Creativity comes in many forms. 

A while back our village embraced the creative as we all went goose mad. Not the live ones, nor cooked ones, rather foot tall white polystyrene models. Hundreds of them!

Then the challenge was set – to decorate these as beautifully, unusually, imaginatively as possible. 

The gauntlet was thrown down by a local artist who is active within the community and after organising numerous Scarecrow Trails she fancied doing something a bit different, something directly related to the village. In the Middle Ages, as geese were driven to London for the fairs, our village became an overnight stop for the travellers. In celebration of this the Goose Trail was born.

All school pupils, participating households and businesses were given their own goose to decorate. I believe the final number was close to 300!

Who would have guessed the artistic flair this project would unleash – puns abounded, fun and wit at every goose, ideas both crazy and topical. An absolute wonder of colour, delight and yes, creativity. I hope you enjoy the brief tour with me.

The British sea-side was celebrated in two installations – just one aspect was slightly wrong. Where’s that breezy, gusty wind that lifts the umbrella and sends it somersaulting down the beach!

Of course, football is hugely popular and there are many supporters locally of London-based team West Ham – known as the Hammers. I wonder how the geese are faring in this match?

There was an international flavour to some of the exhibits and I liked this French one …. Oh, I just wanted to stop for some bread, cheese and wine…

 

This one referred to Sutton Hoo which is one of the most magnificent archaeological finds in England and is nearby. It dates back to the 500 or 600 AD and in the undisturbed burial ship there was a wealth of beautiful and high quality artefacts  including a suite  of metalwork dress fittings in gold and gems, a ceremonial helmet, shield and sword, a lyre, and many pieces of silverware.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A giant SpongeBob SquarePants graced one garden, cheekily chatting away to a goose with most unusual shaped eggs. Ouch.

Not to be outdone one household had a flair for mixing fairytales as they included their stalwart metal scarecrow.

This young goose was  handsomely, meticulously turned out as a RAF officer – of course it can fly, it has wings!

The Top Gun display brought back great memories of seeing the film and particularly its initial dramatic moments. 

Easter is soon upon us and in a few days I’m heading away to the peace and tranquility of the sea, lakes and forests of Sweden. We take this break every year and you can read a bit more about it here. I’ll pop into the blogging world when I get a chance, until then I wish you all a very Happy Easter – may calm, joy and peace be with you all.