RICK BELFORD
“I’m a writer. I write parables — a story with a moral lesson. I’ve been published a few times. I wrote to Prince William and actually got a response. I wrote him in 2011, when he was about to come to Canada after he got married. The story was about his mother — July 1 was actually her birthday, and he was coming here for Canada Day, on what would have been her 50th birthday, and so that was the catalyst for sending this to him. And I never thought I’d get a response, but I got one, from St. James’s Palace.
“My dad died last May. And I’ve been doing this for 17 years now, putting up the lights, and this is the
first time back doing it with him not being here. He and I worked together a long time ago in the construction business, and I was very close to my dad. The world’s not the same as it was a year ago. It’s been a tough few months. But it’s the same for everybody else; life goes on.
“So, yeah, like I said, I’ve been doing this for 17 years. It’s a great job. You tell people what you do and they’re like, ‘Really?’ They really like it. They see the results. A lot of people come down to see them; they’ve been doing this for 30 years.
“Last year there were more lights than usual. They’re gearing up for 2017, but lights are expensive, so they’re building it up over three years. I don’t know exactly how many lights I put up — thousands and thousands of strings, easily. All the parks — Confed, JacquesCartier, Major’s Hill, the Hill — Parliament Hill. I’ve always loved Christmas. The drag is taking them down. Nobody likes doing that.”