At Antonia's house, talking about how to get an electricity supply. Antonia and her two daughters were the next occupants of Ken's house - which had no services, no toilet, and few ceilings. Everybody thought they were mad to try, but within a few weeks they had transformed it into a reasonable home with the help of some conscription-dodging Italians.
Getting an electricity supply was a problem for most Frestonians. For one thing a lot of money was needed for a deposit. And second, the electricity board would only connect to a circuit that conformed to regulations, a near impossibility without even more money.
Inevitably this led to creative workarounds. One house with a legal supply would often extend its wiring to neighbours. For many years, there was a piece of mains wire strung across the road, just high enough to clear the double-decker buses passing underneath.