Web Forum: Load of bulbs

Oct 1 2009 by Andrew Jackson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

JINGLE bells, jingle bells, moaning all the way about Kirklees plans to spent £70,000 on new Christmas lights.

markmyword49 was appalled: “£70,000 to be spent when they are about to reduce spending dramatically on necessary services. “What stupidity.

“A drop in the ocean some might say but to quote a supermarket slogan ‘every little helps.’

“Besides, they are only truly visible to shoppers during Thursday nights in December. The other 360 days they are just strings of light bulbs festooned across New Street.

“If the various retail outlets want to have this kind of display they should pay for it themselves not expect it to be paid for out of the public purse.”

hgl disagreed: “The town centre shops pay a fortune in business rates. This money for the lights is peanuts, a fraction of the monies collected. Maybe you would like the village trees and lights cancelled. How about Christmas itself?”

“As the tree and lights are vandalised and not working within a day on the tree closest to where I live, I certainly object to the expense.”

markmyword49 sensed things were going in the wrong direction: “As for Christmas I thought it was a festival about values that are the complete opposite of what it has come to be. I could be wrong but it doesn’t say anywhere that you’ve got to run up huge debts, get drunk for a fortnight, have to visit or be visited by relatives you’ve studiously avoided for months etc.

“‘Pay a fortune in business rates’ – this is factored into the prices that are charged for the goods that are being retailed in the shop.”

hgl replied in true Scrooge style: “In a word – humbug.”

despondent had experience in the Christmas experience: “I believe many large stores and shopping centres use KD displays for the Christmas period on a regular footing. When I worked there all the animated displays were overhauled ready for being delivered and erected in those stores. After Christmas they were all returned to be checked and overhauled once again. Now if these stores can get a contract with KD on this sort of footing cannot the council do the same where, as an alternative to purchasing, they hire the displays.”