The 2002 Display

Summary of the day

 We all hit the street early on Saturday 30th November 2003. When we met up at the shed it was before 7am and it was still dark. The first job of the day was to get the market stalls, stage, cones and all the other paraphernalia that we would need during the day carried up the High Street.

It was all hands to the pumps as streams of eager volunteers went to and fro heavily laden with everything from a barbecue to mike stands. We were especially please to receive some extra help on the day from our press secretary's parents (Tom and Jan) who helped to run the burger stall for the day and also for the help from Gin and the Millennium Volunteers who bought fun and enthusiasm to anything that needed doing.

The burger stall was soon operational and hot drinks and bacon butties were quickly purchased by the other stallholders while they were setting up for the days events. The lads worked hard to get the sound system up and running and music soon filled the street to help put everyone in good cheer. Rick and Arthur had the roadblock quickly organised near the British Legion and Rick was pleased to say that at the end of the day he had not needed to arrest anyone.

The entertainment started on schedule with singing by Lovat School and the crowds started to pour in. Unfortunately we did have a few gaps in the entertainment schedule during the day, but these were filled by an impromptu kareoki and gospel singing session and announcements about what was going on. Later in the day we were lucky to have a performance by an up and coming local rock band called Headfly which was an entirely new aspect to the history of the lights.

The throng of people really intensified towards 4:30pm and there was hardly any room left outside the Swan when the switch on day procession arrived. Our sponsor a bulb winner, Mr Peters, arrived courtesy of Sherrington Wedding Cars at 4:45pm and he turned on the lights at 5pm. He was accompanied on stage by our Press Secretary (Scot Haynes), the mayor (Mike Barry) and Santa Claus. Anglia TV were also on the scene recording the ceremony.

After the raffle the big job of clearing the High Street got into full swing and the task was completed quickly and efficiently and the road was opened to traffic at 6:30pm. The press team then retired to the British Legion for a much needed drink....

Special Thanks

The lighting team would like to pay special thanks to:

Millenium Volunteers: These young people were a tremendous asset to the team on the day. They were hard working, keen and a joy to be around. They were especially good at selling the raffle tickets and cooked a mean burger.

The Burger Team: You know who you are. The burgers were great, the bacon butties even better. Enough said.

The stall holders: To each of the organizations who had their own stalls in the High Street on the day, we hope you all made a profit and had as much fun as we did.

Milton Keynes Amateur Dramatic Society: Thanks for bringing some extra colour to the day, and bringing a smile to everyone's face. Once again Arthur and Rick liked the fact that the young ladies paid them a visit during the day.

Horizon Radio: Thanks for bringing Black Thunder along for the festivities.

The entertainers: Thanks to the schools, drama groups, dance troops, majorettes, cheerleaders and bands that helped to make the day such a great one.

The pictures

Due to the vast number of pictures that were taken during the day we have split them up into the following categories. Apologies to anyone who was expecting to see their picture but find it is not there!