It is interesting to see Charlie’s comments that in his opinion Leigh had ‘dirty crowded streets’.  Mind you, Charlie couldn’t stand motorcars either, he always tried to avoid them. His trusty ‘two bob Lucas’ front lamp also comes in for comment, which needs I feel a comment also from me.  As you will have read, he originally started riding without being a local member of the CTC. It would seem that he ‘upgraded’ if that is the correct word, to an acetylene front lamp, but we don’t know the reasons why.  It could have been financial of course, or maybe acetylene gave a better light.  I have no idea how the old batteries were priced, because that might have had a bearing on the matter as well.

Now, absolutely nothing to do with Charlie, but my father between the two wars had a small business at one time, using a motor bike and sidecar, the sidecar being a substantial wooden box in which he collected discharged glass sided accumulators (lead acid batteries) by which people without mains electricity – the majority of householders at that time – could power up their radio receivers.  He ran a weekly service of collecting discharged batteries, charging them up in a shed, and returning them a week later so that everyone had two batteries per radio, one always away being charged.  A history lesson for you !