'Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood switches on lights

The stingy scoring but dapper Craig, from BBC TV's truly awful "Strychnine Come Dancing" switched on Salisbury's Christmas lights, earlier this evening.

Here he is, with his silly red plastic cane with Santa, counting down the seconds before the fireworks. More painfully corny than the biggest box of Kelloggs, apparently the whole thing was enjoyed by 14,000 people! With the help of a big TV screen the size of a giant truck

With the Market Square still dug up and cordoned off, it was all a right melee, and I thought I had no chance of getting anywhere close, with a viewpoint. I then went around the block and weedled my way to within four people deep to the side. The side of the stage where all the even more nauseating DJs and compere's struck up the plain awfulness even more! They were always between me and my subject and when they weren't an abandoned microphone stand got in the way....

Two years ago, I had been asked to cover this for the organising City Council and we had the chubby Keith Chegwin doing the honours. The area in directly front is the security/press area - it was almost painful watching my rivals having free and easy access, today. A change in contact within the council and now I no longer get invited... such is the way, I suppose. Last year, there were winds so bad that it was almost called off and had to be scaled right back. I thought it had been cancelled and so didn't go.

Like then, the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 REALLY comes into its own - long enough to pick out the details, fast enough to get handholdable shots under stage lights and a wide enough aperture to help reduce the impact of nasty backgrounds - and foregrounds. If you seriously want to do events like this, then a lens of this type is absolutely vital.

A spectacular firework display followed, Craig danced with one of the comperes (I have THE photos!) and he judged a couple of locals "dancing". The first scored a massive 2/10, the other, 9/10, which must be the highest score he's ever awarded!! (It was quite a dance, I have to admit).

So, if your town has a similar event, get some pics. It's free, your council is spending your money holding it, so get the most out of it!