Monbulk Christmas window competition winners Kate Butt, Brooke Burnside and Michael Hester from Friends on the Hill.
By Casey Neill
A TOUCH of England in the heart of Monbulk has taken out a town prize.
Friends on the Hill owner Michael Hester’s snow and holly-filled windows won him this year’s Monbulk’s Best Decorated Window title.
Mr Hester hails from the mother country.
“I get very homesick at Christmas,” he said.
“I wanted to represent a memory of my time back in England, bring a little bit of England to Monbulk for Christmas.”
Mr Hester was excited to claim the crown as the ‘new boy in town’, having taken over the café just nine months ago. He also edged out Accent on Main, which has won the competition the past two years.
“So that was a feather in my cap,” he said.
Mr Hester said passers-by regularly dropped in to tell him they loved his display.
He said everyone in the street had put in a ‘real effort’ to win the District Community Opportunities Working Group (MADCOW) contest.
“We want to make Monbulk a Christmas destination to see the windows,” he said.
The displays at Monbulk Pharmacy and Jenny’s Shoppe were both highly commended. Iris Schuurmans and Jenny Breukel selected the winners. Ms Schuurmans said the pair looked for the most decorative and consistent display.
She said the Friends on the Hill windows were very creative.
“They’d gone to a lot of trouble,” she said.
It was the competition’s third year.
