Feeling festive at Loft & Spires

The mayor of St Edmundsbury, Margaret Marks, who judge the competition with the winners at Loft & Spires on the Cornhill, Bury St Edmunds Picture: OUR BURY ST EDMUNDS (Image: Archant)

A different judge is invited to choose the winner each year in the competition organised by Our Bury St Edmunds, which runs the Business Improvement District.

This year the task fell to the Mayor of St Edmundsbury councillor Margaret Marks who also picked out the two runners up. They were another previous winner and runner up last year, florist Tudor Rose in Hatter Street and Bury Sewing & Knitting in St Johns Street.

Councillor Marks revealed that choosing a winner had been much harder than she’d anticipated . She said: “It was an enormously difficult challenge, especially finally choosing between Loft & Spires and Tudor Rose. I must have walked past them at least a dozen times trying to make up my mind but in the end I thought Loft & Spires’ window display was very eye catching, attractive and topical, with all the elements to amuse and engage all ages. But there were at least half a dozen more windows that really deserved to be highly commended too.”

The winning window shows Father Christmas sitting in an armchair in front of a traditionally decorated fireplace, surrounded by gifts and with stockings hanging up for his reindeer.

Romy Abraham who owns Loft & Spires said: “I’m so proud of my fabulous team, Lizzy Hall, Alice Garwood and Frances Maulkerson who once again worked very hard to create this display and for it to be judged the winning window again.

“It’s a great honour to be the first business in the town centre to win this award twice and we will be putting in all our efforts to win it again in 2019 so watch this space.”