A Dawley family have switched on there Christmas lights display, helping to raise money for charity. This year features an enormous Hogwarts Express Harry Potter Train.
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00:00It's that wonderful time of the year Sean. It certainly is. How are you sir? Not too bad yourself.
00:07I'm good thank you, I'm good. I'm just here to catch a train. Here it is. Sean you've got a train in your front garden.
00:13I certainly have this year. What's going on? Well I wanted to come back this year with something new.
00:18I've been talking about building something new for the last couple of years and this year I've finally gone ahead and done it.
00:23So when you said I'm going to do a train and everyone's kind of thinking oh yeah like a little train on a fairground ride
00:29and you said no it's going to be like to scale. Do people just think you're crazy?
00:34I think most people have said that over the years especially when I built the coach truck the first year.
00:39This year it's actually turned out bigger than I had planned. You got your measurements wrong?
00:44I got my measurements wrong. I didn't measure twice. But yeah it's a lot bigger than I expected.
00:52But it's turned out exactly how I wanted it. It looks great doesn't it? It looks amazing.
00:57So just talk us through then. So you're raising money for?
01:00So yeah we're raising money for Love from George and Aiders Foundation which are two charities that support people who have suffered from pregnancy loss.
01:09Myself and my partner in September lost our little one Skye.
01:15And that's where we got the idea from, from supporting these two charities.
01:21Great idea then. Charities close to heart.
01:24So you've got, there's a projector screen up top there.
01:27Yeah.
01:28Zoom in a bit and twiddle my buttons. So what sort of stuff we got popping up on there then?
01:33So originally five years ago when we first started doing this for charity it was in memory of our dad who passed away in 2019.
01:40Yeah.
01:41And that's why we've always done it in memory of our dad John.
01:44But this year we've done it in memory of our grandma as well who passed away in February this year.
01:49So that's a nice little nod to the family.
01:51So there's some pictures up there of my grandma and my dad.
01:54And just a shout out to obviously little Skye as well.
01:58Yeah, cool.
01:59And then just information on a raffle we've got going as well.
02:03Great. So go on then, show us around then. You can actually, it's not just the front of a train, it's the proper...
02:10I can't believe, I've never seen anything quite on this scale buddy.
02:14So yeah, you can come through the gate, come into the garden.
02:17Yeah.
02:18And you can actually climb into the train.
02:20I mean even, I just, pickering lights, look at this.
02:24Fantastic.
02:27Am I any in the bird?
02:29It's actually the fine details what's took the time doing.
02:32You've got the platform there.
02:35Cool.
02:365976, what's the significance with the numberer?
02:40All that is is just a number what was actually on the Hogwarts Express.
02:43Ah, it's the actual proper, yeah.
02:45So people can actually board.
02:47Yeah.
02:48Great.
02:49We've put some stuff on here where no-ones can play with.
02:52Yeah.
02:53A wheel there.
02:55Cool.
02:56You've even got the lights going inside here.
02:59Yeah.
03:00Fantastic.
03:01We just wanted to do all the fine little details.
03:03Yeah, well just take us round to the side.
03:05I like your, the little hope you've got, a little nod to, it's Quidditch isn't it?
03:09That's what I'm thinking of.
03:10Quidditch.
03:11Yeah.
03:12This is something my partner Casey's spent a lot of time doing, the Quidditch Eats.
03:16Yeah.
03:17They're cool.
03:18We've had Halloween, so we've had the broomsticks as well.
03:20Yeah, they're effective there.
03:22And you've got the movie going as well.
03:25We've got the movie going as well.
03:26Cool.
03:27We're planning on, as long as it's not raining, having that out every night.
03:30Yep.
03:32And the house is glowing.
03:34Fantastic.
03:35The curtain I liked is back this year.
03:37So, we have to ask, come on, let's keep the train in the background there.
03:42I like the train.
03:43There's the information for the raffle guys.
03:45If you come and take a look at the Piccadilly's lights, a bit of info on the raffle.
03:49So, have you ever worked out what it's costing you in Leckie?
03:54I haven't, I haven't really, no.
03:57It's probably, I think over the two months, I think it's about £115 I want to say.
04:02Okay, I was expecting you to say a lot more actually.
04:04Is that, I know bills are higher, but I guess now with LED lights they're a bit cheaper to run overall.
04:10Yeah, well obviously this year the electric prices have gone up, so I'm dreading January coming around.
04:14Yeah.
04:15But, that's our contribution to the charity.
04:19Yeah.
04:20Obviously we put the display on which raises the money, but obviously we pay for the electric as well.
04:25And that's part of our contribution to it as well.
04:28Yeah.
04:29And with all LED lights, everyone thinks it's quite expensive to run, but it's not, that's like the old fashioned lights.
04:36Yeah.
04:37These lights don't really take that much to run.
04:39It's a good job these days, isn't it?
04:40It's a good job.
