FAMILIES GET FESTIVE WITH LIGHTS
ADDERLEY Street is not the only road lighting up Cape Town with a colourful display of lights as residents all over the city get creative at home.
Trees and hedges covered in blinking lights and multi-coloured reindeer and angels have become the norm in areas such as Fish Hoek and Bothasig, where Cornelius Street and Potsdam Road have become popular for hosting regular displays.
Despite the price of electricity going up and the fear of load shedding, Fish Hoek resident Matthew Heines said residents do it because it’s worth it to add to the festive spirit.
“This is the 15th year I’ve done it, but I’ve only had my display up for three of those years in South Africa. I came from the US, where I was doing it, and when we moved we brought all my Christmas decorations with us. The movers thought we were mad.
“Over the years it’s gotten bigger and bigger. There are 10 500 lights on the house, and I hope to double it next year. Luckily, with the converter we use for lights, the power is sufficient. If we hear about load shedding, we will switch to the generator,” said Heines.
Wendy and Martin Beyers from Rugby have also traditionally decorated their house with lights, a task passed on to the family from Martin’s father, who died five years ago.
Ward 5 councillor Helen Carstens, said street displays had decreased in the Edgemead and Bothasig areas, but both communities still hosted an event to decorate the Bothasig and Edgemead police stations earlier this month.
National spokesperson for Eskom Khulu Phasiwe said the power grid had stabilised and generating units were back in service, so no load shedding was forecast for several days, leaving people in the clear to put up their Christmas lights.
Phasiwe said street lighting and municipal lights don’t use a lot of electricity and encouraged people to enjoy their holidays and not stress about the electricity supply.