‘No way you could count all these lights!’ – Samuel

No one and nothing could have prevented nine-year veteran to the National Nine Mornings lighting-up competition, Jimmy Samuel, from covering his house with hundreds of lights for the Christmas season.

Last Friday, one Rilland Hill home was illuminated in an array of different coloured lights, holographic lights, moving lights and musical lights, as the 76-year-old light-up enthusiast Samuel flipped the switch on his creation. Following the flipping of the switch, a small crowd was drawn to the unique display, which features a lit train with moving wheels, a moving Santa display playing Christmas carols, moving reindeer and specifically placed heart formations, carefully set up to honour the theme “Peace and love to all.”

His display, which was judged on Sunday, December 17, is the result of three weeks of hard work on the part of Samuel, who put up every single light by himself.

When asked how many lights he put up, he could not fathom the question.

“How many lights?” he said, “There’s no way you could count all these lights,” with an incredulous look on his face.

Now an avid participant in the competition, in the beginning he said the lighting-up started as a way of giving back to the community.

“It’s just to give back something to the community, you know. I was away from here for a very long time, 42 years, and I come back and I light up my mother house one year and she like it so much, so I just decided okay I’ll light up,” said Samuel.

He said he received encouragement to enter the competition and that is how he started.

“A gentleman pass and he say ‘you going in competition?’ I say ‘no’. He say ‘yes, you could go in competition’, and I went in the competition and I came second.” Since then Samuel has never looked back.

He says that it was no different this year, despite his relatives asking him to refrain and the high cost of the lights and the electricity bill.

“It costs a lot. If I show you a light where I pay a $125 last year and it ain’t working this year, I got to put up a new one,” Samuel stated, when asked about the cost.

However, not discouraged, he shrugs off the problem, saying, “when the electricity bill come, I just pay it. I just pay it. I just give it for the fun, for the fun of it, because some of my relatives don’t even want me to do it.”

Even though he is in it for the fun of it, the veteran still has his heart set on winning.

“Every year you look to win, because you don’t look to lose,” he said.

Samuel, who is keeping his lights up until January 6, is waiting on the results of the competition, which are to be announced this Sunday, Christmas Eve morning.(KR)