ON October 12, I printed a 1937 picture of "Work in progress at the new De Havilland airscrew factory near Lostock", with new buildings in the background and a chimney being demolished near an old cottage, about which I commented: "It presumably shortly before had stood quietly in the countryside."

I have now received this photograph from Miss Sheila Hart, of Cambridge Road, Lostock, who tells me that the cottage was called Lostock Hall Cottage, "and was lived in by my family until 1937".

Miss Hart's grandmother, Mrs Sarah Hart, can be seen standing at the door. "You will notice that she has a bucket in her hand," Miss Hart continues. "Conditions in the 1920s, 1930s and before were hard for some -- oil lamps, no running water, and grandmother had to fetch water from a well. There were flag floors, and the cooking was done by coal fires. It is a picture, sadly, of a bygone age.

"I remember a lot of people used to come for walks at weekends in the summer. My sister and I left when we were seven and five. Presumably the cottage was pulled down shortly after your picture was taken.

"The date of the picture of my grandmother is not known, but I think it could have been in the 1920s, or possibly earlier."