It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

You know it’s Christmas when the lights start being on all day, when the shops are packed and the tubes are filled with people loaded down with bags, even in a Lockdown – where did they manage to buy all that if the shops are shut?

Of Course the supermarkets have had Mince Pies on the shelves since September and aisles of Seasonal Products. But really it is those lights that really make it feel like it’s that time of the year. As we all know, some places do Christmas Lights better than others and for Londoners that’s the West End! So last weekend we went and had a wander along the ‘Posh’ Roads to see the pretty sparkly lights.

The first Christmas Lights were installed outside The Savoy on the Strand in 1881, but it was in 1954 that the Regent Street Traders Acssociation decided to light over the street to ‘Not look Drab’ anymore and the tradition was started.

We started off in Oxford St, avoiding the demo of stupid people who really want the virus and really want to share it with everyone else and refuse to wear masks. We however had our masks and avoided as many people as we could, which wasn’t easy at times, especially outside Hamleys the Toy Shop, which although closed still attracted a huge gathering of unmasked people.

But from Oxford street, we headed down New Bond St and to Old Bond St. The lights here are

Old Bond St and it’s more the shops than the overhead lights…..

Into the Burlington Arcade and lots of red baubles, many people and a real buzz of atmosphere.

Outside on Piccadilly there was a pretty street light, the Piccadilly Arcade though was rather lacklustre, thankfully Fortnum & Mason’s didn’t disappoint, their red fronted Advent Calendar was impressive

We nipped through the back streets and emerged in Regent St and a deluge of white gold lights flooded the streets from Angels floating over the Nash Building Lined Streets and there were a mass of selfie taking people daring the centre of the road to get a shot of the glorious lights and themselves, of course!

So into Carnaby St, for some rather boring, ‘We love you, UK’ signs and though the idea was there, the delivery was less than impressive. Foubert’s Place was far more fun and bright, with more glowing baubles, this time white ones.

Then it was a long walk, through Berwick St and ChinaTown (which lacked any lights, to the point of being dark) and finally into a calm, quiet and softly rose gold lighted Seven Dials, although once again (as noticed in previous festivities) the Cambridge Theatre seemed to have not got the memo, or refused to chip in and pay their fees for he decorations as the lights and trimming were strangely absent on that segment of the roundabout.

Finally into Covent Garden, King St and James St are lit up with classy, stylish, white lights, running down the edges and centres of all the buildings, framing them like Christmas Doll’s Houses and the Piazza had their now standard giant Baubles and Mistletoe, a little disappointing but at least it still looked festive.

We finished off our walk with a coffee and a look at the giant Christmas Tree sent from Norway as always. So with that we will wish you our first ‘God Jul’ of this year!