As you can probably imagine, my housemates don’t totally understand my adoration of the Big Light, and we’re constantly trying to find a lighting compromise in our living room. A delicate balancing act for all involved. They love the softness of a couple of lamps or several lit candles to accompany our TV time, especially now that we’re delving into the world of festive and seasonal films. I’ve never understood the appeal of candles, but perhaps that’s a conversation for another day.

If it were solely up to me, I’d whack on the Big Light and watch the festive classics with the luminous glare of the overhead light all night.

I kicked off my festive viewing this week with The Holiday (it’s never too early), and I watched the entire film in a strongly lit living room and still felt warm, cosy and full of seasonal spirit. See, I can understand people’s qualms with the Big Light – their dislike of its strength and harshness.

However, I quite like how bright it is. It keeps me awake, alert and on top of my daily routine, especially maintaining an internal boundary between my sleep and non-sleep hours. If I settled into a lounge with just the light of a lamp to keep me company, I’d end up falling asleep on the sofa at 4pm. And as lovely as that sounds, nothing would ever get done.

I’m not opposed to a lamp or two but the Big Light will always be a firm favourite in my life. Its intense glare keeps me going – more so than ever now we’re in the dark days of winter – and I already cannot wait to get home, flick on the switch and settle into its brightness.

“I love to watch TV with a strong luminous glare”: in defence of the Big Light