Finally I have a day to myself where nothing is planned! Phew!!! How very wonderful!
Ever since daughter and I acted as ghost walk guides it seems to have been an endless whirlwind of activity. Nights out, family gatherings, endless meals, shifts at the rescue….all very enjoyable but also somewhat exhausting. I’m yearning for long walks and cycle rides now.
Daughter dressed as a guide.
The ghost walks are run to generate funds for the rescue and this one was a real hoot. We had a great crowd who really got on-board with the guides as we walked around Liverpool telling tales of hauntings in days gone by. The ghost walk ends in the cemetery in the grounds of St James’s Anglican Cathedral.
The Cathedral itself is awesome, a majestic sandstone building which is utterly stunning inside.
What always gets me on these ghost walks is all the graves. The cemetery has 58 thousand graves in all and everywhere you walk you are walking on tombstones. The sad part is that many of the dead are tiny children who died in the workhouses. I always think of them as the lost children.
The main guide was telling me a story about a previous ghost walk. Apparently the tour was in the cemetery when they suddenly heard an unearthly screaming. The people on the tour thought it was staged at first but when the screams got louder and closer and no one was to be seen people began to freak out a little. Suddenly, something ran up the leg of one of the women on the tour. She nearly had a heart attack! Turns out it was a baby squirrel that had fallen from it’s drey and broken it’s leg. That’s what was doing the screaming! Luckily for the squirrel it had a bunch of animal lovers to look after it and it was taken to wildlife, patched up and eventually returned to the cemetery.
On a previous ghost walk I nearly died of fright when I fell over a drunk who had passed out in the cemetery…..
So, on to the rescue…..I’m pleased to say that all is well and no creatures died over Christmas which is brilliant. Actually, the rescue has been really quiet over the last week. Normally people are pouring through the doors and it’s all busy, busy busy, so it was rather nice to have peace and quiet for a change. More time to cuddle the odd rabbit and whatnot. I think the lack of hard frosts and snow have been kind to wildlife and not many creatures have been brought in which is good as we’re fit to bursting!
Even the lanes outside the rescue were deserted which made the misty mornings all the more atmospheric!
These type of mornings make you feel part of nature rather than just being amongst it.
This little hog was really sickly but is now thriving along with the other 40 odd hogs…..marvelous stuff!
And these doves are being really cheeky, we leave food out for them but they still nick the seed and meal worm I put out for a pair of little robins that live in the rescue grounds.
And here’s my Christmas dinner, all veggie and totally scrumptious! I really do need a few good long walks now though, if only it would stop raining. Apparently this is the wettest year Britain has ever had, I’ve never known the likes of it.
And finally……a big thank you to Glo for naming my stocks skeleton….she suggested Duggy, short for skullduggery….a fabulous name!!!! So he’s been christened with a little left over champers and is now looking forward to a long and prosperous career!
And finally, finally….I would like to wish all of you and yours a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year filled with good luck and laughter!
Cheers guys and gals!!!
Looks like you had a wonderful holiday. Hope your New Year is off to a great start!
Thanks Debi, it’s been a lovely Christmas and a wonderful start to 2013. Hope yours is going well too. xxxxx
OMG… you don’t get much cuter than that little hedgehog! So glad he is doing well!
Lol, thanks Erik, they are such gorgeous little critters aren’t they.xxxxx
I’m not sure if my first comment went through…I liked your ghost walk stories and was happy that there were people around to help that poor injured squirrel (even though I strongly dislike the squirrel in my neighborhood that tears up my plants). I’m also glad your rescue animals survived the holidays! I love that little hedgehog, I’ve never seen one in person. At our animal shelter we don’t get too many exotic animals, but they do take in the occasional fox, goose, or chicken–any injured or homeless animal is accepted and they work with other rescue groups to rehabilitate them. Best wishes to you in 2013!
Thanks Angela, I have a squirrel problem too, every large seed I plant the squirrel eats!
How lovely that your shelter works with other groups, we do the same. We have groups who care for badgers and a batman for our bats as they tend to need specialist care.
To my knowledge we’ve never had a fox, we can’t really cater for them due to a lack of space so the RSPCA steps in for them.
Have a wonderful New Year, to you and yours.xxxxx
Happy Birthday for tomorrow.
I’m migrating to http://marshland.wordpress.com/
in the new year, which is now I suppose.
Just have to say “ta ra” to the blog.co.uk mob, cross a few i’s and dot a few t’s then start building up the new blog. It will most likely be a mish mosh of stuff like my old one on BCUK, trying not to be too political but maintaining my political incorrectness stance against loonies in peep toe sandals with wispy beards, and that’s just the women.
My main site is about stockcar racing and has also migrated to WordPress http://www.mickmarsh.co.uk/stox/
cheers
Mick aka Zep aka http://mick-m.blog.co.uk/
Thanks Mick. Nice to see you here.
