If I had to sum it all up in three words I would say.....hectic .........stressful..........exciting.
Not necessarily in that order. It's been an amazing adventure and I think it's fair to say we can't wait for next years competitions.
Let me fill you in on some of the exciting details.
So our week started with the magic that was bringing smiley to life. Now when I say life, I don't mean breathing, heart beating, living sort of life of course, simply taking him from paper to free standing (ish).
The question is of course, how many people does it take to make a scarecrow?
I guess the answer has to be - as many as possible.
The pitfalls when making a scarecrow are many! I mean I didn't think how the arm would bend so I could get the second sleeve onto the wooden frame. I mean wood doesn't bend! I only realised this once the cross frame was glued and screwed together! No worries a sharp knife and lots of safety pins later and the shirt fitted perfectly. Then there was the question of how wide should his gutter hips be? Should they be loose in the trousers or tight? These are questions you don't think you'd be asking yourself I can tell you. After a long, long day and a team of five or six people, he was there. Waiting and ready for his audience at Hampton Court flower show.
I would like to point out that this was the easy part. We then had to transport him to Hampton court with fingers, legs and anything else crossed that he would get there in one piece!
How difficult would it be? If I could transport a drunken, elderly uncle home surely I could get a scarecrow to a field?
Let's just say that we didn't think it would cause so many problems getting a scarecrow into a car! After two hours of pulling, pushing and poking he was finally in.
Check list - fire, tick - tin cans - tick - dynamite, tick - barrel, tick - bird feeder - tick.
They weren't the only items on the list - it was then we realised there was a lot more to take than we thought. But we got it all in and we were off.
Quiet a strange view when I looked in my mirror, I'm sure there were many people who drove past thinking they were seeing things.
We had a scarecrow and he needed to get to his palace!
It took about 3 hours to assemble him. Yes THREE hours, remember this wont you, but he was there ready for his public. So Smileys new home would be a very royal affair for the week and I have to say he was in amazing company.
We didn't want to leave Smiley all week (obviously we had become very attached to him) so we visited him on press day - and if we thought up until then had been exciting, we really didn't have a clue!
Celeb spotting wasn't something we had bargained on, but boy was it fun. The children were besides themselves every time we spotted someone famous. Has to be said that in our excitement some people who were just going about their day became famous in our eyes, even if they weren't.
Its a funny thing when you meet these people off the television. They are just like you and me. Honestly, they are. The first celeb we spotted was the lovely Penny Lancaster. Now I have to say something here and now. In the flesh this woman is beyond beautiful. I was taken aback by her absolute beauty. Stunningly, radiantly beautiful. And so lovely. I mean there she was minding her own business looking at some flowers when a mad woman pounces (not literally you understand) on her to have a photograph with a bunch of kids shes never met before. She smiled and chatted and was just adorable. I am slightly in love with her to be honest! Then we met Joel Dommett, another lovely man who signed autographs, let them have photos taken and chatted with the kids and asked them questions and made their day. I very excitedly spotted the wonderful Jane Moore, all these loose women out and about - and she was just wonderful. Taking the time to talk to the children and having photos taken. Yet again, someone who when you see her in the flesh is just so beautiful and so elegant.
I should point out that we did take in the meaning of this wonderful show. Our first port of call was the butterfly dome, which was hot but surreal. All those stunning butterfly's big and small just flying free. Landing on the children, just flying about. I have to congratulate the RHS for including this as its not something you get to experience every day. Then we went on to wander through and see the lovely gardens that were built. Some we understood, others, well lets just say they must have a very deep meaning!
After encountering a crossing on a pontoon - the children thought that was really exciting- we finally arrived at the lovely scarecrow area. The three hours it took to put him in place and the hours spent working out whether this was right or that was right, was worth every second just to see their faces. They were there. He was there and I have to say I was quite overwhelmed with pride. There were of course other groups of children who were just as excited. To the RHS I can only say one thing and that is thank you. Thank you for having this wonderful campaign that aims to get children looking at gardens and wildlife and their world around them. Thank you for giving them and us the opportunity to get involved in a major public event. Thank you for allowing us to make brilliant memories with them. We were all a little bit giddy and caught up in the excitement when a very familiar face appeared! Mr Ben Shepherd, yes he off of this breakfast t.v show and tipping point (can you tell how I spend my afternoons?) was four foot away and I had this desperate urge to grab him, which I have to say was a bit of a worry. But he smiled and we asked politely if the children could have a photo and it turned out that he was a local boy and he placed his penny vote (all 100 pennies) in our box. He was wonderful having pictures taken, giving autographs asking questions and chatting. Again, another poor soul who just really wanted to pop along and see some flowers and had now been accosted but all the groups that were around the scarecrow area. Ben, thank you for your vote and for just being so lovely with the kids.
Its funny how when you find yourself in that sort of excitable, frenzied atmosphere, time flies by. So after some exploring at the RHS family fun area and some stamp hunting under and humongous wicker ant we started to make our way back.
My daughter wanted to see Tim Peake but I had to embroider the truth and say he was planning another mission! I wanted to bump into David Walliams, but alas it was not to be. The nations Grandma was there though and the children got a chance to talk to Mary Berry and as we nearly reached the finishing point they spotted the ever smiley and beautiful Lisa Snowden. As much as we had invaded these lovely peoples privacy I have to say I was extremal proud of all the children who when I ask "What do we say"?, they literally sang back "Thank you".
Did we win? No we didn't, but it was one amazing journey, for the children, for us and for the school. I can't wait for next year or indeed the next competition.
Oh and you know it took three hours to put him together to display. 35 minutes to take him down! What more can I say?
Where is he now? He is being given a forever home in a a corner at school for everyone to see every single day. To be fair, he does need a little work done but he will soon be back to he royal glory.
Thank you as always to David at Wyevale Enfield- for your constant support for this and all our projects.
