It was cold back then, in Britain. War was over, but the wounds it had opened were still festering. There were shortages and frugal living, coupled with grey skies and alcohol. The English youth worked when they could, stealing kisses and movie tickets, living vicariously off American movies and American kids.

The latter had their bright red Chevvies, smart outfits and money to burn. For them, the end of the war created new lives and a whole new energy. The baby boom was waiting to happen. And it didn't hurt to have Elvis Presley.

In stark contrast, the English had precious little. No cars, few radio stations, and not enough money to spend. Out of these conditions, Skiffle was born. Popularised by a Scotsman called Lonnie Donegan, it was folk music played by small groups, with rhythmic accompaniment to a singing guitarist.

Like it always has, the music healed. Adam Faith, Marty Wilde, Johnny Leyton and Cliff Richard became heroes. Icons who suddenly made lives more liveable.

Finally, in 1963 -- just in time to change Britain and the rest of the world -- came four guys called John, Paul, George and Ringo.

The Beatles had arrived. The spell was cast. And all was right with the world again.

"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the Negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix…"
-- Allen Ginsberg, 'Howl'.

There's a lot said about the sixties. About its celebrities and excesses, music, its ideals, or lack of them. After a point in time though, it was more than just Britain, America or the rest of the world. It was simply an era where lines between people, continents and ideologies were blurred forever.

A 'decade of discontent', some called it. Because there were demonstrations, the Vietnam war and Detroit race riots. President Johnson introduced Medicare, while the Berlin Wall created a huge divide. Marilyn Monroe died, and John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Others disagreed. It was all about peace, they said. There was love, gay and women's liberation, the hippy lifestyle and the 'flower children'.

If the fifties gave us the transistor, the sixties gave it life. The 'twist' shook dance floors. Then Jim Morrison came, in leather tights, breathing out 'Light My Fire' to the masses.

Before the decade was up, man had reached the moon. James Meredith became the first black to enrol into a University. Fashion changed, new musical genres were created, and there were new heights for the quartet from Liverpool to conquer.

"The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust (our own) government's statements. I had no idea until then that you could not really rely on them."
-- Senator William Fullbright

There were questions, too. Posed by people within and without all kinds of charmed circles. Posed by children born to the flower children. Posed by people three decades later, few of who believed things had been the way they were.

And who could blame them, when confronted with popular culture so diverse. How could musicians like The Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones arrive at pretty much the same time as The Kinks, Bob Dylan , Led Zeppelin , The Who and the Grateful Dead?

How could cinema yield actors like Ken Kesey, Peter Fonda, Jane Merrow and James Dean, all in one short period?

How could literature incite authors like Harper Lee, Joseph Heller, Jack Kerouac, Sylvia Plath, Norman Mailer and Arthur Koestler to explore new facets of the unexplored? And what could account for the lifting of a ban on Lady Chatterley's Lover in 1959, ushering in an age of 'free love' 31 years after it was written?

So, there were questions, answers to which are still not forthcoming.

"A man needs a little madness, or else ... he never dares cut the rope and be free."
-- Zorba the Greek, 1964.

With the magic came the madness. A man called Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald, accused of assassinating Kennedy. In another corner of the world, Charles Manson heard The Beatles sing 'Helter Skelter' huddled in a room with members of his cult. He convinced them that God wanted actress Sharon Tate murdered. They carried out his wishes.

Drugs like Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (better known as LSD) helped create new rules, all of which were reflected in art and the work of artists like Andy Warhol.

By 1967 though, there were thousands of American soldiers dying every week, with the troop strength in Vietnam touching a heartbreaking figure of 475,000. The magic was beginning to fade.

"We're more popular than Jesus now. I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity."
-- John Lennon, Evening Standard, 1966.

Just before the end, in 1969, Woodstock happened. The 'summer of love'.

From a humble camp out, it grew, taking on a life all its own while organisers watched in horror and fascination. Three days under the stars with 500,000 people - comprising protesters, war veterans, gays, lesbians, government advocates, black militants, homophobes and more -- for company.

Apart from traffic jams 20 miles long, there was little food and sanitation, heavy rain, lots of drugs and alcohol, heavy rain, two deaths, two births and musicians like Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Sly and the Family Stone, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin doing what they did best.

For the thousands who lived through those three days, things were never quite the same again.

"Turn on; tune in; drop out."
-- Dr. Timothy Leary, 60s guru.

It's been four decades now, since it all happened. Logging on gets you glimpses and little peeks, from photographs and toys, to rock music, hippy culture, vegetarianism and more

They say a lot, these pages. They also say very little. What was it like to be there? To do what they did and feel like they felt? To sit oneself under a tree and decide there was nothing more to be done? To smoke a pipe, pass it around, and do nothing but listen to some folk rock?

Ultimately, I suppose, the sixties stand apart simply as a moment in time when people decided, irrespective of all they struggled with, to do their own thing. With flowers in their hair...