Lights On Windermere Avenue, Basingstoke

Last night to see our friends over at Workshop Illuminations doing their thing!

Thanks one and all for visiting, but we are now done for this year due to family plans.

However, our friends at Workshop Illuminations are still running shows and well with a visit!

If you're coming to see us tonight or tomorrow (23rd-24th) - You Need To Read This :)

Key message here - plan to arrive a little early, park safely and considerately, and plan on walking a few minutes.

Unsurprisingly, things are going to be busy over this weekend, and if we're going to run the show safely, we're going to need some help.

Please do not plan on parking in Saxon Way. There is a car park a few minutes walk from us, where the Tesco Local and Village Hall are - Google "Lychpit Centre". I'll put some walking route maps in the comments in a moment. Please park there or on other local roads where safe and practical. Please do not block access for large (emergency) vehicles, and do not block people's driveways.

At the very least, please don't think that parking in the middle of a live road with your lights off is a good idea. You genuinely wouldn't believe the lack of consideration (or basic safety) we've seen at times. I know it can be high pressure when you're trying to get somewhere on time, but think about the call you're going to have to make to your insurance company - "I parked on a busy blind junction in the dark with my lights off, in an area with lots of distractions. Weirdly, someone ran into the back of me". All you're going to hear is them laughing while they increase your renewal by 600%.

The shows are going to be running at 4:30 and 6:30, and last approx. 20 minutes.

If you have accessibility issues and any of this causes a problem, we're here to help - please shoot us a message here and we'll get things sorted for you. This will end much better than just turning up and hoping :)

K, with that out the way, it's back to the usual nonsense :)

Apologies for being off social media for the last day or so - Phil said he'd handle things for a bit, but we should have known better. If nothing else, his lack of opposable thumbs should have been a red flag. Can't win 'em all, can you? :)

This evening, the playlist looks like...
⭐ Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
⭐ You Make It Feel Like Christmas - Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton
⭐ Carol of the Bells - Lindsey Stirling
⭐ Shut Up and Dance - Walk The Moon
⭐ Christmas Robot - RetroBot
⭐ The Greatest Show - Film Cast

We're raising money again this year to help Cranbourne School refurbish their swimming pool. It's an extremely valuable community resource for so many local groups, and it would be awful to lose it. We can take cash, and we'll have the contactless kit out for card donations. You can also donate online at wsill.uk/donate/

The weather's looking good for tonight, so hope to see you out there :)

And don't forget to go and see our friends at Workshop Illuminations while you're out and about this season!

If you want to see other lights in the area, Basingstoke and District Disability Forum have an online map available on their online store.

Want to go out and see Christmas lights but not sure where to look 👀 There's still time to grab a paper Christmas trail map 🗺️ from Sherfield Park Community Centre or Christ Church Chineham and the awesome One Stop at Guinea court!

With the weather due to improve, why not get out and see some Christmas lights! Some even play music 🎶

All of the hard work of finding them has been done for you and by donating what you can you are supporting local disability charity BDDF!

We have an online version available of the map here https://www.bddf.org.uk/shop

Will anyone visit all the displays on the map? 🎄⛄️🎅

Just one more sleep to go...

The lights will be on from 5:30pm to 8:00pm from 11th to 22nd only.

Note no shows on 23rd or 24th this year.

54 Windermere Avenue, RG22 5JQ.

Please park responsibly and consider walking a short way to avoid congestion in the cul-de-sac.

We're running late, but come hell or high water the lights will be on from 5:30pm to 8:00pm from 11th to 22nd only.

Note no shows on 23rd or 24th this year.

54 Windermere Avenue, RG22 5JQ.

Please park responsibly and consider walking a short way to avoid congestion in the cul-de-sac.

Sorry for the delay in posting this but we'd taken a between shows break in the sun.

Many thanks to all that came to see the lights at Halloween, and especially to those of you who donated a total of £215.77 to St Michael's Hospice (North Hampshire).

I suppose I'd better get on with sorting out Christmas now...

