Hi

Whilst doing the good samaritan bit for a pensioner friend he asked if
I would change the batten light holders in his flat as he had smashed
one. I am no electrician but managed to change three, the wiring being
50 years old and red cloth covered wire and black cloth wire. So two
wires no problem, three battens changed.

The batten he had smashed disintegrated to dust after 25 solid years
of capstan full strength cigarettes. This had left a couple of bare
wires showing. I unscrewed what was left and found not 2 but 5 wires.
3 red, of which 2 were twisted together at the bare wire and 2
separate black wires. Obviously, the attempt I made ended in a blown
lighting circuit fuse and I beat a hasty retreat to find the answer to
this problem and left him using table lamps for the weekend.

The batten holder has three sets of attachments for live at one end
and neutral at the other and unmarked in the middle.

Can someone point out the basics of what I should do with these 5
wires to get his circuit back on. Any help would be really
appreciated.