FURTHER golden glimmmers from the good old gaslamp era.

Following a hotly-debated taproom session (wrangling over when the last Victorian street lantern of this kind disappeared from St Helens) a gang of bitter-slurpers turned to this page for help.

And now, reader Jim Barrett has forwarded photographic proof that gaslamps existed much later than most folk realise -- right up to the late 1960s and perhaps even into the 70s.

Full of the joys of youth, Jim, together with his pal Jim Taylor, both then 21, had just completed apprenticeships as bricklayers with St Helens Corporation building department. And by way of celebration they had themselves snapped, swinging side-by-side on the iron arm jutting out just below the gas lantern. Our more ancient chums may recall that the old-time lightlighters used this arm to prop their ladder against while carrying out routine maintenance.

That particular gaslamp stood at the corner of Gladstone Street with Ridgeman Street and Jim Barrett (who went on to become his 'swinging' pal's best man) can accurately date it to September 15, 1968. The old lamp, which was clearly leaning over, was due to be uprooted the following day, along with the rest in that district, recalls Jim, who for the past decade has been chairman of St Helens Town football club.

The new electric street lighting had already been erected and was functional, he recalls. "But how long the old gaslamp had stood obsolete among the luminous new successors is not certain".

Jim tells us that the Jim Taylor he used to 'hang about' with as an apprentice brickie (he now lives in St Luke's Road and has his own building business) had dug out the snapshot following the 'last gaslamp' wrangle.

And he adds this intriguing historical point: "There may have been later ones than this in the borough, but at least the picture shows that they survived until the Beatles' 'Hey Jude' topped the charts".

THANKS, J. B. for throwing all that extra light on the subject.