IN 1969, I read with interest of your Lancashire Evening Telegraph souvenir issue of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Even as a nine-year-old boy, I realised the importance of the event and I kept this special edition and still treasure it today.

It may now be yellowed and torn, but I still get a special Buzz (sic) from reading it.

My family and I were on holiday on the Isle of Man at the time. I begged my parents to allow me to stay up all night to watch as events unfurled, but they felt a nine-year-old would be better off in bed.

My father set his alarm to go and watch the events and promised to come and wake us when the dramatic moment drew near. Unfortunately, the landlady of the hotel obviously did not think the event to be particularly important, as she had locked the television room and gone to bed.

So none of us got to see the landing until the following day.

I have since visited the Kennedy Space Centre and was surprised to find that, once again, a lump came to my throat as I relived all those once-in-a-lifetime events over again.

The day will never be repeated, but it will always be remembered.

GEOFF DAGGER, Highbank, Roe Lee, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.