Torteval Scarecrow Festival 2010

There were a few political statements in the Scarecrow Festival this year. This one was called 'BP slicks across the Pond!' It came complete with oil slick, hence the plastic drop sheet.

This was Mr Bee's favourite 'Le Tour De Torteval'. Mr Bee has become a great supporter of the Scarecrow Festival. He loves coming as much as the kids.

This was Granddad's favourite - 'Hung Parliament'. You can just see the Australian green and gold hats Mr Bee bought the kids when he went to The Oval to watch Australia vs England, the fifth test in The Ashes.

This one was one of my favourites. I can't remember the exact name, as I have lost the program we were given at the start of the walk but the Mad Hatter complete with silver teapots was very well done; very Johnny Depp.

B3 loved the Cheshire Cat too.

This one won second prize. It was hung with bird feeders filled with nuts, which are a staple bird food here in Guernsey. It was decorated with a variety of little birds. There was a recorded message about how to feed birds which was playing on a loop. Its name? The Nuts So Scary Crow of course.

I was a little concerned when I read the name of this fine fellow. I kept telling myself this was a family event so I need not be worried. He was called 'The Peeping Tom'. As the festival is held in the lanes around Torteval quite often you can not see where the next entry is so I was preparing to leap in front of anything inappropriate, fortunately once I saw him I realised I was being rather ridiculous. I blame it on sunstroke; nothing wrong with me!

This Medusa entry was named something clever to do with Gorgons. B2 really liked this one, especially all the snakes.

This family have entered every year we have come. Their entries are always clever and push the concept of 'scarecrowiness' to its limits. It was called 'Eye Saw'. It came with an accompanying poem about the dangers of modern architecture ruining Guernsey's traditional look.

'N.E. Old Iron' pushed the definition of a scarecrow as well. B1 always has plenty to say about whether it is truly a scarecrow and whether it should be aloud to compete in the competition. This was awarded a Highly Commended ribbon. They were lucky B1 wasn't one of the judges :)

B3 loved Fifi and Friends. She chatted away telling me all about them, who was who and who was friends and who wasn't. Fifi is a TV series made by the creator of Bob the Builder. Apparently when he sold the rights to Bob the Builder he decided to make a show specifically for little girls and came up with Fifi and the Flower Tots; what a smart and very wealthy man he must be judging by the number of little girls sporty Fifi clothes, including B3.

The kids, and Granddad, loved this one. 'Full Moon' was perhaps one of the most photographed entries of the whole show. All the kids thought it was THE BEST!

Here we have the First Prize winner, 'Traditional Torteval Scarecrow'. What a handsome fellow he is too.

We finished the day with a bounce on the jumping castle, a rummage through the jumble sale and an ice-cream.

My Dad was here with us this year and seemed to really enjoy the festival and the walk through the lanes. Dad always comments on the fact that there are very few places to walk without cars. In the Isle of Man there are kilometers and kilometers of walks, all with public access. In Guernsey nearly everything is private land so I think it was a nice change for him to wander the lanes and realise that although there are no truly wilderness areas here there are still quite places to amble.