From The Daily Mail, last week:
These are Britain's oldest working Christmas fairy lights - which are so ancient the woman who bought them as a teen has now moved into an old people's home.
Vina Shaddick, 61, got the string of colourful illuminations for her festive tree from Woolworths in 1969.
It came with a spare set of bulbs but she's only had to use one - and they have taken pride of place on her family's Christmas tree ever since.
It reminds me a lot of a story they ran a year ago:
Glowing brightly on the tree, these colourful fairy lights look like they could have been bought yesterday.
But they were actually purchased on a trip to Woolworths – 45 years ago. Vina Shaddick has displayed them proudly in her living room every Christmas since 1969, and has only had to change one bulb.
Rather mysteriously, she was 65 a year ago but only 61 this year, but this does not detract from the general point.
I also have two strings of Woolies Xmas lights which have been up for at least the last fifteen Decembers and are still going strong.
Unlike Xmas lights from Homebase - I had a couple of sets which lasted maybe five or ten years and then died on me. I bought some this year which lasted precisely one week, but as they only cost a tenner for 160 lights, you have to take that on the chin, I suppose.
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