visit, I have only been to London when absolutely unavoidable......the last occasion being about four years ago. I have no plans to return there any time soon, even if it is only an hour away.