Come to Melksham ... see the lights ... stay the night

[whole diary]

[grahame]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2861269/What-ho-ho-home-Britain-s-biggest-Christmas-lights-display-200-000-lights-switched-on.html



http://www.wellhousemanor.co.uk



We'll pick you up from the station and show you the lights with our compliments - sorry - hotel's not free 

[LiskeardRich]

That's ridiculous (the lights), too many means you can't look at a specific set clearly.
Round here most of the heavily decorated houses are lived in by people of the work shy variety and all look remarkably tacky.

[grahame]

That's ridiculous (the lights), too many means you can't look at a specific set clearly.
Round here most of the heavily decorated houses are lived in by people of the work shy variety and all look remarkably tacky.

Hmmm ... the pictures don't really do it justice - come and see for yourself.  There's an element of it being known to be over the top and making fun of itself and Christmas - hard to explain, but it does work better than you might expect "in the flesh" so to speak.

Alex and his father Colin are very much community involved; work hard in "day jobs" and put in so much outside those hours. They're members of the too-small group in any town which is there for people and looking to promote the town and make it better for people, and what they put in has to be seen to be believed.  I appreciate that's probably exceptional ... in fact I know it is 

[bobm]

Indeed it is a very fine line.

A man near Reading suffered for his art over the years

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/no-ho-ho-christmas-vic-4220479

...snip

Wokingham Borough Council claimed it sought an injunction against Mr Moszczynski because the increase in police patrols to deal with crime and complaints in the area when the lights were up, cost ^7,455 and caused a drain on resources.

Neighbours said the numbers of people attracted by his displays led to incidents of crime and there were disputes about parking and complaints to police. But last year^s show saw reduced numbers of visitors. Mr Mosczcynski believed that may have been due to less publicity and the bad weather.

The 54-year-old began doing the display at his old house in Warren Road, Woodley, 21 years ago, when his children were small. He transferred it to Sonning when the family moved there in 1997.

And he has suffered for his art ^ in January 2003 he fell as he was packing away the lights in time for Twelfth Night, donations have also been stolen and his lights sabotaged with transformers pinched and figurines trampled.

He also faced a county court prosecution in 2006 when he was accused of criminal damage to properties in West Drive, for which he was acquitted.

Mr Moszczynski has since given all the lights away on eBay to a man in Birmingham who is raising cash for a care home, but he vowed to continue helping Daisy^s Dream and has given ^500 this year.

[TaplowGreen]

That's ridiculous (the lights), too many means you can't look at a specific set clearly.
Round here most of the heavily decorated houses are lived in by people of the work shy variety and all look remarkably tacky.

.....has electricity reached Cornwall? 

[LiskeardRich]

That's ridiculous (the lights), too many means you can't look at a specific set clearly.
Round here most of the heavily decorated houses are lived in by people of the work shy variety and all look remarkably tacky.

.....has electricity reached Cornwall? 

No we still have to wind the generator up by hand!

[broadgage]

I have heard that new fangled generators are available, driven by mobile steam engines. The whole machine may be driven UNDER ITS OWN power, without any need of horses, to exactly the desired place.
A belt is then used to drive a large dynamo from the flywheel of the engine.

Huge numbers of electric lamps may be worked thus, with no trouble beyond paying an intelligent youth to attend to the engine.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Yes, it would need to be a bright youth who would know watt to do. 

[SandTEngineer]

Crikey, Melksham on the map.  I've just seen this on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News 24 

[grahame]