A Christmas-loving grandmother has kept her 1,800 festive baubles hanging up all year - because her injured knee stopped her taking them down in January.Sylvia Pope usually starts hanging her decorations up in September to get them ready for Christmas as it takes her so long to attach them all to her ceiling one-by-one.However, this year it really has been Christmas every day for the 70-year-old, after an operation on her knee meant she was unable to scale a stepladder to take them all down again last January.Instead Sylvia's beloved baubles - worth more than £20,000 - have been up for 12 months, making the living room of her home in Morriston, Swansea, a year-round Santa's grotto.'They stayed up after last Christmas - and they've been there ever since,' said the retired bingo caller.I love it really and at least it means I don't have to spend all those hours putting them up again.'I felt really at home with my decorations up all year.'I had an operation on my knee so I couldn't get up and down my step ladder so quickly.'People laughed that there were Christmas baubles all over my house in June and July but I don't mind. I'm just a Christmas kind of woman.'Among Ms Pope's collection are baubles with cats and dogs on them, along with Disney characters and decorations of every colour of the rainbow.She said: 'I have collected them from all over the world. Kind friends send them to me from all corners of the globe.'The sparkling ornaments, some of which cost more than £23 each - come from places as far away as Egypt, Greece and Las Vegas.Ms Pope said: 'I love them - and everyone smiles when they see how many I have hanging above my living room.'I began collecting Christmas baubles back in 1999 and I now have over 1,800.'Her bauble haven includes a London red bus, a New York taxi, aeroplanes, an old fashioned telephone, helicopters, and even a can of Coke.She said: 'I spend about £100 a year on new baubles and visit all the festive markets to find new ones. My grandchildren and play 'I Spy' with the different baubles. We have great fun.'The twinkling globes are far too many for any Christmas tree so Ms Pope pins them to the ceiling of her living room.The bauble lover has collected them from all around the world, including a Macy's bauble she picked up on holiday in New York.There are so many holes in her ceiling left by the baubles each year that she has to redecorate once they are all taken down.She said: 'The baubles are such a talking point and visitors just can't believe it when they see them.'I intend to keep collecting as many baubles as I can for as long as I can. They are brilliant.'(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az