Tory St resident Terry Sutton has a self-confessed “Christmas lighting addiction problem”.
He tends to sleep in late after spending the afternoon and early evening installing his Christmas light sequence on the house, tree, and front lawn of their 122-year-old home.
He estimates his collection has 50,000 lights including LED, and some 6000 Pixel Lights. Together, they form one of the most recognizable Christmas displays in Nelson.
The former radio studio panel operator and television broadcasting electronic engineer has put his technical skills to good use, creating a lighting sequence that is timed to music and broadcast over radio frequency 87.9FM.
Terry and his wife Ruth have had a Christmas tree in their window for the 50+ years that they have lived in their Tory St home, and what started out as a small light display in 2009 has morphed into a 20-song sequence, with approximately 200 hours of programming gone into each song.
“We do it so we can share the real story of Christmas. It is a Santa-free zone although there are a couple of reindeer on the roof,” Ruth says.
Following his retirement, Terry researched computer animation of Christmas lights, and after finding a free programme made in the US he set up a display with incandescent lights.
Terry says he operates his gear completely differently to the US ‘norm’ in that he has all the controllers switches and power supplies relatively centrally located. He frequently gets requests from people in America asking how it’s done.
Over the years Terry has replaced the original lights with LED and then string Pixels.
“The technology is constantly changing so it’s hard to keep up,” Terry says.
Deciding against installing last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, Terry says it takes a while to remember the sequencing. He always aims to put them up from 1 November, starting first on the house, before moving on to the lawn. Only after it’s fully installed can he begin testing.
The lights will be on until 11 pm each night and they ask the public to be mindful of their Tory St neighbours.
“We have had cards and biscuits in the past. People are so pleased, they say ‘fantastic, we missed it last year’,” Ruth says.
Terry says “Come all and enjoy but beware of slamming car doors”.
At 78-years-old he will continue as long as his health will allow him.
