It’s always the most quiet-looking suburban streets that are spilling with drama, and this road has seen it all.

The great Christmas train heist of 2012, neighbours snipping each other’s lights in true ‘Deck the Halls’ style, and friendly resident competition all in the name of charity.

Christmas is here, and many houses across the UK have been getting into the festive spirit, decorating their houses inside and out in preparation for old Saint Nick’s visit last night.

For some, a pine tree with a couple of baubles and tinsel is enough.

But not for this road in South London.

Lower Morden Lane, in Merton, has been rightfully named the ‘most Christmassy road’ in London for decades, with residents going all out year after year to put on an extravagant display of lights and decor.

The tradition began in the late eighties, but in 1997, Sylvia Queensborough began to organise the street to collect donations in aid of St Raphael’s Hospice.

The hospice provides end-of-life care for terminally ill patients and has received over £170,000 in donations over the years, which has helped them to provide free hospice care for the people of Merton and Sutton.

Sylvia passed away a few years ago, however, the locals have continued her legacy, and estimate that they raise around £10,000 a year for the charity.

Resident David Clarke has taken over the organisation of charity collections, alongside his neighbour, Martin.

David has been living on Lower Morden Lane for 32 years and joined in with the tradition from when he first moved in.

He’s now retired, so can dedicate more time to putting up the extravagant decorations, which include a 5ft singing Santa Claus he was gifted by his colleagues.

He said: ‘I collect a few new decorations every year, and some of them are quite old.

‘I have three daughters, who were young teenagers when we moved in here. They’re now in their early forties.

‘They bring their children down, and the grandchildren help me to do the charity collection.

‘Doing this has created a better sense of community. I’ve lived in other areas in London, and the whole stereotype is that people don’t speak to each other, and don’t know each other – it’s not like that around here.’

David’s house is completely decked out in lights, with his bushes, roof, and front door all covered in flashing lights – but he said he has ‘no idea’ how much it costs to run.

Newer residents have also been quick to get involved in the Christmas cheer.

Eda Kilincasn, who lives with her husband Sefa and seven-year-old son Ata, moved to the street two years ago, unsure whether they would join in initially due to their faith.

‘We weren’t sure if we were going to be involved in putting up the Christmas lights as we are actually Muslim, but after we saw the enthusiasm of everybody on the street, we just wanted to be involved.

‘On a Thursday night, a month after we moved in, we just went down to B&Q and bought as much as we could.

‘When I was a teenager, we learnt how to drive and we’d all be like ‘let’s go down that road in Morden,’ and we’d drive down this road and have a look at the street.

‘We feel so happy when we see the little children coming into the driveway, and so many people coming past.

‘Once we moved here, people were joking around with us that we had a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ kind of thing.

‘My son is always running up and down the road, getting ideas, this year he was like ‘mummy, someone else has got this, we’ve got to go down to B&Q and get it’.’

Eda shared that they had spent around £500 on decorations lighting up their house, but they had also DIY-ed their own lights as well, with her husband fashioning a multicoloured Christmas tree out of an old trampoline and some LED light strips.

However, the seemingly light-hearted activity has also led to some neighbourhood drama.

One of the residents repeatedly had her lights cut, allegedly by another neighbour, so can now only put her lights up on the week of Christmas.

Another resident, Bob Bogle, was the victim of a theft ten years ago when thieves made off with a Christmas train that he had erected in his front garden, as well as a huge collection of other decorations.

Bob has been a resident of Lower Morden Lane for over thirty years, and said that he ‘could have been a millionaire if it wasn’t for these lights.’

‘You do get some people who want to compete with each other, but I don’t compete, because I’d win, I could fill two more houses up with my decorations if I wanted to. My wife said ‘don’t you overdo it this year’, because she says I always go over the top.’

Hundreds of people come from all over London to visit the road every year, bringing family and friends along.

Among passersby who were looking to get in the Christmas spirit was 38-year-old Matthew, who had come to see the lights with his young daughter.

Matthew expressed his disappointment in the lights this year, sharing that when he was a teenager, it had been a lot better, and ‘every single house used to be lit up’.

‘Around like twenty years ago it was best, when I was about nineteen. A lot of people have moved out now. I was quite disappointed when I came back and it wasn’t as much’

Gulderen Belliki had also come to visit the lights, with her granddaughter Sahra.

She said that even though she and her family were Muslim, they ‘appreciated the effort’ of residents to put on the display and raise money for charity.

 ‘Even though there aren’t as many English people here now, and they may not be believers of Christianity, they try and do it for the people who have been doing it for years.’

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Lucia Botfield

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