Cosham couple raises more than £1,000 for Portsmouth charity with daily Christmas light shows

Selfless Kelly and Myles Semmens transformed their home in Highbury Grove into a spectacular display, running a musical light show complete with LED graphics from December 1 until New Year’s Eve.

The show, which ran every day from 5.30pm to 7pm, caught the attention of neighbours and friends who together raised £1,243 in donations.

Kelly said: ‘Light shows to music are still a relatively new thing in the UK and there are only a handful located on the south coast.

‘Plans started in February 2021 when Myles started to build props and source the pixel lights before embarking on the "geeky techy stuff” mapping the music to the lights.

‘Over 8,000 pixels made up this display, all running from one plug. Believe or not but the lights are low voltage LED therefore not as expensive to run as people might think. Just as well really given the energy prices now.

‘We were inspired, or should that be coerced, into doing a light show by my cousin who does a light show to music at his home in Waterlooville. We love decorating our house for Christmas anyway, so we thought “why not?”’

The cash will go towards Home Start Portsmouth, a charity that provides a local network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through challenging times.

‘We knew we wanted to raise money for a local charity but didn't know where to start in choosing one,’ Kelly added.

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‘Using the power of Facebook, we polled our family and friends. Home Start Portsmouth was recommended by a friend following the care and support she'd received following a challenging multiple birth. Following some further research into the charity we knew we wanted to support the charity for our Christmas 2021 light shows.

‘The support we received from the local community was incredible. We were so humbled by everyone's generosity. It was quite amazing how many people who came along had been a volunteer for Home Start at one point or another, or even benefited directly from their help.’

Kelly and Myles are are planning similar displays for Halloween and Christmas 2022.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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