December 4, 2007...1:14 pm

Lighting up time

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mr-taggart.jpg Mr Taggart setting up the Christmas lights

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Christmas lights are going up all over Castle Vale. The collection of decorations on people’s outside walls and in gardens gets more varied, bright and colourful each year. The Taggart family, in Park Lane, estimate that they have spent between £700 and £800 on their outside lights. That’s before the electric bills. Mrs Taggart told us: “Our lights will put an extra £10 per week on our electricity bill.”

javelin-ave.jpg Javelin Avenue

One house on Farnborough Road has a giant inflatable Santa and snowman, along with a flashing see-saw. Another, on Javelin Avenue, has a spectacular flashing train; cascading lights adorn a Trident Boulevard home, while a variety of flashing Santas, bells, reindeers, stars and angels light up the dark winter evenings for children throughout the estate.

farnborough-road.jpg Farnborough Road

The advice given by one supplier of Christmas lights (www.christmascarnival.com) doesn’t seem to have struck a chord with everyone. It suggests: “For outdoor Christmas decorations, you should keep in mind that less is more. The more things you put in your lawn, the more absurd they look. More things will make the yard or garden look too messed up and busy.”

No one in Castle Vale has gone as far as Vic Moszczynski in Berkshire, who last year put up 22,000 lights in his garden, before complaints from the neighbours earned him an instruction from the council limiting him to just 300 lights this year.

2 Comments

  • chelsea taggart

    hiya thats my uncle noel taggart…. its realy funny because you go around castle vale and you come to his house and its like blackpool!!

  • molly fletcher

    hi im noels neice he is my uncle and he is so funny cuz every christmas he is in the paper. chelsea is my cuzon she is cool too.


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