Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Lannisters, pirates and Paddington Bear – oh my!

Post Thumbnail

If you go down to Chapleton today, you’re in for a few surprises.

Famous fictional characters like The Gruffalo, Batman and Paddington Bear are calling the north-east town home this month, alongside characters like Disney’s Moana and even perennial favourite Mary Poppins.

More than 50 creative models have been dotted about the streets as part of the second annual Chapleton Scarecrow Festival.

Marty McFly and his DeLorean have even rolled into town as part of the celebrations, and famous faces such as Charlie Chaplin have been spotted helping to raise money for good causes.

Great Scott!  Ray Milne, Ashlyn, 8, Leoni, 4, with their Marty McFly and a DeLorean entry .Picture by Kenny Elrick

The theme for this year’s event is movies and cinema – with money being raised for Newtonhill out of School Club, the Chapelton Defibrillator Project and organisers Cairnhill Community Allotments.

There are a variety of prizes on offer for the best scarecrows, and sponsor Legasea is providing gift vouchers as prizes to help to support local small businesses.

Last year’s Scarecrow Festival was a huge success, raising more than ÂŁ1,000 for the allotments and Alzheimer’s Scotland.

However there were concerns, initially, that this year’s event might not go ahead.

One of the organisers, Charlotte Litherland-Moir‎, said that the overwhelming enthusiasm in the community helped to ensure it took place.

Paddington Bear is on the hunt for Chapleton’s best marmalade

The nurse, who has seen the effect of the pandemic firsthand, knew that safety would be paramount.

She said: “We went on the residents Facebook page and put a message up in July – explaining we were very aware of what was going on and that people might not be comfortable with the event this year.

“As lockdown restrictions eased, we asked how people would feel as the scarecrows would bring extra footfall to the town. We also put letters through everyone’s doors so we didn’t miss anyone.

How Far Will Moana Go in the competition? Iona Spence and Skye with their Moana scarecrow.Picture by Kenny Elrick

“People were overwhelmingly supportive, I suppose because this is such an easy event to enjoy from a distance.

“We had an incredibly rainy start to the weekend but now things are well underway. There’s some really brilliant designs this year.”

People have taken inspiration from a variety of other films such as Home Alone, Pirates of the Caribbean and even Wayne’s World.

However, some have branched out from the 2020 theme.

One scarecrow, made by Kirsty Mackay, commemorates Chapelton’s “favourite key-worker” – a postie called Alison.

Alison the postie reimagined in straw

Another home has been adorned with Lannister-themed decorations inspired by HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Ms Litherland-Moir, who has created a Jurassic Park display in her own garden, added the event had “pulled the community together”.

She said: “It is great fun and hopefully can give people something to smile about.”

The event runs until August 31.

To see all the entries online and cast your vote, visit https://scarecrows.cairnhillallotments.uk/scarecrows.