New Brighton lighthouse is unmanned and stands behind the Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton, Wirral. Its bright white proudly resplendent coat of paint is a welcome contrast to the shabby, autumnul rust-ruined exterior that used to greet the eye many years before. Back in those days I used to day-dream about spending months in there, unable and unwilling to leave until I'd written my first novel. Needless to say, the novel remains unwritten and I'm not imprisoned there either.