Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

From Amie Winehouse to Wayne Rooney and even Ann Widdecombe, Joyce Warren fashions her scarecrows on famous personalities.

"It takes me hours to do a detailed scarecrow. All mine have undies because I go the whole hog!"

Londoner Joyce Warren moved down to the South West with her two sons more than 20 years ago and one of the first things she said was: "What this place needs is a scarecrow."

Looking back she doesn't know why she said it but something about the countryside and modern farming methods meant many crops didn't have a traditional man-made scarecrow for protection.

"Machinery has taken a lot of the magic away. Farmers nowadays don't walk the fields like they use to.

"The loss of hedgerows, making fields bigger, means there's less wildlife around, but there's still plenty of crows."

Joyce Warren and one of her creations

She's been making bespoke scarecrows for more than two decades, after her first attempts ended up strewn around a friend's cottage.

"I believe I've got the right ingredients now. Straw is better than hay because it's more bouncy."

Joyce believes the history behind scarecrows goes back hundreds of years, with the first ever written evidence, a kind of dictionary definition, recorded in 1592.

It's not only this country which celebrates straw figures in shabby clothes hanging from a pole -Μύ Europe and the rest of the world also have their own depictions.

"Most countries have scarecrows, but some don't like effigies of people.

"I believe if the scarecrow is going to do his job he has to have a mystical feel about him."

In pagan times, Joyce says, folklore stories describe how there would have been the odd human sacrifice, hence the crucifix position of the pole.

"It's thought scarecrows were fixed to baker's poles. That's after they'd been used in the old brick oven to push the bread around."

From Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor where Jack A Lent was the name given to a scarecrow, to the Mommet in Somerset and the Murmet in Devon, no one really knows the origins of the scarecrow.

But there's more to these straw bundles than meets the eye and they've certainly not been left on the history shelf.

In Totnes, local resident and photojournalist David Thurston is one of the organisers behind the TOSCAS, an award ceremony for the best made scarecrow.

He's passionate about these images for a different reason.

"I was thinking that a scarecrow competition would be a great way to involve the whole community and have some fun."

But it's fun with a serious message behind it because David is part of the Totnes Allotments Association.

David Thurston publicising the TOSCAS

"Under Acts of Parliament town councils have a statutory duty to make allotment land available, but the bulk of our members don't have any land to grow on.

"That's why we're calling the event all dressed up and nowhere to grow."

Schools, businesses, community groups, and individuals are being asked to use theirΜύ imagination to create their own style of scarecrow.

It all culminates in a big parade through Totnes on 16 May 2009 where singer Billy Bragg will be judging and presenting the prizes.

David said: "We wanted to give the TOSCAS a bit of razzmatazz, so when I met Billy he said he'd be happy to come over from his Dorset home, before doing a tour of Wales to mark 25 years since the miners' strike."

There'll be some interesting prizes, including specially made golden TOSCAS - but the final list is still a secret.

Entries are welcome from anyone anywhere and and an entry form can be downloaded from the top of his page.

Joyce has progressed to commissions, making look-alike scarecrows after her success with a well known silent movie star.

"Charlie Chaplin was my first, but I couldn't put him in a traditional scarecrow pose, with his arms outstretched, as he just didn't do that."

Captured on camera by David Thurston

She's travelled to many places and has even been on Gulf Radio talking about her passion.

But America is where she's often called back to.

"They (scarecrows) don't rot in California", Joyce adds.

"My friend in the States has had her scarecrow re-dressed as Harrison Ford. He started off as Dan Dan the pigeon man, then Mr Vegas, then James Bond as well as transforming into the Grim Reaper!"

"It's harder re-dressing them because you never know if you're going to come across a black widow in the straw or a lizard."

If you're driving around Devon keep your eyes peeled for Joyce's creations, although as she says, you're more likely to find them indoors than in the field.

"I've made scarecrows for people who want them for their front rooms and I've even done one lookee-likee for a 50th birthday, but they hated it so much it ended up in their toilet."