04:41But still, you know, well done to you for dipping into your pocket to fund it because there is a cost.
04:47And have you had any like mishaps this year?
04:49You know, you put any lights up, you flick them on and all of a sudden they were working and they're not working.
04:54I have had to buy new lights this year.
04:56Yeah.
04:57Mainly for the gates.
04:58Yeah.
04:59As always, every year I can't get away with not having to replace something.
05:03Yeah, yeah.
05:04And when you take them down, especially with rope lights as well, they can be sensitive.
05:08Yeah.
05:09But also the materials from the coke truck, from the train, sorry.
05:13Yeah.
05:14It was been donated from Travis Perkins.
05:16How was it?
05:17Yeah.
05:18Fantastic.
05:19So without Travis Perkins donating that, the train wouldn't have been able to be built.
05:22Awesome.
05:23That's great stuff.
05:24And where do you do all the building then?
05:25The cutting and the hammering and the drilling?
05:27Is that just all done on site?
05:28It's been done literally as it's currently sitting is where it's been built.
05:32Wow.
05:33Because originally I wanted to build it around the back so you can put it around as a surprise.
05:38But then on the other hand, I wanted people to start talking about it.
05:41Yeah.
05:42About four weekends ago when I started building it.
05:46I've started building it here so when people are going past the buses.
05:50They can slowly see the evolution of it.
05:52Yeah.
05:53Great idea.
05:54And I've just noticed, I love you've even got like, you know, the lovely sweeping curves on it.
05:59I mean, you've really gone to town on like the build on it as well.
06:02Do you know what I mean?
06:03All the little rivets and stuff.
06:07Yeah, that's nice that.
06:09There's a man who takes pride in his displays here.
06:12Definitely.
06:13So when do you, what point do you start thinking about, you know, when did you formulate the plans for Hogwarts?
06:19I mean, as soon as you put the lights down, do you have a week off and then your mind starts,
06:23the cogs start going for the following year.
06:25Would you give yourself a good six months off at least?
06:27I know.
06:28I'm always constantly thinking of how to improve stuff.
06:30Yeah.
06:31And to be fair, the Hogwarts Express, building the train has been something I've wanted to do for a couple of years.
06:35Yeah.
06:36And I have been in two minds, Hogwarts Express, Parlour Express.
06:40But I think because of how popular Harry Potter is, I think that's why I'm going for the Hogwarts Express.
06:45Yeah. Harry Potter just seems to keep living on, doesn't it?
06:49Speaking as someone with his own children, it's, I can never see it dying really,
06:54because there's just that new generation that discover it time and time again.
06:57Definitely, yeah.
06:58Cool.
06:59We've had people coming out in the daytime today.
07:01Yeah.
07:02Wanting to see it.
07:03Yeah.
07:04It's just amazing.
07:05It's not just raising the money for the charity, what we get out of it.
07:09It's the joy, what everyone gets out of it as well.
07:12Yeah.
07:13Not just kids, it's adults as well.
07:15That bit of smile for the town, for the village, for the community, it's nice.
07:19Definitely, yeah.
07:20Yeah, yeah.
07:21And also this year as well, Recon Housing Group, my employer, are match funding anything we raise.
07:26Wow.
07:27So anything we raise, they'll be match funding again.
07:29Yeah, yeah.
07:30So well done to Recon Housing Group.
07:32And was it Travis Perkins you said for the wood?
07:34Travis Perkins, yeah.
07:35Well done for them guys.
07:36Let's just sweep round so we can get the full side on effect there and get the gates on as well.
07:45That's awesome.
07:48Well, well done Mr Pickering.
07:50You've done it again.
07:52I dread to think what ideas are going.
07:55I think, you know, basically you've filled the garden.
07:59Yeah.
08:00You might have to go with the amazing miniature display next year.
08:04The world's smallest train or something.
08:06We'll have to start bringing the neighbours into it.
08:08Yeah.
08:09Cheers buddy.
08:10How you doing guys?
08:11You just stopped to have a look at the little train?
08:13Yeah?
08:14Do you live local then?
08:15We do, yes.
08:16So you know that the Pickering's put on a display every year then?
08:19We do.
08:20We do.
08:21It's been a couple of times, haven't we?
08:22They've excelled themselves this year, haven't they?
08:24Yes, it's brilliant.
08:25I mean, I just can't believe the scale of it.
08:26I can't get my head around it, you know what I mean?
08:28So what do you guys think of it?
08:30Good.
08:31Yeah?
08:32What about you chicken?
08:33Cool.
08:34It is cool, isn't it?
08:35It's cool.
08:36And you've put a little donation for the charity in the box as well, haven't you?
08:38You a big fan of Harry Potter then?
08:40Cool.
08:41It's massive, isn't it?
08:42I don't think the real Harry Potter train is this big.
08:44Right, well thank you guys.
08:46The electric bill must be very high.
08:48Yeah.