Closing eyes when loading film!!

[paulmac]

I wondered if any of you close your eyes when loading film in a darkroom.

I always do and it seems a bit of an odd thing but it just seems more "right" than leaving them open even though it's totally dark.

The late and much missed Victor Blackman used to relate one of his many stories about a press photographer colleague who came in from a rush job and went straight into the darkroom with his film and proceeded to load the film without turning off the lights but with his usual habit of closing his eyes and realised to his horror what he'd done when he tried to turn the lights back on!!