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 This was the first year I did anything big. Well, big by our standards anyway- for here in South Wales, outdoor decorating is not that popular (though it seems to be getting better every year!). There are a few houses that put on a fairly "full" display, but they are few and far between. In our road the most anyone does is a few coloured bulbs round a window or porch, and hardly anyone even does this. So my first display in 1996 with all of 273 (to the best that I remember) bulbs and LEDs stood out as by far the biggest around. Everyone who saw it, loved it too, and so began my annual "tradition" of larger-than-life lights displays.
 Photo taking in the early days was not my strong point, neither did I do that many, and unfortunately the camera flash has drowned out the lights somewhat too. The picture above was slightly damaged- it was lost and turned up in the bottom of a box of junk recently, creased badly. However all was not lost, as "Reconstructive Surgery" with an iron, and a little computer enhancement have largely brought it back to life. It`s still not great, but it`s better than nothing. I`m toying with the idea of "digitally enhancing" all these, to at least improve the contrast and sharpness, but for now, the rest of 96`s original un-retouched photos are presented below for your enjoyment.
 - Top guttering- Noma 20 outdoor mains series set (clear). Unknown 20 mains series set with slightly larger bulbs that are identical to American C7 types (clear). - Upstairs window, left- home made low voltage 20 mini set (green, pink, gold). - ...middle- 20 mains mini set (green, pink, blue- hand painted). 19-light flashing "Star" display (red, amber, yellow, green LEDs) which was a kit bought from Maplin Electronics. - ...right- 40 twinkling low voltage set (red, gold, green, blue), but with every other bulb removed and the flasher bulbs replaced with constant ones, to balance with the left window since I didn`t have another 20 constant LV set. - Above front door- Home made 40-light low voltage tree shape (green, red), along guttering- homebrew 10 low voltage set (blue) - Front door- 24 home made set (red, orange, yellow, green LEDs) each side. In ring on door- home made 10 low voltage set (yellow LEDs). - Downstairs window, left- Noma "Carousel" 40 twinkling set (multicolour). - ...right- Noma "Carousel" 40 twinkling set (clear). - Bush by the steps to the front door- 40 low voltage miniature set (clear). ## TOTAL LIGHTS- 273 ## |
