|
 Unfortunately
the lights do not appear in the High Street by themselves, they have
to be put there and this involves a lot of work. Not just in the run
up to Christmas but all year round. Contrary to popular belief the
team that organise maintain, and erect the lights are not highly
paid professionals but a team of volunteers who wish to see that the
town remains lit over the Christmas period.
The Christmas season for
some may only be a fortnight but the lights team 'season' generally
commences in the first week of September with general maintenance of
the light strings, fixings and catenary wires which support the
strings. During October and November the lights are erected and
tested in preparation for Switch on Day (SOD as we like to call it)
which is generally the last Saturday in November. December is a rest
month, that is apart from replacing blown bulbs or vandalised
fairies (that's another story). And then of course January and early
February we take them all down again. Most work happens from 9 till
12 on a Sunday morning but some other times may become necessary.
However
the work doesn't stop there, the committee and a portion of the
volunteers meet regularly at the Royal British Legion in Newport
Pagnell (nice beer, very cheap) during the off season to discuss
proposals for extensions, sponsorship and many other topics. The
committee consists of the following people: |
| Chairman |
Richard
Jewell |
Martin
Medrek has unfortunately decided to stand down from the role of
chairman. He is however still an active member of the team. Mr
Jewell Esquire stepped into the role in the spring of 2004. He is an
active member of the team best known for featuring in Rick's rests.
Rick's daytime job is a police constable in the Northampton constabulary
so he is a useful person to have around on switch on day to help
with crowd and traffic control. |
| Treasurer
/ Assistant Press Officer |
Jackie
Isbell |
Jackie is well known in
the town and uses this to good effect when seeking sponsorship and
is a keen fundraiser. Often known as 'The Lady With The Ears' or
'Mrs Christmas Lights' and runs the Summer stalls, as well as the
Raffle Stall and the Sponsor a Bulb Stall from September every year. |
|
Secretary |
Trevor
Isbell |
Jackie's
'other half'. Has been a committed helper on the lighting team for a
number of years but "He doesn't do ladders". |
| Webmaster
Press
Secretary
|
Scot
Haynes |
Has
lived
in Newport all of his life, and thought he ought to do something for
the town. Joined the team in 2000 and progressed to Webmaster /
Press Secretary in 2001. |
| Works
Manager |
Rickie
Briggs |
'Our
Boss' Ricky Briggs ensures we all know what we are doing with the
safety side of erecting / dismantling the annual lighting scheme. He
also arranges placement of the road closure notices, and can often
be seen on Traffic Duty on Switch On Day. He is also involved with
the general maintenance and like the rest of the team is out on a
Sunday morning in all weathers. |
|
A special mention:
A
really big thank you to Steve, Barry, Tony who have been working
especially hard over the last few weeks. Without them we wouldn't
have got the lighting strings installed on schedule. |
|
And
last but by no means least the team of VOLUNTEERS who give up
their Sunday mornings rain or shine to ensure that Newport continues
to display the Christmas Spirit - Never has so much been owed by so
many to so few - as the saying goes... An illuminating bunch
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