20 Sites was devised in this house, my family home from 1964 until 1983. Although a quiet side street (or perhaps because of that) it seems to get dug up more frequently than any other: changes in the post-operative tar show where the latest incision has been made. This restrained image does not, or should not, feature people. Like some desert flower it explodes into blossom only once, when, in 1977, it is the headquarters of the Jubilee street party which Jill Phillips organised: suddenly it is smothered in red white and blue and festooned with flags, one of which is the flag seen flying on the covers of Works/Texts to 1974.

Various family cars come and go from the humble Renault at the beginning via the folly of a huge Mercedes (following on from a dud Audi) back to the more realistically prosaic VW Polo. My son's battered Cortina makes a guest appearance in 1983.

The front first floor room was my studio until 1983 when I moved to temporary quarters in Vicarage Grove, found as a result of an advertisement in the window of Tony's (cf Site 8). By 1987 only Jill Phillips is in residence though Leo is still an occasional camper in his old room (top attic left; the right attic is Ruth's old room).

Political allegiances and positions appear in occasional stickers. Ronald Reagan makes his only appearance in 20 Sites in a poster, (Gone with the Wind, which also features Mrs Thatcher) coupled with a no-nuclear sticker on the downstairs front window in 1984. A small red tile appears in 1978 to mark a fateful trip to India. 'No Town Hall' in 1979 refers to a local campaign against a mad council scheme to build a municipal Metropolis-style showpiece. The house in 1985 is declared a Nuclear-Free Zone (and becomes a No-Go area for me also). In 1986 and again in 1987 it is for sale. In 1988 it is sold and new people move in. They make no major alterations and only the odd new burglar alarm appears. The tree that acts as a marker on the right grows thick and arthritic.