No firm dates for the switch on, but it's likely to be mid-December. Keep an eye peeled for updates posted on this page.

If you fancy another show on Basingstoke, give Workshop Illuminations a visit in Lychpit.

https://www.facebook.com/100070990840523/posts/363586666017692/?sfnsn=scwspmo

As I finally got the show sorted with an hour to spare, we got a lovely full rainbow...

Tonight from 6pm to 8pm, and every night until Halloween.

RG22 5JQ - please park a bit away and don't block driveways or access.

We are getting there at last...

Switch on will be Thursday 26th October, through to Halloween on Tuesday 31st. We will run 6pm until 8pm each night.

Please, please, please do not block driveways, and consider parking a short distance away and walking so you don't have to try and turn in the road full of people.

54 Windermere Avenue, RG22 5JQ.

See you on Thursday!

We are not the only show in Basingstoke. If you've already been to us this year, mix it up with a trip to Workshop Illuminations one evening too...

Afternoon Everyone 🙂

Just under 45 minutes to the first show of the season. We'll be on tonight at 4:30 and 6:30 as usual, running about 20 minutes.

Today's playlist will be:
⭐ The Weeknd - Blinding Lights
⭐ Simple Plan - Christmas Every Day
⭐ Retrobot - Christmas Robot
⭐ For King & Country - Little Drummer Boy
⭐ Trolls - Can't Stop The Feeling

Anyone remember all the words to Christmas Robot from last year? :)

We've added a few new bits to the display this year - see what you can spot. Photo here is the team Springer "helping" with the spiral tree build. Soldering irons at 350C definitely need Spaniel assistance ;)

We'll be running our charity collections as usual, in aid of Cranbourne School, but it's worth noting you can donate online too - https://wsill.uk/donate/. Thanks for all your help for this great cause.

Looking forward to seeing you there 🙂

Due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to delay the Christmas light switch on until mid December.

We will announce the date here and soon as we know when it will be.

Thanks for your support and we look forward to seeing you soon.

And that's Halloween done! And we didn't quite run out of sweets!

Many thanks to all those that came down and joined in, and special thanks to those that donated to Cancer Research. Times are tough and I'm sure they will put the donations to excellent use battling this horrible disease.

Also thanks to those who were here as we suffered a few technical glitches. I have the electrician booked before Christmas!

Update Monday 24th October

I think I've found the electrical issue, possibly two of them. I've repaired and replaced the parts, added some more waterproofing, and it seems to be ok 🤞

Apologies to my poor neighbours who've had The Addams Family on loop for the last three hours testing...

I'll post updates here if anything goes wrong in the mean time, but otherwise we're back in from 6pm to 8pm tonight...

Wish us luck!

Sunday 23rd October

Due to awful weather we're postponing tonight's show. I think some of this torrential rain has got in somewhere it shouldn't and the electrics are not happy...

Sorry to disappoint anyone planning to come down tonight. Fingers crossed we'll be back tomorrow...

After a very wet day in the rain yesterday, and lots of running around today, we are ready!

Virtually. A few late snafus at the 11th hour, but the show is 99% working. Apologies for any hiccups you may spot tonight if you come along.

We start at 6 until 8pm, every night until Halloween. We hope to see you there!

This is getting exciting! In 24 hours we will be at the start line of the biggest challenge of my life.

Our race numbers are 16736 and 46326 if you want to track us in the London Marathon app. The chip on our race numbers will keep tracking even if our phone or watch trackers die.

There is still time to donate if you can spare a few quid.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/RuthTimMortlock?experiments=donate_now_track_click&successType=StickyDonateButtonClick

Normally I'd have started posting about Halloween by now, but first we have a little run around London to raise money for cancer research on Sunday. Normal service will be resumed shortly...

Should you be able to share a quid or two for this awesome charity, it'd be much appreciated. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ruthtimmortlock

Thanks to all those that have come to see our lights, but we're not the only show in Basingstoke.

