Residents of Long Gully are in two minds about the new council law.
“Yeah, I love the fact I can now get to Sydney a full two hours quicker, but now I got to keep my lights up all year, strewth mate pull the other one,” said Tom Thumb, 29, of Long Gully.
The law was passed last night in an unusual sitting of council… meaning that it wasn’t planned, not that they sat crosslegged on the floor and communicated in blimps and bloops like those two aliens on Sesame Street – though they did do that too.
“So they say I got to keep these lights up all year so aeroplanes can see where Bendigo is,” said Mr Thumb. “Can’t they just follow the Rossie Park bats like everyone else?”
The real kick in the guts is there’ll be no saving on electricity, and other drawbacks.
“Once a year the wife’s like, ‘Put the lights up the kids love it’ and I’m all like ‘Give us a hand then’ and she’s like ‘Narr I’ve got things on’ and I’m like ‘Well I can’t do it all myself’ and she’s like ‘Sure you can’ and then I end up almost breaking my neck putting these freaking lights up. What’s going to happen when a bulb goes?” said Mr Thumb.
Mr Thumb doesn’t seem to realise he can just leave the lights up there.
“I got to keep huffing up and down the ladder, and its not even my ladder, it’s me father-in-law’s and he’s going to want it back, so am I going to have to buy a whole new ladder just to keep that runway open?” asked Mr Thumb.
Which when you look on the bright-side… get it? Runway lights? Bright-side? So good.
“I guess on the BRIGHT-SIDE of these lights it’s a small price to pay. It means I can get up to the Harbour City in time for a walk around New Quay in the afternoon. You got to love that monorail they have up there, and the other stuff, like food, and music and the late night culture, or am I thinking of Melbourne?” said Mr Thumb.
The Long Gully Christmas Lights are an in-explainable tradition going back since at least a few years or so (we don’t research very heavily let’s be honest).