Meet the man who lights up lives
PENSIONER HAS BEEN PUTTING ON SPECTACULAR LIGHT DISPLAYS FOR 34 YEARS
FOR 34 years, David Brierley has been turning the front of his home into a magical fairy tale.
Residents of Oxford Road, Salford, and passers-by are treated to glowing ornaments, silhouettes and Christmas lights that illuminate the street.
It’s a long and laborious process that David begins as early as September.
David has been putting up the decorations at his Oxford Road home for five years, but gave his previous home in the city similar treatment for decades before that.
With the occasional help of family members, each year the 76-year-old rummages through the extensive collection of Christmas decorations stored in his shed and begins the process of dusting off statues, untangling lights and testing their safety.
Once they are set up and ready, from 6pm each night, the lights are switched on and the Christmas spirit begins to spread.
David said: “It started as a habit and it escalated, you just don’t stop.
“You see things and you buy them, you can never miss out on a bargain. I always buy something every year. This year I’ve bought more outside lights.
“I’m always looking out for Father Christmas, snowmen and all types of ornaments.
“I switch them on for the kids, really – there’s a school just down the road and the parents get them round to take pictures and have a look.”
Despite putting up his decorations for more than 30 years, David is still surprised and humbled at the positive attention he gets from passersby.
He said: “I got a knock on the door once, and when I opened it there must have been 50 people outside.
“They just started clapping, they were all stood there clapping like mad.”
Kathleen Thompson, 75, lives on Oxford Road and loves her neighbour’s display.
She said: “They have been doing this every Christmas for years and it just gets better. It’s a magical fairytale, especially for children.
“They deserve recognition for it, it’s just nice to see something like this for a change. People come from all over just to take a look at it.
“I think it will make for a better story than some of the bad news that we see about Salford.”
David says the lights are generally inexpensive, and that the majority are energy-efficient.
He said: “It costs me around £5 a week, a lot of the decorations are low energy stuff.”
It isn’t all praise and adoration for David’s display, however. He has had online trolls asking him if he has ‘anything better to do’ – and thieves taking a chance and ransacking his driveway.
He said: “I’ve had a few things nicked – one year they did me four times in six weeks, they left me with nothing.
“Believe it or not, they even used ladders to get some of the lights on top of my house. That’s my concern with putting anything up, people stealing from me.”