For Dalesman Magazine this month, I visited Eric Marshall, of Bagby, whose displays of Christmas Lights attract visitors from far and wide.

Eric, of Bagby, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire, has become a legend in his own village.  Each year, he mounts a bigger and brighter display of Christmas lights outside his home.  “Why?” he says, “I put a few out to start.  Everybody in the village said how nice it looked, so I did more, and it grew.”

Detail of Erics Christmas Lights

After he retired, Eric began making his own Christmas lights.  He says, “I use recycled bits and pieces to make diplays.  I’ve always been keen on electrics.  I’ve done it for at least twenty years – coach trips come to see it.”

His fame spread as far as Hollywood, who featured Eric in a TV programme about European Christmas Lights.

But Eric’s most treasured visitors are the village children.  He says, “They always notice what’s new from year to year.”

Read more about Eric in Dalesman Magazine, December 2014, published under the  title Light Fantastic