A SURE sign that Christmas is not too far away is when the talents of Millicent signwriter Ken Bebbington come to the fore.
For the past 29 years, a count-down to Christmas painted by Mr Bebbington has appeared on the window of a Millicent shop.
Ever since September, passersby of Toy Kingdom in Davenport Street have been reminded via a colourful painted picture of Santa Claus that Christmas is coming.
Proprietors Bill and Helen Davis have relied on the talented brushwork of Mr Bebbington ever since they took over the Davenport Street store in 1988.
According to Ms Davis, they came up with the idea of a weekly pre-Christmas countdown.
“We find the kids really love it and some have their photographs taken alongside the window,” Ms Davis said.
“Ken comes into our shop with some Christmas greeting cards as suggestions.
“I always ask him to paint a cute design with Father Christmas.
“He is an amazing talent as he does it all free-hand”.
Ms Davis urges other Millicent businesses to add to the festive spirit by using Mr Bebbington.
Over the past three decades, Mr Bebbington has painted Christmas promotional pictures at dozens of Millicent businesses, including The South Eastern Times.
Mr Bebbington said he had already completed a number of other window paintings for regular clients.
