Serpo
1st December 2011, 10:17 PM
Bungalow-ho-ho! How entertainer's garden light display flashes in time to his radio show (and Santa conducts the music)
Visitors to cul-de-sac can tune in and hear 11 festive favourites
But in London, David Cameron keeps the best tree for himself
By Rebecca Seales (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Rebecca+Seales) and Emma Reynolds (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Emma+Reynolds)
Last updated at 12:40 AM on 2nd December 2011
way to guarantee a white Christmas – but as it requires a £20,000 investment and nine months of preparation, it might be easier just to jet off to Lapland.
Paul Toole has transformed his bungalow into a winter wonderland, complete with quarter of a mile of fake snow and 50,000 fairy lights which flash in time to his own radio channel.
Visitors to his cul-de-sac in Wells, Somerset, are invited to tune in to his station, which plays 11 festive tracks on a loop while a Father Christmas figurine in his garden moves to the beat of each song.
Scroll down for video
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02BB3800000578-935_634x411.jpg Twinkling lights: Paul Toole has spent a huge £20,000 on his illuminations and attracts 100 visitors every night
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02B9E600000578-679_634x412.jpg Completely crackers! Mr Toole decorates his bungalow with 50,000 Christmas lights
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02BB4800000578-12_634x431.jpg Lights... action: Mr Toole puts the finishing touches to his display, which he began putting up on October 24
Up to 100 guests each night arrive to view the spectacle, which includes a 20ft Christmas tree, an illuminated waterfall and glowing polar bears, seals and reindeer.
Mr Toole, 36, who runs karaoke nights, begins preparations for each year’s display in March.
He said: 'Walking into our street is quite magical at Christmas. Some people say it makes them feel cold, it is very Arctic.
‘Our bungalow has been nicknamed “the house on Christmas Street”. I think about it and plan it every single day of the year.
‘I am slightly wacky about Christmas and I am constantly trying to think of ways I can make our display the biggest and best.’
Mr Toole estimates that this year’s display will add around £150 to his electricity bill – but the money thrown into the wishing well in his garden is given to charity.
He has spent £20,000 collecting the illuminations since 1998, when he started with two strings of lights in 1998.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02BA3600000578-368_634x404.jpg Magical: The display boasts penguins, polar bears, a ferris wheel and 400 metres of fake snow
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02B80000000578-598_634x392.jpg Dashing through the snow: A horse and sleigh in the garden in Wells, Somerset
Celebrities John Challis, who played Boycie in Only Fools and Horses, and American singer Judy Pancoast visited the close for the big switch-on yesterday.
Mr Toole added: 'Our street looks good in the day as well as at night. You can sit in your car and enjoy the music on your radio, or come out as we have speakers playing Christmas tunes.
'It really looks fantastic, I feel very proud of it this year.'
More than 1,000 people turned out for the switch-on,held in aid of the Make a Wish foundation, and were each given a mince pie from a local bakery. A team from Starbucks also handed out free drinks.
Mr Toole has spent a staggering 264 hours synching his lights to his radio station and the Father Christmas figure - as one minute of music takes eight hours to sequence.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02B92400000578-947_634x424.jpg The House on Christmas Street: Visitors flock to see the display, which will be on show from 1 December to 5 January
He began putting up the decorations on October 24, and his house and garden are covered with 400 metres of polyester wadding which looks like a blanket of snow.
He was inspired to create a 'House on Christmas Street' after visiting New Hampshire in the U.S. where homeowners deck out their properties with thousands of festive lights.
He returned home with just two sets of lights and put them on his mother's bungalow. The lights stopped working a few years later and he began stocking up on UK-made decorations.
A donation wishing well is left at the front of the display - which attracts up to 100 cars a night.
Mr Toole's radio station, 89.2FM, is broadcast from a transmitter a few hundred yards from his home between 5pm and 9.30pm from December 1 until January 5.
He said: 'I am absolutely thrilled by what we have created and it is worth every penny.'
Maybe you could learn from this bright spark, Mr Cameron...
David Cameron appeared to be rather less filled with festive spirit than our merry bungalow owner.
While Paul Toole brings glad tidings to all his neighbours, the Prime Minister had kept the best tree on the block for himself.
The bushy fir outside No 10 was laden with huge shining baubles and delicate blue lights, but the Norwegian evergreen in nearby Trafalgar Square was looking decidedly crooked.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/02/article-2068564-0F0480D900000578-653_634x416.jpg Sad tidings: The famous tree that appears annually in London's Trafalgar Square looks crooked and plainly decorated
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/02/article-2068564-0F045F6300000578-262_634x418.jpg Festive joy: But David Cameron, joined by Blue Peter badge holders and presenter Helen Skelton, has a beautiful fir over in Downing Street
Tourists in Central London were rather surprised to discover the traditional Norwegian tree looking extremely ragged.
The tall, skinny centrepiece is decorated carelessly with vertical strips of harsh green lights and a stark bulb on the top.
Mr Cameron turned on the lights on in Downing Street with presenter Helen Skelton and a group of young Blue Peter gold badge holders - but the public in Trafalgar Square were left out in the cold.
It will be a real a disappointment for children who visit the London landmark in the hope of seeing the most impressive festive scene of the season.
The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree is the City of Oslo's traditional Christmas gift to the City of Westminster as a token of thanks for British support during the years of occupation.
