16089/7GAZETTE & HERALD: Gandalf, Ellen MacArthur and the Lone Ranger met up in Kington Langley for the fifth annual Scarecrow Weekend with a theme of Heroes and Villains.
Around 50 scarecrows adorned the village, and residents and visitors spent Saturday and Sunday taking part in the scarecrow trail and finding out which heroes and villains were represented.
The event was organised by Valerie Young, Liz Howe and Elizabeth Coles and this year included a children's scarecrow event.
The heroes included superheroes such as Superman, Batman and Spiderman, as well as fantasy heroes like Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, historical heroes Cleopatra and Lord Nelson, and more personal heroes, such as inspirational gardener Gertrude Jekyll.
"The villagers made them and put them up in their gardens and around the village," said Ms Young. "We had a real variety of scarecrows. The weekend is a lovely time for the villagers to walk around and see and talk with people they might not have chatted to in a while. It also brings in a lot of visitors."
The children's class attracted ten entries and the winner was Jessica Baldrian with her scarecrow of Mrs Incredible.
In second place was Charlie Howe with Buzz Lightyear, and Lucy, Ed and Will Brosch were third with Batman.
The adult competition was divided into two classes, with prizes for craftsmanship as well as novelty.
First in craftsmanship were Simon and Catherine Harris with Gandalf, second were Anne and John Gill with Cleopatra and third was Liz Baldrian with Richard the Lionheart.
The winner in the novelty section was the Edwards family with the Cadbury's Heroes.
Val Young was second with Ellen MacArthur and Liz and Steve Howe were third with the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger was also voted the people's choice in a poll of visitors.
Ms Young said there was some friendly rivalry among some of the villagers. She said: "The scarecrows are life size, some have papier mache heads, and a lot of thought and invention goes into them.
"The Lone Ranger was standing with pipes for a gun and he fired water from them if you pressed a button."
As well as the scarecrows, local charities had stalls out to raise money.
Proceeds from the scarecrow weekend, which have yet to be counted, will be donated to the Kington Langley playing fields development fund. The organisers have put on a scarecrow weekend every year for the last five years but Ms Young said they were considering taking a rest next year and making it a bi-annual event.
Each year they have chosen a local charity to receive funds raised.
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