NO, you weren’t dreaming if you thought you saw the Queen and Prince Philip half way up Alresford Community Centre over the weekend.

They were there, surrounded by bunting in red, white and blue, but these were stuffed with straw, not the real thing.

Their Majesties were the most prominent of dozens of scarecrows created around the town.

People were encouraged to walk the town seeing how many they could spot.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Spiderman adorned the side of a house in Broad Street, made by the Cowling family, whilst an apt Hampshire Hog was outside Sole’s Butchers. Around the churchyard were Barbie and Ken, Little Miss Muffet and Sunny Jim.

Children at Sun Hill Infant and Junior schools were busy creating many for the school boundaries.

Lots of town organisations got into the spirit including the Brownies, community choir, Rotary, horticultural society, Makins Court, St John’s bellringers, Guides and Methodist and St Gregory’s catholic church.

The town’s first-ever scarecrow festival aims to raise much-needed and urgent funds for the roof and tower fund at St John’s Church.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Rev Phil Collins, rector of St John’s said: “The scarecrows demonstrate how brainy the folk are in and around Alresford to have produced such great displays of ingenuity and fun.”

A concert with the Reading Phoenix Choir was staged on Saturday and on Sunday the Scarecrow Uke Band performed in the churchyard. The festival ended with a peal of bells at 6pm on Sunday.