Scarecrow Candid - Magic bag containing a Gun

Scarecrow Candid - Magic bag containing a Gun, originally uploaded by Rusty Marvin (just dreaming).

LR-3174 - Oh Tinky Winky, homosexual icon, gun shooter what ever next.

Tinky Winky (played by Dave Thompson, Mark Heenehan, and Simon Shelton) is the first Teletubby. He is the largest and oldest of the Teletubbies, is covered in purple terrycloth, and has a triangular antenna on his head. He is notable for the red luggage he always carries. His character has caused controversy following allegations that his character's behaviour, bag and body colour have stereotypical homosexual qualities.

You just have to love professional and group opinions
Tinky Winky started a still hinted-at controversy in 1999 because of his carrying a bag that looks much like a woman's handbag (although he was first "outed" by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter of July 1997 to The Face).[citation needed] He aroused the interest of Jerry Falwell in 1999 when Falwell alleged that the character was a "gay role model". Falwell issued an attack in his National Liberty Journal, citing a Washington Post "In/Out" column which stated that lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres was "out" as the chief national gay representative, while trendy Tinky Winky was "in." He warned parents that Tinky Winky could be a covert homosexual symbol, because "he is purple, the gay pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle: the gay pride symbol."[6]

The BBC, who co-produced the programme, made an official response, "Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag." Ken Viselman of Itsy-Bitsy Entertainment, who distributed the show in the USA, commented, "He's not gay. He's not straight. He's just a character in a children's series."

In May 2007, Polish Ombudsman for Children Ewa Sowińska revisited the matter, and planned to order an investigation. She said in the 28 May 2007 edition of Wprost [full citation needed] that the handbag-carrying Tinky Winky could promote homosexuality. Journalists from Wprost mentioned claims that the Teletubbies promote homosexuality, to which Sowińska replied that she had heard of the issue. The journalists then asked about Tinky Winky. "I noticed that he has a woman's handbag, but I didn't realize he's a boy," Sowińska told the magazine, adding, "Later I learned that there could be some hidden homosexual undertones." Sowińska said she would ask her office's psychologists to look into the allegations, "and judge whether it can be shown on public television and whether the suggested problem really exists."

But on 30 May 2007, Sowińska said in a public statement that she no longer suspected the Teletubbies of promoting homosexuality. She said: "The opinion of a leading sexologist, who maintains that this series has no negative effects on a child's psychology, is perfectly credible. As a result I have decided that it is no longer necessary to seek the opinion of other psychologists."

Despite the objections, the Independent on Sunday's editors included Tinky Winky as the only fictional character in the 2008 inaugural "Happy List", alongside 99 real-life adults recognised for making Britain a better and happier place. Citation PS Didn't work for me!


Taken during in the Gatcombe and Chillerton Scarecrow Festival the effort and quality of some of the scarecrows is amazing, the humour as well is brilliant, hats off to the people that do this every other year.

To view the set from Gatcombe and Chilerton Scarecrow Festival click me to view a slide show of the set

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scarecrows scarecrow festival gatcombe chilerton tea cake fun stroll walk Kuebiko hay-man decoy mannequin Bird scarer day out village isle wight Hodmedod Murmet Tattie Bogal bogle Bodach-rocais old man rooks gallybagger Mommet Bwbach "Tinky Winky" homosexual gun shooter bag Teletubbies purple terrycloth triangular antenna stereotypical fictional character icon symbol