So, if you fancy a change of scene, check out Workshop Illuminations in Lychpit: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=450396656450278

🎄 The Lights Are Back 🎄 Shows start Saturday 4:30 and 6:30 🎄

Good Morning, and Merry Christmas all :)

As of Saturday 18th, the lights are back up and running... Woo! 🎉

🎄 The important bits - Please do read the rest too, though :) 🎄
⭐ Shows run 4:30 and 6:30 most days from Sat 18th Dec until Sun 2nd Jan. ⚠ Only exception is No Show on Sun 19th Dec ⚠
⭐ We've moved house. We're no longer in The Topiary, but can be found less than a mile away in Saxon Way, RG24 8SA.
⭐ Shows will last 20-30 minutes, and playlist entries and running order will change daily
⭐ We're collecting on behalf of Friends Of Old Basing Schools - FOOBS again this year. Donations are 100% optional, but gratefully received. We can now do contactless payment as well as collecting cash in our trusty bucket.
⭐ Clearly, COVID is still a thing. Please keep appropriate distance from other people watching, and we would ask that you wear masks where possible - If we don't take this seriously, we run the risk of getting shut down, or even prosecuted.
⭐ We want everyone to be able to enjoy the lights if they wish to. If you have particular problems or concerns (COVID related or otherwise), please do get in touch. We can help, and we want to help.

🎄 The Schedule
We'll be running the shows every night at 4:30 and again at 6:30, from Saturday 18th December until Sunday 2nd January inclusive. The only (current) exception to this is Sunday 19th December, when there will be no shows. We're planning to be on right across Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so if you fancy a target for a Christmas afternoon walk, we're here :) We'll be switching the playlist daily, so there should be fresh material if you fancy a few visits.

🎄 Getting to us
I'm guessing it's obvious to anyone who regularly drives through Lychpit, but we've moved house. We're now in Saxon Way, RG24 8SA. Our new friends and neighbours are lovely people, and have been exceptionally tolerant of this ridiculousness - for their sake, we'd ask that you plan to park somewhere local-ish and walk the last bit if that's at all possible. The Lychpit Centre car park - little Tesco lychpit, Teagether (where they make the best hot chocolate), and the Lychpit Village Hall - is a few minutes walk away and might make a good option. There's a walking route out the top of the car park and through Lamb's Row - check Google Maps, or get in touch if you have questions. There's also an excellent pub a few minutes in the other direction (Barton's Mill Pub and Dining), which might make a second worthwhile stop ;)

🎄 Accessibility
We want everyone to be able to enjoy the lights if they want to. If you have concerns or difficulties coming to see the shows, please get in touch. We can help out with any and all concerns related to accessibility, COVID (and reduced immunity), photosensitive conditions, etc. We can also organise for zero-contact viewings. If we can help out, we actively want to. Please drop us a message to this page, or get in touch via email at [email protected]

🎄 Charity Donations
We're collecting on behalf of Friends Of Old Basing Schools - FOOBS again this year - COVID has made their fund-raising extremely difficult, and we're keen to help them out where we can. We'll have a bucket around for cash donations, or we can accept contactless payments this year too... Find Pete (running things, looking panicked, most likely in a stupid hat) and he'll sort you out. Finally, online via PayPal is still an option - https://wsill.uk/donate. Donations are 100% optional but very gratefully received.

🎄 The Joy of Festive COVID
And finally, the statement we're all waiting for - We fully support any and all COVID related restrictions, and ask that people abide by them. We ask that (where appropriate) you keep your distance from other people watching, and wear masks where possible. We clearly can't police this in any meaningful way, but there are displays out there getting shut down or fined where attendees aren't acting responsibly, and we'd rather not join that list! If this becomes a serious problem, we'll have no choice but to shut the lights off.

While setup has been a delay-ridden mess, we're really excited to get this going for the year - Hope you can come see us soon! 😀

Nice and dry tonight, perfect for coming and watching light shows! Just remember to wrap up warm, it's going to be a chilly one...