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The lavish decorations adorning "The Churchill Arms" pub in
the fashionable Notting Hill neighborhood took a week and a half
to set up and generate an electricity bill of around 55,000
pounds ($68,000).
"No one passes without stopping, it's unbelievable. There were
queues of people here last weekend," said landlord Gerry
O'Brien, 66. "It is spellbinding."
The extravagant display is stopping drivers in their tracks as
they pull over to take a photo or drawing curious passersby
indoors for a pint.
"We saw it on Instagram and it just looked amazing," said Keith
Willis, 44, an office designer who brought his wife and daughter
to see the festive display. "It's brilliant."
Images of Britain's wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill are
dotted around the pub. A large bust sits on the bar surrounded
by dangling model Spitfire planes and other wartime memorabilia.
"I was rather intrigued, so I came in," said Natalia Kulabuchova,
a university lecturer from Russia who managed to grab a table by
the door at the bustling inn.
"I think it's great, it's traditional. It's what I expected an
English pub to be at Christmas, quite peaceful yet jolly. The
lights and all of the decor is just spot on. It's a postcard."
A large photo of Queen Elizabeth clad in a yellow dress stands
above the street doorway, strategically placed behind a reindeer
and sleigh made of twinkling light to give the impression that
the monarch has replaced Santa Claus.
The landlord, who closes the pub on Christmas afternoon to cook
dinner for his staff, admits that he got carried away with the
decorations but that Christmas is a special time.
The attention has also increased traffic through the pub.
"I feel so excited, I'm really lucky to work here," said
waitress Namtip Annie, who said the novelty had not warn off and
she still can't stop taking photos of the staggering exterior.
The Christmas decorations will be left up until mid-January,
after which the trees will be recycled.
(Reporting by Adela Suliman; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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