Festive sparkle for town

THE BUZZ of festive fun and high spirits took hold of central Seaford on Friday when thousands flocked to the town s annual late night shopping event. The evening provided the perfect showcase for Seaford s new 12,500 set of Christmas lights which kept the shopping area cheerfully illuminated with 900 red and white bulbs. Above the entrance to Broad Street, a new tableau of lights beamed the words 'Merry Christmas Seaford . After the Mayor, Cllr Les Whittle, had officially switched on the Christmas tree lights at 5.15pm, the shopping and celebrations began in earnest. The sound of bagpipes and the smell of roasting chestnuts mingled with the sights of line dancing and children s merry-go-round rides to make the usually peaceful shopping centre a hive of activity. Other attractions included a shooting gallery, popcorn and candyfloss stalls, fairground games and a 30ft tall slide for the youngsters. In the High Street, staff from the Hungry Toad dished up portions of delicious traditional English stew and mash for hungry revellers, while an enormous space rocket-shaped simulator ride took thrill seekers on exciting Harrier Jump Jet joyrides all evening. Hairdressers at In Trim decked out their salon as always with an impressive Wizard of Oz panorama, and staff looked just the part in their tin man, lion, scarecrow and Dorothy guises. A free prize draw was open to all at The Shop in High Street, and fried whitebait was on sale at Rolf s fishmongers. Big wheel Saxon Lane again hosted a giant big wheel which pulled in the crowds and offered a magnificent bird s eye view of the town. The Fire Brigade had one of its engines parked in Broad Street and youngsters were allowed to sit in the driver s seat while learning about the life of a fireman. Many stalls were also dotted around the town, including St John Ambulance and the Arthritis Campaign, who were running a tombola. The Christmas lights, which were almost a non-starter when the supplier sent 800 bulbs with the wrong type of fitting three weeks ago, again proved themselves a source of worry for town clerk Len Fisher when they all went out for a short time at 7.15pm. 'A fuse had gone, explained Mr Fisher. 'We d had very little time to test the lights during the day and on the couple of occasions that we did turn them on they seemed fine. I guess the 900 bulbs all coming on at once was too much. 'Luckily, Pope s of Seaford came out straight away and temporarily sorted it all out while Seeboard made their way to the town. All credit to Pope s. This minor hitch did not detract from the overall fun and atmosphere of the evening, which, according to Mr Fisher, was also a very prosperous one for the traders.