Kai in the mood for some festive fun

Kai Binder set up a Just Giving page in order to boost the budget for Hindley’s portion of the Brighter Borough fund, which covers the council’s costs of putting up Christmas decorations.

Kai, who owns Wigan restaurant Summat To Ate, believes previous efforts at Christmas decorations have been poor and wants to help change that for the future.

“Last year I wrote a post attacking our Christmas displays in Hindley, because we didn’t have one that was good enough,” he said.

“We have had trees in front of shops in past years, but last year we just got a tree which wasn’t even in a good spot.

“Everyone in Hindley decided it was a bit of a joke.”

He added: “You could have driven down Market Street and you could have thought it was February - you wouldn’t have known it was Christmas time at all.

“As a business owner on one of the main streets in Hindley, it’s in my interest to make the town look more appealing.”

After contacting councillors about the issue, Kai began discussions about how to push ahead with getting better decorations for shop fronts and main streets, but realised there was limited Brighter Borough funding.

He has agreed to donate any successfully raised cash directly to representatives for the Hindley ward, to top up the Christmas coffers.

Any surplus money will be saved and used for the following Christmas.

Kai added: “We just want to ensure that we have a nice display.

“I’m not thinking too much about how it gets donated, but it is going directly to the councillors - I’ve organised this with their backing.”

And Kai hopes the idea could spread to other parts of the borough.

“The decorations were shocking across the borough last year, so maybe this could inspire the rest of Wigan to do the same.”

Plans are already afoot for this year’s decorations, with a new tree and a nativity scene being made by volunteer Eric Alker, who is known for his award-winning work with the Hindley Allotment and Garden Society.