Leigh984, The creative portfolio of Leigh Spencer

The August Bank Holiday Weekend can mean only one thing in the Leicestershire village of Desford, It`s Scarecrow Festival time !. This years theme was "Desford Goes Wild" which got residents and businesses looking to the natural world and beyond to interpret the theme in their own unique way, cue Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and a trip to the Wild Amazon alongside an underwater scene, complete with big a orange octopus, a swing by Tarzan's tree house (or should that be Overhanging Building ?), there is even a trip to the old wild west where there`s talk of Gold to be panned for !. My film shows just a few of the wide selection of amazing creations around the village, visitors could also enjoy a wide range of entertainment, food and more at the church of St.Martins.

Created for the villages Open Gardens event on July 13th 2024 a new postbox topper appeared in Newbold Verdon. Created by the Newbold Verdon Knitsys the topper features a scarecrow/gardener tending to his colourful knitted blooms in his garden. Look closely and you`ll also see a friendly mouse riding on the brim of his hat and a cheeky Robin keeping him company on his shoulder.  The topper is close to the popular village tea room Liberteas which makes it handy should the scarecrow fancy a "Cup 'O' Tea and a Slice 'O' Cake".

A look at some of the entries in the first Ratby Scarecrow Festival which took place over the weekend of October 15th and 16th. The festival, organised by The Ratby Community Group in partnership with The Ratby Library, aimed to raise funds for the Library and tasked village residents with creating a scarecrow based on the theme of Storybooks. The village rose to the occasion with creations as diverse as Wallace and Gromit, The Little Mermaid and Toy Story (with a very realistic Army Man). Join me on a tour of the village and see how many you can spot.

The Boot Route in Countesthorpe is a take on the traditional scarecrow festival during which residents of the Leicestershire village are tasked with decorating the open car boots (trunks) of their cars or house fronts around a theme.  The theme of the event in 2022 was "Through Time" giving the residents much scope to create all sorts of interesting displays featuring everything from dinosaurs (with real smoke) egyptian mummy cars and even a whole train set in one car !. There's always time for a smile.

The annual Desford Scarecrow Festival returned over the August Bank Holiday with a theme of "The Reigning Years" a celebration of events that have occured during HRH Queen Elizabeth II`s reign. The theme "The Reigning Years" offered the creative residents and businesses of Desford a wide variety of options upon which to base their creations, many chose the Royals as a theme with a number of interpretations of the Queens famous parachute entry into the 2012 Olympics alongside Daniel Craig's James Bond. There where some fun interpretations of her majesty's faithful canine friends too with a highlight being a Corgi street party in Manor Gardens (renamed Royal Gardens for the occasion and detailing the lives of the royal family though the decades. The beatles arrived in a classic green car and we took a trip to the club tropicana. There was a Newsflash when the BBC (which celebrates its 100 year centenary in 2022) inspired one creator who turned their front gard...