Dreaming of a light Christmas

SELECT Member Glynn McFadden brightens up Christmas for thousands of people each year – installing festive lights in towns and cities across the UK.

His company, Glynn McFadden Electrical, has the task of making sure displays are shining bright to bring plenty of seasonal sparkle.

“This year, we’ve had jobs in Paisley, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh among other places,” he said. “And we also do jobs throughout Fife where we’re based.” Much of the work is carried out for the specialist firm, Blachere Illuminations. “We started with two or three jobs seven years ago, now we’re kept busy for three months working on around 30 projects,” said Glynn.

As well as installing Christmas lights, the firm carries out work such as eye bolt testing and fittings checks to make sure everything is safe and functional.

Glynn explained: “We’ve got a 16-strong team and there’s a hectic period from September until the first two weeks of December. Things calm down before it gets busy again as we take everything down during January.

“Manchester was a big job. It involved putting lights in 160 trees in the city centre. It took us four weeks, whereas in most cases we work on a job for two or three nights. Other nice projects this year included Multrees Walk in Edinburgh and Gleneagles Hotel.”

Glynn said the trickiest part of the job is coping with the winter weather and the wet and windy conditions.

“I love Christmas. You can’t be ‘Bah humbug’ in this job”

And it is most nerve-racking in the minutes before the lights are switched on.

He added: “Luckily, we’ve not had any failures so far. We always get there early and do plenty of testing.

“I love Christmas. You can’t be ‘Bah humbug’ in this job. There’s lots of satisfaction in making it all happen.

“When the lights go on, people feel Christmas is on its way, and it’s especially exciting for the kids. There’s a great atmosphere that gives you a real buzz.”