Hunter Xmas Lights Run
11 January 2016 / Grant Webber
The annual Hunter Chapter Christmas Lights run was held on Thursday 10th December, after our final monthly meeting for the year. The lingering twilight gave members a chance to touch, feel and even purchase our new Chapter regalia – thanks to our new Chapter sponsors Greenslips.com.au each member received a nice festive discount with first orders!
Once the sun had set, 15 festively decorated cars set off from Club Macquarie for a quick loop to see a small portion of the excellently decorated houses in the Newcastle and Hunter region. An inauspicious start on Lakeview Street in Speers Point did not bode well, but some quite extraordinary houses on The Esplanade entering Warners Bay eased fears of a dud night; an apocalyptic storm the night before cancelled the planned recce run! On to Eleebana we drove down Morris St, Murray St and Cabernet Close which were all spectacular. The latter was a dead-end which led to an impromptu game of MX-5 Tetris, but we forged on!
Due to time constraints we skipped planned detours in to Jamescurt Lane and Schaefer Close in Tingira Heights, and instead went straight on to Panorama Parade in Warners Bay. At this stage our fearless Convenors and tail end-Charlies decided to have “issues”; thanks to Jenny “Tinsel” Luttrell for taking over. Given the number of cars on a suburban run we did well not lose a single car! The display in Panorama Pde was not as extensive as previous years, but our stop in Macquarie Hills certainly made up for that. Taranaki Place and Gelfius Crescent were both a-glow and decked like the proverbial halls. Both are cul-de-sacs though; cue MX-5 Tetris rounds 2 and 3! Plymouth Close in Macquarie Hills also promised much, but was unintentionally bypassed in the interests of time.
On now to Cardiff, and Woden Close and Lowry Street; not the most expansive display of the night, though worthwhile. Last stop was Graham Street in Glendale and this really delivered a fitting finale. On to finish with coffee and lies, where the biggest lie of all turned out to be the promise of coffee!! All in all, an excellent night was had and we are sure to have another Christmas Lights run in 2016; perhaps following the stars to the promise (Mary)land!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all members of our great club. Looking forward to seeing you all in 2016. You never know – I am sure Santa can stuff an ND down a chimney or two! And for Josh, a new set of tires to replace the irreparably damaged one on the night.
