Worzel Gummidge was originally the lead character (a scarecrow really) in a 1936 book by Barbara Euphan Todd. It is a children's book, not one of those that you read in one sitting since its over 200 pages, but it is a good read. And it was followed by a number of sequels. Last time I looked on Amazon, there were used copies of these books being sold at 1 pence.
Then there's the tv series, which is the one which I actually remember. Down here we see the crowman. His job is to make scarecrows for the people in Scatterbrook to use in their fields. Thing is, all of his scarecrows come to life when no one is looking, and one of them in particular (Worzel) is the cause of all his troubles.
Worzel befriends two children who have recently come to live in Scatterbrook with their father. They are the only humans that know the truth about Worzel, and most of the time they end up trying to cover up after his antics. However, most of the time Worzel treats the children just as two pests.
Worzel falls in love with an Aunt Sally, who is a very precious antique doll who also comes to life. Although she is originally a fairground doll that was used as a target for throwing competitions, she fancies herself as the stuff of princes and does not want to marry a scarecrow. Never giving up, Worzel keeps running after her, but the only things he gets are a barrage of insults and sometimes a pie in the face.
Worzel doesn't have anything special to write home about, apart from a big heart where a robin's nest resides. He often leads a simple life without having any valuable possessions. However, Worzel has a number of heads that he can resort to in order to improve his abilities. For example, if he wants to read he tosses away his head and puts on his reading head. Likewise he dons his singing head to join the choir, and the wangling head for, you know, fishing!
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