Alok Sharma, the Member of Parliament for Reading West, helped kick-off Christmas celebrations in Theale this weekend by helping to judge the ‘Best Christmas Window’ competition.

The theme of the competition this year was ‘A Christmas Carol’, with shops being judged on their creativity, impact, theme and effort. Alok joined three other panellists to judge the competition, including a longstanding Theale resident and two pupils from Theale Green School.

Winning the competition was ‘Frame Direct’, a bespoke framing specialist shop, who were presented with the coveted Best Christmas Window shield. Florists ‘Croppers in Bloom’ and charity ‘Mercy in Action’ were both highly commended.

Father Christmas also made a special appearance, switching on the Christmas lights on Theale High Street and set up a grotto for children to visit him and receive a gift. The High Street was closed to traffic for a large Christmas market, which included a host of Christmas-themed food and gifts.

Holy Trinity Church made a special contribution to the evening’s events by staging a traditional Nativity play featuring local primary school children and real donkeys, while the choir sang carols in The Volunteer pub.

Alok Sharma said: “I was delighted to attend Theale Parish Council’s superbly organised Christmas event, many thanks to Parish Council Clerk Jo Friend and all the parish councillors and volunteers who helped to make the evening a wonderful success. I thoroughly enjoyed judging the best dressed window competition, which was very highly contested, so congratulations to the winners, Frame Direct. Thanks also to all of the pupils from Theale Primary School who took part in the Nativity play, which was a confidently delivered and sublime performance by all!”

Jo Friend, Theale Parish Council Clerk said: “We were delighted so many people braved the weather to join us at the Christmas Lights event, which included the biggest Christmas market to date. A big thank you also to Alok, who has been very supportive of Theale, for doing a brilliant job judging the Best Christmas Window competition.”

Photo: Alok joins Father Christmas as he turns on the Christmas lights