We started decorating our front garden with Christmas lights as a bit of a laugh but it became quite an addiction. Nearby, there was a garden centre called Country Fayre, it sold the best decorations and each year we couldn't wait to get there to see what was new. Our garden looked fab, so colourful and festive, just a small display each year but then we moved house in 2004, had a larger front garden to play with and our displays got bigger and better. We put up a few decorations a couple of years in a row but that wasn't enough for us. Behind us there is a school, Palatine Primary School (a community special school which caters for pupils with moderate, severe or profound learning needs many of whom have associated sensory, motor and communication difficulties including Autistic Spectrum Conditions). We decided to raise money for the school as they needed a new mini bus (high hopes indeed). It didn't go as well as we'd hoped and the two years we chose the school as our charity we only raised just over £50 each time. We gave up raising money for a little while after that as we decided we weren't very good at it! The years went by and our displays grew then someone mentioned that we should start raising money again as the lights attracted larger crowds now and they kept coming throughout the whole of December. We had a think about the different charities near us and we decided on St Barnabas House, an independent charitable hospice that provides end of life care services, both at the hospice and in the local community, to adults with advanced progressive life-limiting conditions. A friend of ours spent his last few weeks in St Barnabas, they cared for him really well so we decided to say thank you by raising money for them with our Christmas Lights Display. It went well and the hospice appreciate the work that had gone into our display and were grateful for the money donated. After two displays for St Barnabas we wanted to help a different charity. My Dad had been diagnosed with cancer which led us to choose Macmillan Cancer Support. The lights were a great success, we had staff from Macmillan attending the switch on, it was a lovely first year supporting Macmillan. Then just before Christmas 2014 I met Bob Smytherman, Worthing's Town Crier, he said he would do us the honour and announce 2014's switch on. We managed to pull a crowd and, yet again, the display was enjoyed by all. It became a bit of a habit, choosing a charity for 2 years and moving on so in January 2015 I was out and about grabbing Christmas decorations in the sales at garden centres and noticed a lot of pink was left over. I spoke to Mark and mentioned a pink display and he thought it was a great idea, something different. I bought a load of lights and accessories, put them away until Christmas preparation time and started looking for a breast cancer charity. I didn't receive many replies to my emails but Against Breast Cancer got back in touch and were thrilled that we'd chosen them for the next 2 years. Against Breast Cancer funds pioneering research into new treatments, tools for earlier diagnosis and advice to reduce the risk of recurrence and secondary spread. Working with expert scientists they want to increase the survival rates of all breast cancer patients and ultimately, discover a vaccine against breast cancer. Another Christmas display prepared, the pink was a hit, the switch on was busy, Bob the Town Crier did his countdown with the Deputy Mayor Sean McDonald in attendance, then the following year Sean was the Mayor and did a speech and switched on the lights as Bob counted down as usual. It's always a great atmosphere.

Each year we add to the lights, change the display around as much as we can and try to incorporate something to do with the charity we've chosen. The lights were blue for St Barnabas, green for Macmillan, pink for Against Breast Cancer, a mixture of pink and blue for our next charity, Guild Care. We chose to do the Christmas 2017 display in memory of Mark's Mum, Win, who passed away in 2013 from dementia related illnesses. We thought that Dementia Services at Guild Care would be a fitting charity. Dementia - butterflies are shown everywhere the word "dementia" appears so we sourced some LED butterflies and added them to the display. It went down well. We raised more than expected. We were pleased that the choice of charity was welcomed by everyone who came to see the lights. Sadly, after the Christmas Lights in memory of Mark's Mum, Mark's Dad passed away. It wasn't expected and so it has been a difficult year for us. Mark's Dad, Bill, was a regular passenger of the ambulance service and they always did a great job caring for him. He got to know quite a few of them and they knew of his background and problems. This year our Christmas Lights Display is in memory of Bill, raising money for South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Charitable Trust Fund (SECAMB). The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Charitable Fund is registered with the Charities Commission and its Registered Charity number is 1059933. The main purpose of the charity is to provide staff and patients with support that they cannot get elsewhere. In the last year the majority of grants from the charity have been for additional medical treatment such as physiotherapy for musculoskeletal injuries, and support where staff have been exposed to traumatic situations and need further guidance. This has allowed staff to return to work more quickly. The fund can also be used to provide emergency funding to staff whose have suffered from unforeseen circumstances such as house fires.

This time we are hoping to beat last year's magnificent total of £1897. Fingers crossed we can do it. Bill was always so proud of us making the effort with our displays. It isn't an easy couple of months sorting out the lights. Today, as I type this, it's Nov 14 and we have spent more than 60 hours getting the decorations from the loft, testing them all out, making new stands and buying all the bits to put the display together that nobody thinks about. We still have a lot to do but we will manage it, it'll all get done and everyone will enjoy the display.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story. Thank you for your donation, everything raised will go to SECAMB, it will make a difference.

♥ Happy Christmas ♥