|
Christmas Lights" ? What, in October??
It was cold, windy and raining, in fact, a miserable Saturday morning in October and a group of people (known as The Cresidents) were found on the top of various shop fronts in Arthur Road. What on earth were they up to? Nothing better to do?
Let me put you in the picture: The Cresidents, who for the past 7 years have put up the Christmas Tree on top of the roof of Christ The King Church, gave in to pressure from various local residents and committed themselves to put up white garlands of lights all along the shops in Arthur Road - A dream some of us have had for years.
But, how on earth could this be financed? From past experiences with Christmas lights we knew that one has to look at £1000.00 plus, there are no labour costs as the Cresidents do it for love and appreciation!.
We approached all the shops in Arthur Road for donations towards a fundraising event; we also held a quiz evening in April and raised £580. That was good enough to make a start and at the beginning of October, the first strip of lights went up as a sample of what was to be. Didn't they look beautiful?
Once started, there was no stopping the Cresidents. Funding or no funding, the "job" had to be done. Panic took over. Will we have enough Saturdays before the end of November to finish off the work, in time for the "Switching On " of the Christmas Tree? Doing all the groundwork: fitting plugs, fixing ropes, putting up brackets, communicating with landlords, all this takes a tremendous amount of man hours. There was no time to argue. Every Saturday (even some Sundays) had to be kept free: especially allowing for the awful weather in October/November. Well, presently we are halfway through and, God willing, might be able to switch on all the lights on Saturday, 28th November at 4.30pm. Please come and join us.
P.S. At present we are holding another fundraising event, a wine tasting evening as well as approaching all the businesses in Arthur Road for another dip into their pockets.
WPRA cannot help us with funding as they feel they have enough on their hands with the maintenance and erecting of the 8 Christmas Wreaths.
We would like to thank a couple of local residents who have made very generous donations because they enjoy the lights at Christmas and feel they enhance the area we live in.
P.P.S. More donations are always welcome, bulbs need replacing, electricians need to be called out, insurance is an ongoing cost, etc.etc....
Have a peaceful Christmas.
The Cresidents
|
|