I work in the centre of London, but I live in a wonderful village that has no streetlights.

None.

So, at night it’s dark. Really dark. In fact, the only light is from the small groups of houses that line the central green.

But come Christmas, people start putting fairy lights up in their trees and the difference is staggering. The dark village green becomes an amazing sparkling space of glowing trees. There is a real human quality to warm white lights, it’s reminiscent of candlelight. It triggers a sense of calm when people see them, children look in wonder.

It totally changed the atmosphere of the village.

When done well, lights can transform the sense of feeling of a space. An increased sense of safety comes to, it sends a signal that the people who occupy this space look after it.

I had an idea I wanted to develop: It’s called the ‘fairy trail’.

The original idea came to me when I was living below Alexandra palace in Hornsey. In winter there was a stretch of trees lining a key path that was so dark it was scary to walk along at night. Increasing potential crime and reducing the use of the park for many months of the year.

Imagine if the trees lining the 500m stretch of path were filled with warm, sparkling fairy lights, not over the top, but a subtle about, just enough to create a safe and inviting atmosphere.

Now here is the kicker.

As people walk along the path and walk towards the softly glowing trees, there are proximity sensors that increase the intensity & visible number of fairy lights so that if a child walks right up to the trunk the whole tree above them is alive with lights and as people walk along the path the areas where people are walking are alive with kinetic lighting!

It would create an inviting path to walk along, whilst also creating a local attraction and increasing safety in the area during the dark winter months.

In fact, I’m going to talk to a lighting consultant next week to see if it’s possible.

Watch this space.