Sweet mercy, what is going on?!
If you plan on visiting Harold Hill before the 6th January and value your retinas, wear sunglasses and keep your eyes ahead of you.
But this problem is not confined to Harold Hill, as we drove up my own road, we were nearly blinded.
It is bad.
It is wrong.
It is...
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS GONE MAD!
This problem has been growing exponentially for the last few years. Possibly the problem this year was the introduction of inflatable 8-foot monstrosities, increasing the volume of decorations without actually having many more decorations.
Now is not the time to be epileptic. Flashing lights, singing snowmen, neon Santa statues, light-up icicles and poor shrubs buckling under the weight of flashing cables that 'decorate' them.
Oh dear. It's all got a bit silly, hasn't it? Mind you, that's not something I can really say with conviction to my American readers (all two of them), who have suffered such festivities plus some real snow all their lives. Thank God for the Gulf Stream, or it could have been worse over here.
Do we need it though? All these flashing lights and inflatable snowmen, all the bright decorations and seasonal cheer? So much energy, both electrical and physical, is wasted on making houses visible from space that people forget about other things. I'm referring indirectly to that couple who were found dead after their gas was cut off because they couldn't afford the bills. I know Christmas lights didn't cause that, but it still makes you think.
