Christmas 1955, Highams Park, London, England

It looks nice and bright! And are those balloons floating above?

Helium balloons would have been WAY over the top, and probably only owned by the circus.
I'm sure these were stuck into the ceiling.

A great family heirloom. It does bring home some sense of how much the economy of Brittain struggled after war; something I was oblivious to until well into college. I'm struck by the shadow of the balloons in the background. It seems that the lamp that lights the scene would be quite high and it's hard to believe the ceiling would be that high. Perhaps it was open to a staircase? Small trees seem to make a lot of sense to me these days.

Rick, I don't remember the ceiling being extraordinarily high. It was a house built in a many house neighborhood, probably c. 1915. (the staircase could not e seen from this room.) I believe the light that might be casting the shadow was one of the flattish globe lights right on the ceiling. I also wonder if my mother or father were standing on something and angling the camera down. Finally, none of these people were tall - my grandfather was probably around 5'8'' at the most!
It's funny though, the windows/celiing do appear enormous.
Here's another view taken from a different angle.


It regard to post War Britain - I had a ration book until I was around two years old, 1956. I wish my mother had kept it, but I'm sure she was thrilled to finally be done!