SIMON Boucher is angry about the new £170,000 lighting scheme for the outside of our civic buildings. He thinks the scheme flies in the face of the advice we have all been given — to conserve energy and save the planet. And, of course, he is right.

But then Simon goes on to say: “Ban the sale of tumble dryers, get the wringers out, and hang the washing out — not a problem in the 1950s.”

Not a problem in the 1950s! Well, that’s not quite how I remember it. I remember my mum having to heat water in a boiler, then fill a dolly-tub with the heated water, using a pan. After that, the clothes had to be possed in the dolly-tub.

Possers — remember them, Simon? Collars and cuffs were rubbed on the rubbing-board, after applying a block of soap, to get rid of the difficult stains.

But the real graft came when blankets and curtains were washed. Did you ever haul a dripping double blanket out of a dolly-tub, Simon, then wring it by hand, before turning it through the wringers? After that it had to be heaved on to the washing line. No problem?

I remember too, coming home from school to a house dripping with condensation.

Damp clothes hanging on maidens, steaming in front of a smokey coal fire.

Washing was all day of a job, but a proper home-cooked tea was always on the table.

No problem in the 1950s? Sorry Simon, but that doesn’t wash with me.

Brian Derbyshire, Ribchester Grove, Bolton