Luminous house glows in drab village

13 April 2012

As Kevin Murray pulled into his street after a long business trip he stopped his car and blinked in disbelief.

Where his grey pebble-dashed terraced home once stood was a vivid yellow glowing monstrosity.

His wife Beryl's attempt to surprise her husband had backfired horribly.

The village of Longhoughton, Northumberland, where the houses are a uniform drab grey, now has a beacon of light in its centre.

Beryl had planned to give the house a new look in time for her husband's return but admits her choice of colour may have been a little rash.

The Murrays' luminous home screams out from its spot at the end of Lacey Street and has been re-named Balamory after the colourful village in the kids' TV series.

Beryl, 65, said: "I worked in Tobermory and the houses there were always painted nice colours."

"Ours needed repainting and I thought, with no disrespect meant to the neighbours, that the houses were very bland and some of them look sad and with winter coming I wanted to do something to cheer the place up a bit."

So while Kevin was away, the decorators were called in and the bright yellow paint covered the fading cream.

Beryl said: "I hadn't told my husband and when he came back and saw it was yellow he said it was a complete surprise."

"But he knows what I'm like and although it was a bit of a shock it's grown on him now."

Beryle admits that although she wanted to inject a bit of life into the street, the shocking bright yellow wasn't quite what she expected.

"It wasn't supposed to be that bright," she said. "People have been turning the corner in their cars and nearly bumping into one another."

Mrs Murray said kids have also been singing "What's the story Balamory" as they pass the house."

"We just need to get another few people doing it and the place will look much brighter," said Beryl.

One neighbour added: "It certainly brightens the place up and I think the street needs that because it's a bit dull."

"More houses could be painted in colours, but perhaps not so harshly."

Mrs Murray said she will leave the house yellow over the winter to see if the weathering fades the colour.

If not, she may consider repainting it.

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