The residents of a Framlingham street are celebrating the festive period with their annual advent calendar window display.
For the past eight years, neighbours in Double Street have pulled together to create a decorative display to be enjoyed by all, while raising some funds for charitable causes too.
The event was started by Gill Knights after being inspired by a village in Cambridge. She then came up with the idea that all the displays could be in one place.
The 69-year-old said; "We do live in a pretty street right next to the church and the castle. It’s an old street, the houses almost all different.
"I thought rather than have the windows dotted around, it’d be nice just to have them all together, so you can walk up and down. And so, I proposed the idea. I invited everybody in the street for tea and cake one summer’s afternoon and put it to them. And we went from there.”
The tight-knit group of neighbours have joined together every year since 2014, with the window display becoming a popular event each year in Framlingham, and further afield too.
The display has attracted visitors from as far as Norwich and despite the pandemic, the neighbours enjoyed a popular year in 2020.
“We did get a lot of visitors last year, people with children especially. Some people come more than once, and children after school. We do encourage people to give money to our charities, but you can come for nothing,” said Gill.
People were incredibly generous.
“We raised over £1,000 last year,” said Gill. “Everything that is given goes to charity. Nobody takes any money for any materials." The displays are simply “a labour of love.”
Gill has no idea what we can expect this year, but her hopes are high.
"I think there are going to be some pretty special ones this year," said Gill. "I was told by a friend that she's got a really good idea, but I don't know what it is. We never know what everyone is going to do, until they do it."
This year, the charities they are supporting are East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice and the Salvation Army.
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