Judging the Scarecrow Festival

Over the weekend of 13/14th June Fornham All Saints held a very successful Scarecrow Festival, and Cllr David Chappell was asked to judge the scarecrows, together with Cllr Bob Cockle - Deputy Mayor of St Edmundsbury Council. Residents showed great ingenuity and skill in creating the many scarecrows on display throughout the village.

This years efforts included some topical political points and the Gordon Brown Scarecrow getting the award for Most Humorous Scarecrow, while the Moseley's Farm Scarecrow may have been one of the largest scarecrows ever made!

The winning scarecrow was Noddy Goes To Hollywood with 18 points closely followed by the Wizard of Oz on 17 pts. The Children's Prize went to Scarecrow's Jane & Michael from the Mary Poppin's story made by a brother and sister who despite being made by children achieved a creditable 16 pts in their own right.

There were 73 collections of scarecrows made with some being joint efforts between residents, and the The Little Mermaid was a joint effort by 10 children in the village. The youngest being 3 years old!

Saturday started at 7.30 am for some residents as displays were adjusted and preparations made. Judging started at 10.30 am and took four hours. Meanwhile residents and visitors enjoyed the events put on throughout the day. Bury Starlets performed their routines on the village green on Saturday, with Silver Mist performing on Sunday. Tea and Cakes served in the Church. A barbecue served food on the village Green, and a Pimm's tent helped provide liquid refreshment to help cope with the heat! St John's Ambulance were in attendance. The Women's Institute provided soft drinks, and there was also candyfloss, popcorn, and ice cream served all day.

Games on the Green included Bowling the Pig; a Raffle, a Tambola while classic cars were on display at the other end of the Green. A vintage steam lorry steamed and whistled its way through the village.

On the evening of Saturday 13th June residents gathered for the Picnic on the Green, accompanied by music provided by our recent postmaster, and the children danced away the night till nearly 10pm.

The whole event was organised by village steering group at times comprising 15 residents, supported by the Women's Institute, all was in aid of the three village buildings; including the Church, the Village Hall and the Community Centre.

We would like to thank everyone for visiting and residents for participating and making it such a fun day for all.

If any residents would like pictures of the winning scarecrows they need only contact me,