Neil Jensen: Shine on brightly but please consider the climate

Hitchin Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We profile some of these businesses and organisations regularly in a feature called 'Up Close in Hitchin' while also encouraging opinion pieces from our readers and trusted contributors, including the superb Hitchin writer Neil Jensen.

So, with Christmas approaching, read on for Neil's latest opinion piece, as he says shine on brightly, but please consider the climate.

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So December has arrived and in some parts of Hitchin, houses are lit-up and snowmen, inflatable Santas and the odd reindeer have already appeared.

Is it all really necessary and does it have any relevance to the spirit of Christmas?

At the risk of sounding all humbug, the community lighting-up of towns all over the country has gone beyond "pretty" and has become tasteless and a questionable use of energy resources.

The past couple of years has seen a revival in climate change awareness, thanks to a 16 year-old Swedish girl.

There's no shortage of hypocrisy among many people who claim to be "green" or climate conscious as they drive around in their gas-guzzling 4x4s or German marque cars.

Take a look around the town and see houses with multiple vehicles parked on their drives.

How on earth are we supposed to take climate change rhetoric and initiatives seriously when we choke our towns with traffic and attempt to heat-up patios and gardens with planet-unfriendly furnaces?

We are not all plugged into ecology or the mantra of David Attenborough, but the very obvious examples of how we can start changing our behaviour is in using fewer cars and consuming less energy.

Christmas is a time to let-off a bit of steam, not carbon monoxide and other chemicals, and we lasted hundreds of years without replicating Blackpool or Southend lights in our front gardens.

You could argue Christmas was more authentic without them. If ever there was a case of using something just because we can, the illumination of the towns and cities of Britain is there for all to see.

Time was when a community tree and a bit of carol singing was enough for most people – what made these things special was the fact it wasn't something you could find on every corner. "Special" is rapidly disappearing as we make the trimmings of festive occasions available at any time.

It's not just the climate, but light pollution is another issue.

Anti-social use of lighting can be a problem – have you ever woken up in the night as a security light floods your bedroom, evoking memories of a WW2 prison camp?

It's all the more ironic when there are so many parts of the town and surrounding villages that could do with some street lighting.

Light pollution prevents us from clearly seeing heavenly bodies like planets, stars and constellations.

True darkness, allowing natural light to flourish, is hard to find unless you live in the middle of nowhere.

The lockdown earlier this year, when air traffic reduced substantially, seemed to create beautifully clear skies that were vivid blue and remarkably still – apart from an increase in birds. It helped, of course, that the weather was fine for much of the summer.

These past few months have shown us that so much of what we covet is unnecessary and how, when there's no major distraction, we revert to some of the simple pleasures of life.

Only this week, I walked through a small lane behind Ickleford church and three women were sat on chairs in the road, appropriately distanced and just enjoying conversation.

It was a delightfully archaic spectacle, reminding me of when my mother would have a cup of tea over the fence with our neighbour.

Some would, justifiably, argue that Christmas is much-needed after the year we have experienced.

Equally, instead of fireworks (literally and symbolically), it should be a time of quiet reflection – more than 50,000 people have died from the virus this year in Britain.

It is a social tragedy, an economic disaster and a political football.

But make no mistake, it is there to be enjoyed and if you use lights, opt for low-key solar power.

Santa Claus probably has sat-nav, after all.

Neil Jensen

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