Perhaps our Prime Minister could demonstrate equal Christmas spirit in his own country.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/02/article-2068564-0F04812800000578-80_306x423.jpg
Austerity Britain: The sparse Trafalgar Square tree has been dressed with little visible effort or love
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068564/Paul-Tooles-20k-Christmas-lights-display-flashes-rhythm-home-radio-station.html
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068564/Paul-Tooles-20k-Christmas-lights-display-flashes-rhythm-home-radio-station.html#ixzz1fM5iwXen
Visitors to cul-de-sac can tune in and hear 11 festive favourites
But in London, David Cameron keeps the best tree for himself
By Rebecca Seales (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Rebecca+Seales) and Emma Reynolds (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Emma+Reynolds)
Last updated at 12:40 AM on 2nd December 2011
way to guarantee a white Christmas – but as it requires a £20,000 investment and nine months of preparation, it might be easier just to jet off to Lapland.
Paul Toole has transformed his bungalow into a winter wonderland, complete with quarter of a mile of fake snow and 50,000 fairy lights which flash in time to his own radio channel.
Visitors to his cul-de-sac in Wells, Somerset, are invited to tune in to his station, which plays 11 festive tracks on a loop while a Father Christmas figurine in his garden moves to the beat of each song.
Scroll down for video
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02BB3800000578-935_634x411.jpg Twinkling lights: Paul Toole has spent a huge £20,000 on his illuminations and attracts 100 visitors every night
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02B9E600000578-679_634x412.jpg Completely crackers! Mr Toole decorates his bungalow with 50,000 Christmas lights
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02BB4800000578-12_634x431.jpg Lights... action: Mr Toole puts the finishing touches to his display, which he began putting up on October 24
Up to 100 guests each night arrive to view the spectacle, which includes a 20ft Christmas tree, an illuminated waterfall and glowing polar bears, seals and reindeer.
Mr Toole, 36, who runs karaoke nights, begins preparations for each year’s display in March.
He said: 'Walking into our street is quite magical at Christmas. Some people say it makes them feel cold, it is very Arctic.
‘Our bungalow has been nicknamed “the house on Christmas Street”. I think about it and plan it every single day of the year.
‘I am slightly wacky about Christmas and I am constantly trying to think of ways I can make our display the biggest and best.’
Mr Toole estimates that this year’s display will add around £150 to his electricity bill – but the money thrown into the wishing well in his garden is given to charity.
He has spent £20,000 collecting the illuminations since 1998, when he started with two strings of lights in 1998.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02BA3600000578-368_634x404.jpg Magical: The display boasts penguins, polar bears, a ferris wheel and 400 metres of fake snow
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02B80000000578-598_634x392.jpg Dashing through the snow: A horse and sleigh in the garden in Wells, Somerset
Celebrities John Challis, who played Boycie in Only Fools and Horses, and American singer Judy Pancoast visited the close for the big switch-on yesterday.
Mr Toole added: 'Our street looks good in the day as well as at night. You can sit in your car and enjoy the music on your radio, or come out as we have speakers playing Christmas tunes.
'It really looks fantastic, I feel very proud of it this year.'
More than 1,000 people turned out for the switch-on,held in aid of the Make a Wish foundation, and were each given a mince pie from a local bakery. A team from Starbucks also handed out free drinks.
Mr Toole has spent a staggering 264 hours synching his lights to his radio station and the Father Christmas figure - as one minute of music takes eight hours to sequence.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/01/article-2068564-0F02B92400000578-947_634x424.jpg The House on Christmas Street: Visitors flock to see the display, which will be on show from 1 December to 5 January
He began putting up the decorations on October 24, and his house and garden are covered with 400 metres of polyester wadding which looks like a blanket of snow.
He was inspired to create a 'House on Christmas Street' after visiting New Hampshire in the U.S. where homeowners deck out their properties with thousands of festive lights.
He returned home with just two sets of lights and put them on his mother's bungalow. The lights stopped working a few years later and he began stocking up on UK-made decorations.
A donation wishing well is left at the front of the display - which attracts up to 100 cars a night.
Mr Toole's radio station, 89.2FM, is broadcast from a transmitter a few hundred yards from his home between 5pm and 9.30pm from December 1 until January 5.
He said: 'I am absolutely thrilled by what we have created and it is worth every penny.'
Maybe you could learn from this bright spark, Mr Cameron...
David Cameron appeared to be rather less filled with festive spirit than our merry bungalow owner.
While Paul Toole brings glad tidings to all his neighbours, the Prime Minister had kept the best tree on the block for himself.
The bushy fir outside No 10 was laden with huge shining baubles and delicate blue lights, but the Norwegian evergreen in nearby Trafalgar Square was looking decidedly crooked.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/02/article-2068564-0F0480D900000578-653_634x416.jpg Sad tidings: The famous tree that appears annually in London's Trafalgar Square looks crooked and plainly decorated
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/02/article-2068564-0F045F6300000578-262_634x418.jpg Festive joy: But David Cameron, joined by Blue Peter badge holders and presenter Helen Skelton, has a beautiful fir over in Downing Street
Tourists in Central London were rather surprised to discover the traditional Norwegian tree looking extremely ragged.
The tall, skinny centrepiece is decorated carelessly with vertical strips of harsh green lights and a stark bulb on the top.
Mr Cameron turned on the lights on in Downing Street with presenter Helen Skelton and a group of young Blue Peter gold badge holders - but the public in Trafalgar Square were left out in the cold.
It will be a real a disappointment for children who visit the London landmark in the hope of seeing the most impressive festive scene of the season.
The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree is the City of Oslo's traditional Christmas gift to the City of Westminster as a token of thanks for British support during the years of occupation.
Perhaps our Prime Minister could demonstrate equal Christmas spirit in his own country.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/02/article-2068564-0F04812800000578-80_306x423.jpg
Austerity Britain: The sparse Trafalgar Square tree has been dressed with little visible effort or love
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068564/Paul-Tooles-20k-Christmas-lights-display-flashes-rhythm-home-radio-station.html
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068564/Paul-Tooles-20k-Christmas-lights-display-flashes-rhythm-home-radio-station.html#ixzz1fM5iwXen