Gangsta Granny and Kim Jong-un join the ranks of Tickhill scarecrows

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-un (pictured above) made a surprise appearance in Tickhill, joining a plethora of penguins, a Gangsta Granny and a pair of loved-up lambs in the running for scarecrow festival glory.

In the end, it was the “Ticksville” Wild West scene (below) created by Peter and Sally Lamb at the junction of Castlegate and Market Place that took the top prize in this year’s Tickhill Scarecrow Festival on Saturday.

Second and third places were both animal-themed, with Sharon Copley’s bizarrely comic scene of two sheep presenting themselves to be married and a flock of straw-stuffed penguins created by St Mary’s Church of England Primary School taking the runners-up spots.

Special credit should also go to the volunteers of Tickhill Community Library, who received a “thank you” tweet from comic and writer David Walliams for their scarecrow homage to his children’s book character, Gangsta Granny.

The ninth Tickhill Scarecrow and Flower Pot Festival saw 64 entries from individuals, families, groups, shops and businesses.

The event was organised by the Tickhill Together group, which aims to promote the town.

Other attractions included a scarecrow stilt walker, a children’s scarecrow-themed fancy dress competition, pony rides and amusements.

Tickhill Together stalwart Linda Mayes, of the Castlegate Cards shop in the town, said: “It was a wonderful day and the town was busy until late afternoon.

“I am sure that all of the town’s businesses did very well and it was lovely to see families out enjoying themselves.

“The standard of entries was so high that we decided to have even more winners than usual.

“The Tickhill Community Library volunteers had created a Gangsta Granny as their entry that depicted the character of the David Walliams children’s book of the same name.

“David got to know this and the library staff were delighted when he tweeted them.”

The difficult task of judging the entries fell to the independent judging panel of Mayor of Tickhill Cllr John Bergin, joint organiser of the town’s annual Halloween Festival, Claire West, and member of Tickhill Phoenix Explorer Scouts, James Birch.

The highly commended entries were Eaton’s Butchers, Tithes Lane resident Sue Whitaker, Scarbrough Close, town clerk Margaret Cannings-Clough, Tickhill in Bloom, Tickhill Juniors football team, Tickhill Writers, Enterprise Accountants, Joy and Pete Bullivant, Kath Clarke and the Breese Family.

All proceeds from the big day will be used by Tickhill Together to help to fund future events such as the 1940s Day on Saturday, June 9, and the Late Night Shopping Evening on Thursday, June 29.