How our Garden of Lights became a festive fixture
Our Garden of Lights celebration evenings are enjoyed by people throughout the local community and beyond every year, but very few know how they first came about.
It all began in 2017, when the Hospice’s Maintenance Manager Dave Egerton (pictured) approached our then CEO Karen Houlston.
“I asked Karen if there was any way we could put some lights on for the Inpatient Unit,” explained Dave.
“I said it would be of no cost to the Hospice and I would do it all in my own time, so I put a few lights up and everyone liked them.
“The following year, the Fundraising team asked me if they got hold of some lights, would I put them up and I did. From there, it just took off.”
At the beginning, there were around 800 to 1,000 lights – now there are in excess of 11,000 lights which illuminate our stunning gardens in the dark and make them a picturesque scene for patients, staff and visitors to enjoy.
For Dave, a lot of hard work goes in behind the scenes to ensure it looks spectacular.
“I start looking at the lights in October and there’s lots of testing to do,” he said. “There’s around 35 hours of work involved in putting them up.
“We buy some lights and we get some donated, so we mix and match and try to make it look different every year. I have to wire them in such a way based on where the electric points are and I draw a map so I know where to put the lights every year.
“I leave the lights on every night over Christmas, even after we’ve had the Garden of Lights events, for our patients and then start to take them down in the new year. That involves around 25 hours of work in total and then the lights are taken to our Clearance Outlet and Donation Centre to be stored.”
What makes it all worthwhile for Dave is hearing about the positive impact the lights have on our patients.
“On the very first night, I was testing the lights for a couple of hours and a young man came in with his dad, whose eyes lit up when he saw the lights. I had to nip out but I said I would leave the lights on a bit longer for them. When I returned, staff had turned his bed round so he had a better view of the lights. The young man said ‘thank you Dave from me and my dad’. His dad sadly died two days later.
“Two years ago, an elderly lady who has been in and out of the Hospice was here at Christmas. She asked me when the lights would be on as her family were coming in, so we put the lights on for them and they all sat watching them together which was lovely.
“It makes all the hard work worthwhile knowing that seeing the lights could be the last memory for a patient when they come out of the Inpatient Unit into the gardens or sit watching them through their window.”
What started as a way of decorating our Hospice gardens for patients quickly became a fixture in the festive calendar and a popular event which raises vital funds to support the care of patients with life-limiting illnesses from Tameside and Glossop.
“It’s nice to have seen it grow from being just a few lights where a handful of staff were here to open the doors for the public to have a look around,” added Dave.
“In 2021, we introduced the memory stars in the top section of the garden and now it has graduated into a fundraising event which is well supported and raises a substantial amount for the Hospice.”
This year, there are 11 free-to-attend celebration evenings – with a different choir from the local community performing at each one, as well as seasonal refreshments available and a range of festive stalls to browse.
For more details about the event, click here.
By Adam Higgins
