I REMEMBER vividly the night of the moon landing - even though, in fact, I missed the event.

It was during the school holidays, so my parents allowed my brother and myself to stay up past our usual bedtime, so we could watch it on TV.

However, the preparations for the landing seemed to be taking forever, and eventually my parents decided to send my brother and myself to bed.

We went upstairs to bed, though reluctantly.

The next thing I remember was waking up at dawn, still very excited, to hear the TV on downstairs and the now-familiar and distinctive 'bleep' sound at the termination of each lunar communication.

My brother and I subsequently learned that we had missed the landing but the magic and significance of that night has stayed with me.

A CULVERHOUSE (Mr), Cavendish Street, Darwen.

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