Scarecrow world capital

 What an oddity! There is a scarecrow capital of the world and I'm living in it.

  Béville-le-Comte is a small village in the middle of La Beauce, a wheat-growing region of France located around the cathedral city of Chartres. This area is mostly flat for growing cereals, and stretches for many kilometres. So as soon as I was told this was the capital of the world for scarecrows I immediately looked at the fields expecting to see some. There were none. Not a one. Not even the black kites shaped liked crow that move in the wind. How disappointing! Even the village website does not explain how they could designate themselves as the scarecrow capital if I couldn't see them.  

But wait... There are metallic sculptures in parts of the village but what they could possibly scare away beats me. In 1990 the village decided it was the world capital for scarecrows. I have no idea why. 

In 2007 the scarecrow competition was held and the entries placed in the Parc du Jeu de Paume and at the entrances to the village. Competition entries still remain. I can find no explanation. This village barely registers on the internet. Some of the scarecrows are starting to look the worse for wear. These are not your traditional scarerows. 

The village has had a few name changes over the past 1000 years but has been known as Béville-le-Comte since 1795 after name changes during the Revolution. The village church dates partly from the 12th century but the other part is from the 15th century following a fire. The roof of the bell tower was renewed in 2019.

   

The town hall was constructed in 1889 to celebrate one hundred years after the Revolution (though let's keep in mind there have been several revolutions since 1789).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Driving to and from this village has been a hairy experience because the roads are sometimes only wide enough for one vehicle. If vehicles need to pass they are both obliged to drive in their respective ditches and some drivers like to play 'chicken' to see who will move to the ditch first. Well, I'm not arguing with them, they win!

The other problem with these windy, narrow roads is that the crops grow so high that you can't see past all the bends. Wheat and sunflowers can grow really high, the speed limit is 80kms/hr and the locals like to exceed it. Timid little me is terrified I will meet a car racing towards me and I could flip in the ditch. Nerves of steel needed here. Maybe that's why most of the scarecrows here are steel. 

 

Let's take a look at a few more of them... I think I have all the exits covered, so to speak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Beville le Comte, as I said, is in one of the main cereal-producing areas of France. It has been a very hot summer so far and the harvesters are out harvesting crops and the subsequent hay. It's dry and dusty work here where all you can see are brown fields and wind turbines. The harvesters have to be careful as just one spark from their machines can start a serious fire in such dry and dusty conditions. 

Scraps of straw are accumulating around the sliding doors and blow in whenever one of the cats wants to come in the house. Yet, despite it's lack of exciting scenery, I still enjoy driving through the country roads, reliving parts of my past life in this area and imagining that, perhaps, I might, in the near future, be calling this region home, again.