Obviously it's now that time of year once again where such devices are all over the place, and of course even earlier than ever this year.

I have always loved festive fairy lights ever since I was a little kid, and I can't help feeling a bit nostalgic for older types of fairy lights, which I seem to recall up until the early 90s, almost all sets being of the multicoloured type, and many had shaded bulbs, which we hardly ever see nowadays.

Since around the mid-90s, sets with all-clear bulbs have become the norm (my mom bought our first all-clear bulb set in 1994), which I personally have always thought were very bland and soulless compared to more traditional multicoloured type sets.

My biggest pet hate with Christmas fairy lights is those that are in cool white that look more like silver/grey when illuminated. They look so bland and boring IMO, and my brother has them on his Christmas tree which keep flashing on and off, and I feel dead sorry for my three nephews having such blandness, but they don't seem to mind though, as it's probably all they've ever known.

And don't get me started in those bright all-blue flashing super troupers outside many people's gaffs these days that look like a police car or ambulance is parked on their drive!