The Winners – What the Judges Said.

The judges came to Loughton on Friday, despite the pouring rain, and awarded prizes for the various scarecrow competitions. Unfortunately, Sara Young had to drop out at the last minute, but thankfully Nicholas Packham, her Co-chair of the Visual Arts Panel at MK Arts Gateway, gallantly stepped in to replace her. The other judges were Emma Fry, Head of Learning at MK Gallery and Victoria Mayes, Informal Learning Manager at MK Gallery. Here are our worthy prizewinners.

Adults & Families

The overall winner of this competition was number 51, ‘The Scarecow’. The judges were particularly impressed by this entry’s, “great play on words”, especially the witty reference to MK’s infamous concrete cows, and with the attention to detail. The overall verdict was, “An excellent entry all round”.

The runners-up were numbers 33, ‘Blackbeard Bessant’, and 34, ‘Along Came a Spider’.

Of ‘Blackbeard Bessant’, the judges said, “great attention to detail on the face; a scary scarecrow that we can see in a field”.

Of ‘Along Came a Spider’ the judges commended this entry’s, “good use of the garden space. They added, “Intriguing, and a lot of effort. The scary spider is a great touch”.

Children

The overall winner of this competition was number 32, ‘Joyride with Gabby, Hari and Zach’. The judges commended this entry for, “ a great use of the garden space. All the added extras made it fun”. They particularly loved the car.

The runners-up were numbers 21, ‘Mini-G’ and 48, ‘I Love Birds’.

Mini-G was deemed to be, “a great idea for a mini-scarecrow”. The judges liked the accompanying explanation about how the scarecrow was built, and felt that overall, this entry was “very cute!”.

The judges singled out ‘I love Birds’ for his, “Great presence. They “loved the face and the gritty realism of the bird and the `Sun’ newspaper. Very funny!”

Local Firms and Businesses

The overall winner of this category was number 26, Loughton Equestrian Centre’s horses ‘Chillin’ Charlie and Neighing Nellie’. The judges said, “Amazing! Great horses! Strong ideas and impressive handiwork.” The work also had a “great sense of movement”.

Wolverton Gilbert and Sullivan’s Society’s, mermaid, ‘Victoria’ (number 28 on the trail) was praised for being “very theatrical”. This entry had “great style, and a good use of material for the costume”.

The MacIntyre submitted three scarecrows at different locations along the trail, numbers 30, 47 and 49. The judges were impressed by number 47, the ‘Tin Man’ at The Meadway, and by the characters depicted in all three MacIntyre scarecrows.

Children’s Organisations

The overall winner of this competition was Lougton School, with an award given to the whole school (numbers 35-38 inclusive) for a “brilliant effort”. All four year groups were praised for their “great characters and themes”.

The runners-up were number 44, Loughton Manor First School and number 57 Loughton Scout Groups.

Loughton Manor’s ‘Woody and Jessie’ were praised for a realistic depiction of the characters and the Scouts wee commended for some “very scary scarecrows”, that displayed “great variety” and characters that were “brought to life” as well as for “a fun element and good attention to detail.”

If you want to visit these entries to see them in the flesh, Trail Guides are available during the week from 7 Lucy lane Loughton, between 4.00 p.m. and 6.00 pm., or from All Saints' Church after 10.00 a.m. next Saturday, July 6th.

The judges’ ‘Special Awards’ will be presented in a future blog.