NOTES ON A SMALL CITY

Columnist Richard Wyatt, never himself short of energy, is keen to save it elsewhere. Fortunately it’s all in hand –because Bath’s festive lighting this year is designed to be less timeconsuming, less costly and low energy, but no less dramatic

Iremember a pre-Christmas visit to Iceland a few years ago when a weak and watery sun appeared around 11am and sank below the horizon around 4pm. Being just a few degrees south of the Artic Circle you’d expect the island’s winter months to be gloomy, but that part of the world is blessed with the Northern Lights to brighten their darkness.

Around Yuletide, we of lower latitudes have to rely on electrically powered street adornments to add a bit of festive sparkle to our major city and town streets. This year everyone’s having to be a bit more energy conscious, bearing in mind rising costs, so I was keen to see if this December’s local authority offering was going to be more ‘Bleak Midwinter’ than ‘Jingle Bells!’

I was getting a little fed-up with the ornamental ‘chandeliers’ that kept appearing above Milsom Street year after year. No amount of wind, rain, frost, fog or snow has battered them into obscurity, but it seems the economy has, because they won’t be casting a glow over Bath’s premiere shopping streets this year.

So it is with great personal delight that I bring you good news. B&NES have called in a big UK independent provider of festive lighting to give Bath a new look that is extremely energy conscious. They are also –with a little financial help from the city’s BID organisation –going to build a more modern and cost-effective way of adding some colour to our Noel nights.

Starting on the week beginning 14 November, Field and Lawn –a company well-used to working with BIDs, councils and shopping centres and who have lit up commercial streets from Edinburgh to London’s West End –will be providing ‘traditional’ Christmas lighting in Bath, Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock. All decorations used in the new schemes will use the latest LED light technology, minimising energy consumption from their use. Even the lights on the Christmas tree in Abbey Church Yard will be draped in LEDs, which are very low-voltage.

In addition Fineline Lighting Ltd, who are based at Clevedon near Bristol, and have been one of Glastonbury Festival’s chosen suppliers for well over 25 years –has also been contracted to project animations on to some streets.

As well as illuminating historic buildings to show off Bath’s majestic architecture, this will also mean a reduction in both installation and energy costs, as well as emissions. Certainly from an energy perspective, using light which can be cast over a wider area should create more impact for less.

Lighting up buildings like the Abbey and the Milsom Street shop fronts is also a much more effective way of grabbing attention. In our Instagram world, far more ‘selfies’ will be taken against that sort of background and, when published, are more likely to bring others to Bath.

The city’s official ‘switch-on’ will happen in Milsom Street on 17 November. Bath BID is also working with Bath Carnival to create special lanterns and models which will be carried by local children and families.

It’s also good to know that the Christmas Market –with its ‘150 twinkling chalets’ –will be back from 24 November as a full-scale event celebrating 20 years of helping to enhance the city’s festive offering. Seeing those ‘sheds’ –oops! I mean chalets –nestled around our grand parish church reminds me of a festive ‘mother hen’ surrounded by her ‘brood.’ The market, something that’s always been a huge commercial draw to the city, will run through to 11 December.

More thought this year has also gone into ensuring central streets are not blocked so that people can circulate throughout the whole city centre.

Finally, just before I disappear up into our attic to see how tarnished last year’s tinsel is, can I just say there are two established and traditional additions to the Christmas scene I was hoping to see again this year. Both are colourful and obvious ‘selfie’ locations. I am sorry to say the ‘Snow Globe’, once an annual sight outside the Abbey Hotel, alongside Bog Island, won’t be coming back this year. For me, that’s a shame.

Better news concerns Bath Street where I am pleased to say the Victorian carousel –whose colourful horses will whisk you back to your childhood –will be lighting up the night from 15 December to New Year’s Eve. Just champion! n Richard Wyatt runs the Bath Newseum: bathnewseum.com

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