Bah humbug to Christmas lights

AS Christmas decorations across the country are taken down today, there is one person who will definitely be glad to see the back of them.

Paul Cooper – East Leake's very own Scrooge – has so little time for over-the-top festive displays that his neighbours' created him a light of his very own – saying simply 'Bah humbug'.

The solitary light on the front of his house is in stark contrast to their own which has been covered in hundreds of lights.

Mr Cooper, 62, of Holme Avenue, had no idea what his neighbours Allison and Alan Scally were planning, despite his wife Louisa being in on the secret.

He said: "I was upstairs on the computer and I said to my wife, 'Can you hear a noise?'

"She said, 'Oh no it's nothing'.

"I thought it was a lot of noise for nothing, and when I went to look out of the window there was Alan on a ladder!"

Mrs Cooper, 51, said: "When Allison told me what she was planning I thought it was a brilliant idea."

Despite his initial shock Mr Cooper says he could see the funny side, and the light stayed on his house for the entire festive season.

He said: "It's plugged in to their electricity, so if they're happy to do it, that it's fine by me!

"I don't mind Christmas really, but it's the fact that the run-up starts in September.

"Allison and Alan do tend to like going overboard with their lights and when they asked me if I was going to be putting some up I just said, 'Bah humbug'."

Mrs Scally, 41, said the light was also prompted by a 'Bah humbug' hat that Mr Cooper wore.

This year is the second year the light has been up and it has proved quite an attraction.

"I've been in the shop and people have said, 'It's him from the Bah Humbug house!'" said Mr Cooper.

Mrs Scally said: "We've been doing our lights for about four years now, because we just love seeing people smile – and the Bah Humbug sign certainly has that effect."

sarah.gillett@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk