Strange things in the countryside

One of the great pleasures of living in the countryside is all the weird and wonderful things people do to pass the time - things which simply don't happen in Canning Town.

For example, the nearby village of Abbotsley is currently hosting its annual scarecrow festival which involves practically every house and cottage constructing a scarecrow (a term which is quite loosely adhered to) and displaying it out front.

This year's theme was films. There were plenty of Pirates of the Caribbean, Spidermen and Alice In Wonderlands. Surprisingly, just the one Harry Potter but several Singing In The Rains. What does this all tell us about the average age of the locals?

My personal favourite was a superb ET flying across a moon in Eliot's bicycle basket.

And for the rest of the year's entertainment, we have the Soap Box Derby, Sponge Flinging and Vegetable Show to look forward too!