Wendover Scarecrow Trail
Congratulations to Alison Edmonds who took it upon herself to organise this brilliant family friendly activity for Wendover in August 2020.
Its climax will be an awards ceremony
on Saturday 5 September at 3pm
at Fiona Michaels Flowers and Gifts
in the Barn behind 13 High Street, HP22 6DU by the traffic lights.
There will be several prizes awarded so don’t miss this opportunity for a social distanced celebration of creativity and fun in Wendover.
How did it start?
In June Alison started the campaign with posts on Facebook, posters all around Wendover and some leaflet dropping. Many High Street shops were delighted to display a poster and Fiona Michaels came on board early, always offering help and suggestions. Anja from the Shoulder of Mutton was another great source of enthusiasm. As the responses grew in number, meaning that Alison became overwhelmed by the workload, neighbour Sam Males started to help with the admin. She has a background in finance which helped with setting up spreadsheets and tracking everything.
There were 37 scarecrows in all! A magnificent effort by everyone. If you enjoyed taking part this year, you’ll be thrilled that Alison wants to repeat the fun in August 2021 so watch this spot (and online) for more information when the time comes. There will be lots of opportunities for local businesses to become involved, too. Please email scarecrowtrailwendover@gmail.com if you would like to become part of the team. The Trail attracted a lot of interest from people who love to see these amazing scarecrows which were displayed all around Wendover. Photos of scarecrows were sent to Alison who released them from the start date, Saturday 8 August, on https://www.facebook.com/SummerScarecrowTrail. They are also shown below.
Alison said, “I think my favourite aspect is the individual creativity, seeing the ideas that the maker comes up with and how they construct their scarecrows. That’s what makes it so hard to choose a favourite, they are all brilliant. This year there has been a particular hero that has touched all our hearts and inspired so many people, and without the awful coronavirus we wouldn’t have known his name, so take something positive from a year of fear and negativity.” Can you find him in the photos below?
How did it end?
Entry forms were purchased then completed by many individuals and families, and returned to Alison. The competition ended on Sunday 23 August which was after the September print edition of Wendover News went to press. A small booklet showing all the entries is being prepared and will be offered to Wendover Parish Council for their Time Capsule as a record of what happened in Wendover in August 2020. Copies of the booklet will be available to purchase via scarecrowtrailwendover@gmail.com and Fiona Michaels Flowers and Gifts in the Barn behind First Class Barbers by the traffic lights in Wendover High Street. In addition, Carolyn Allen posted on Facebook a pebble she painted of a scarecrow. Alison thought this would be the perfect size to be put into the capsule.
Beneficiaries
Profits from the Scarecrow Trail will be donated to Wendover CofE Junior School and John Hampden Infant School. Alison is chairperson of the PTA at WJS. She is keenly aware of the loss of income because fund raising events had to be cancelled so any money raised will be greatly appreciated.
The Scarecrows
Entrants supplied photos of their scarecrows which are shown below. Most entrants also supplied a little more information about the scarecrow, eg the maker(s) and the inspiration.
1 Groot made by the Kitchen Team at Shoulder of Mutton
2 Superman made by the Manager of the Shoulder of Mutton and his children
3 Incredible Hulk made by Julie
4 Gangsta Granny made by Diane Washington
5 Peter Rabbit made by Sevgi of Istanbul Restaurant inspired by two family house pets
6 Jessie James as an old man made by shop owners in the Barn Courtyard
7 Dorothy, made by Fiona Michaels Flowers and Gifts
8 David (wearing his amazing technicolour dreamcoat), made by Jennifer of JUST, inspired by the Biblical character
9 Mummy made by Heather, inspired by First aid Courses #First Aid
10 The not so famous, scallywag, rascal, brigand and Blaggard made by Wendy, inspired by the history of the characters the have been residents in a Cold Harbour Cottage since the it was a Roman barn
11 Woody made by Ann and her son George who loves Toy Story
12 Zac and Molly wanted to make Thor as he is their favorite superhero and they wanted to make the hammer
13 Lisa, Harrison and Fraser, the boys chose Batman and Joker
14 Lisa, Harrison and Fraser, the boys chose Batman and Joker
15 The Hughes’ Boris Johnson urged passers by to stay alert and protect the NHS. To the Brexiteer right he’s a conquering hero. To the left he’s a Trumpian villain. You decide!
16 Short family, an old house needed an old hero to weave his webs, hence Spiderman
17 Cruella de Vil
18 Paramedic SCAScrow (South Central Ambulance Service) made by Bob, lead governor for SCAS, always heroes every year
19 Captain Sir Tom Moore, NHS Fund Raiser, made by Becca and Indigo
20 Captain Hook made by Louise, Lily and Nan, who have been watching 90’s films, Captain Hook was made to look like Dustin Hoffman and Crocodile was called bouncer from a holiday in Lanzarote
21 Darth Vader
22 David, Lisa and Sophie thought legs sticking out from under the hedge would be fun so the Wicked Witch of the West was an obvious choice
23 St George and the Dragon made by Logans/Furmstons who had been shown a video on how to make a crocodile head from milk cartons, so they adapted it to make the dragon
24 Cops and Robbers, supporting Police as keyworkers in a difficult year
25 HM Queen
26 Griffiths family think that Jack Sparrow is a hero and a villain and like him as both
27 Tobin family, Wonder Woman was inspired by strong women everywhere! A female hero with great hair
28 Peter Pan, was made by the Maggs family
29 Mad Hatter made by Julie, Adam and Leah because 2020 has been a mad year
30 Olaf was made by Jessica because he wasn’t scary
31 Rosie, John and Ashley chose Ladybug and Cat Noir as they were inspired by their heroic efforts to continually save Paris in the TV series Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
32 Eddie and Joseph thought Dr Ranj has been a sensible source of information over the past few months and easily recognisable
33 Ali, Amalie and Trinity thought Dr Nefario is a villain but also a hero, there is always a bit of good in the bad and vice versa
34 Steve and Samantha Males declared that Coronavirus is the biggest villain of 2020
35 Emily and Nic made Harry Potter with love
36 Keyleigh (school leaver) donated her school uniform to Hermione Granger, made by Tracey
37 David and Goliath, made by St Mary’s Church, Ignite aged 7-10 Church group, inspired by the Biblical story:
- Be bigger than your fears
- Size does not matter
- Make use of what you already have
- Believe it’s possible
- Don’t underestimate yourself (ability)