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EVERLASTING LIGHT
Grandad, 73, has displayed the same set of lights on his Christmas tree for 50 years
How many bulbs has he had to change?
A GRANDAD has proudly displayed the same set of fairy lights on his Christmas tree for 50 years in a row.
Michael Gardner, 73, bought the set of 24 bulbs for £1.50 in 1974.
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They were the first decorations he and his late wife Margaret purchased as a married couple, and he has hung them on his tree every year since.
The hardy lights, made by British electrical goods brand Pifco, have survived a house move, the birth of three children, and the arrival of two grandchildren.
And Michael has had to replace only one bulb in half a century.
The former catering lecturer, from Norwich, told The Sun: “We bought them for our first house, the first year we were married, back in 1974.
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"I kept the original box and I carefully package them away each year.
“In those 50 years, only one bulb has gone — but they came with six spares, so I haven’t had to fork out for a new one.
"Things were made to last in the past.”
Michael, who lost wife Margaret on her 65th birthday in 2020, says the lights have huge “sentimental value”.
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He is now hoping to pass them on to his children as an heirloom, joking: “At this rate, they might even see me out!”
A Pifco spokesman said: “We love hearing stories like this.
"Quality and reliability are at the heart of what we do.”
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