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The weather on Sunday was as good as the forecast had shown. Couldn’t have been better for the job in mind. It was going to be dry.
It was that time of year again for the outside lighting for Christmas. Preparation work for my Christmas lights was complete. I used a repeat route pathway every year, always the same. Expect a great light show, hopefully. Well it was for me. It was low key, subtle, thoughtless even, some might say. But no, anything but. It was well thought out.
Last year a storm brew up and the lights didn’t fall down. They hung from sticks and twigs in the hedgerow and didn’t budge.This year I use super twine. It’s an improvement even so that shows consideration. String it up and hang the lights from it. They do look cared for and well thought out, as opposed to a thoughtless and hasty arrangement.
One of the neighbours drove her car past me on her way out somewhere. She drives by me at the same time that I’m hanging my lights. She shoots me a glance as she drives past. Probably off to the supermarket for nothing much. I understood then the thought process probably going through her mind. There would be a race to get the lights on show first. Not that I cared. She would though.
She hadn’t thought about her lights yet, I’m guessing. Just watch, (I thought to myself.) She won’t be long. As brief a sighting as it may have been between the two of us, it meant business. She wrestled with the seatbelt as she drove past. She always did that. I guess she thought it looked good, like I can drive with no hands – watch me! Most people strap up before driving away.
It was always the same old story with those neighbours. It wasn’t difficult to guess their next move. Could she though, get back in time to beat me to it. She undoubtedly would want to get her lights up double quick now, seeing as one of her neighbours was midway through that same process. I don’t mind copycat tactics, it shows that we have something worth copying. This was not so much a copy tactic as much as a race now. But ‘look at me why don’t you’, I think as she drives by. ‘You can’t win because I’ve nearly finished.’
As the owner of a SUV with kiddies onboard the road rules are different. In such a case no one else matters. She would have to be quick and anyone coming towards her from the opposite direction, watch out.
Of course, I beat her hands down. But then, no, did I really though? Because although my lights were up and ready to look their best, my lighting event would only happen at the right time. You can’t rush a good job.
As soon as the neighbour had returned home she was out in the garden in double quick time because the race wasn’t over yet. Her neighbour was nowhere to be seen and his lights were in place. She had to look twice to be sure, as my lights blended into the background quite well. I noticed this, I was watching out of the window.
Once home, she must have issued a host of instructions to her accompanying children, who then bunched together in the middle of the garden. The step ladder is in place and they were all involved in untangling the knotted mess of LED string lights whose only colour is white or even white’er still. To be beaten in putting up the Christmas lights was one of those things that some people take very seriously. I wasn’t rushing myself, just taking my time.
A frenzy of activity followed whilst her boy balanced on the step ladder without a clue about anything at all. The woman of the house passed the lights up to her boy on the ladder and together they somehow managed to make them stay up there. Once again that tangle of LED white lights was up, hanging off the porch guttering. Once the lights were up, they all disappeared inside the house, not to be seen for the rest of the day. But no matter, because as far as she was concerned the best was still to come. I was still watching out of the window. In the middle of the day, not only did those white lights on her porch get switched on, but so did the outside porch light itself, to add extra impact. Well then, she did get there first. Her lights were switched on first. Furthermore, she had the latest technology built into those tasteless lights. They would flash to all sorts of assorted programmes so that anyone who happened to be passing could see how modern they were.
Even more cunningly though, I waited till darkness to switch on my Christmas lights. The LED lights on the house at number 2 had been on for about the last six hours, but would not get the noticeable effect that those here on our house would get.
Yes, she beat me. Her lights were switched on first.
And no, they didn’t show when it turned dark, they had been on for the past six hours. My lights appeared from nowhere. My lights shone the brightest, even though they were the least brightest.