I love the thought of a scarecrow army

I moved here in March, so I’m still finding out what to expect from island life.

But if my first six months are anything to go by, this will be one of those community events that you absolutely have to see.

I imagine the whole island becomes a sort of Pokemon Go game, with families running pell-mell along the seafront to be the first ones to find a rumoured Worzel Gummidge sighting in Sandy Point.

I’m sure this is a family event, aimed at kids, but I am unashamedly excited about making a scarecrow.

My little boy is only nine months old, so I don’t really have the option of putting his name on the entry form.

Maybe I need to grow up and find something sensible to do.

But I’m ridiculously excited to build a gigantic fairy princess scarecrow.

The theme this year is cartoons, so I’ll try to come up with an excuse to explain the pink ball gown and purple hair.

There’s got to be a Disney princess who looks like an explosion in Fabric Land.

Justifying going out to see the other scarecrows will be easier of course, because I can involve my little one in the excitement.

I’m told a lot of people come to the island to see the scarecrows, so hopefully by the time I get a chance to go hunting, the other scarecrows will be used to the attention.

I’m assuming they come alive, like snowmen, these Hayling Island scarecrows.

What’s the point otherwise?

I demand the right to bring my child up believing that he lives on an island where once a year we create an army of straw men, like the one in the Wizard Of Oz, who spend a week brainlessly in our front gardens, and then migrate en masse overnight to whatever the scarecrow equivalent of Santa’s Workshop is.

So yes, if you’re looking for a day out to entertain the Kids between September 23 and 30, I’ll see you on the scarecrow trail.