I’m so glad you’ve let me know that you’re moving, I would have really missed you and your crazy zany sense of humour and outrageous comments FAR too much!!! What about Fuggit eh??????
I’ll go take a peek at your new sites and subscibe! xxxxx
I do like the ghost walk pictures, especially the graves in the tunnel. Glad funds are being raised and wildlife rescued.
Have a happy New Year, all the best for 2013.
Thanks Dessie, the grounds of St James cemetery are very interesting, seeped in history with so many unique buildings.
Have a wonderful New Year!xxxxx
Scary piccies! Like a Vampire castle. Poor squirrel.
Happy to see you had a wonderful time.
OYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Happy Birthday. 🙂
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Lol, it is a very gothic looking place. I’m glad the little squirrel was saved, it was lucky that rescue volunteers were around.
OYYYYYYYYYYYY….thanks Vahid!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yes, it’s sad to think how many children perished through poverty and the class system and sadly it still happens across the world, hopefully, one day things may be different.
Our dinner was wonderful, it’s amazing what can be done with veg and quorn products isn’t it?
Thanks for your lovely comment Catherine, it’s been such a pleasure reading your posts, so glad I met you!xxxxx
The ghost walk sounds wonderful, but yes, the little children’s graves are very sad, indeed; if only we’d learn better. I LOVE your Christmas feast (all-veggie: yay!) and wow, is it beautiful! Thank you, again, for all you do to save and restore the precious and vulnerable ones of the earth. Blessings and joy to your New Year!
Gosh, what an AWFUL picture of your daughter!!! LOL. The ghost walk was great fun – I’m glad we didn’t stumble across any bodies this time though!! xx
Lol, you’re gorgeous and you know it! Yes, not a body in sight this time…thank God!xxxxx
How wonderful that you had a vegetarian Christmas feast. I thoroughly enjoyed your pictures and stories… a good way to lay the last year to rest… and may the next year be filled with all manner of good, including good health and good spirits all the way through.
Thanks Shimon, our dinner was lovely and meat free, even hubs had no meat, daughter and I are both veggie so a veritable feast for us. A wonderful year to you too.xxxxx
I hear you on the need (and appreciation) for quiet lulls. Your ghost walk sounds like such fun — apart from the heart-stopping surprises, of course! Those photos are atmospheric indeed. Happy new year to you and your loved ones! So glad we “met” this year 🙂
I’ve had two wonderful days now, all ready to go again now.
Yes, It’s lovely to have met you and your wonderful cats !xxxxx
Groovy is a wonderful word indeed!
How LOVELY to have had the time to snuggle the furry creatures!!! Awwww…. that is your reward for surviving all the clearing up etc you do as a volunteer…. definitely deserve lots of furry cuddles!!! One of my care round clients has a fat little very excited Patterdale terrier I always cuddle….perk of the job! xxxx
Lol, it is lovely to get the time now and again to have a cuddle, normally it’s just a long grind. I do love the snuggly bit, we have lots of rabbits and the like that love to be petted and it’s so relaxing stroking their long silky ears!
Awwwww….the little fat dog sounds lovely! A definite perk!xxxxx
What fun! The ghost walk! Wow…. And your daughter looks most splendid in her rig-out – where’s the picture of YOU though???
Glad the rescue was quiet as of not inundated with wounded creatures… what a relief! I guess for the animals it must be the best day of the year as hardly any rowdy traffic compared to usual.
Happy New Year to you too Dina and hope 2013 is a great and groovy one for you all!xxxx
Lol….I look rather silly in my get up and hate havin me pic taken!!!
Yes it was odd how quiet the rescue was this year, I’ve never known it like that…ever! Lovely for our critters though and more time for snuggling the snugglables!
Lol…I do love the groovy word!xxxxx
You are braver than me to go walking around graveyards – when we were kids there was a long alleyway to get to the church and we told each other stories of the White Lady who would appear – we scared ourselves to death on dark nights going to evening service. Glad you enjoyed your Christmas – I think we will all be glad to get back to normal and eating a bit less too. Back on the diet for the new year definitely.
Old cemetery’s can be rather spooky! We used to have a grey lady at Speke Hall that scared us as kids!
Yes, roll on the spring now when we can all get out and about a bit more.xxxxx
Your dinner looks amazing … and I love the atmospheric photos … and the ghost walks – AAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Lol. Thanks Gilly, dinner was really scrummy. Always too much though, then it’s all turned into bubble and squeak.xxxxx
Wow! What an experience….Who wouldn’t want to go on such walks with such a gorgeous ‘Guide’….;) Lovely!
Scrumptuous Christmas Dinner…..Bet it the atmosphere would have been fabullous…as the day wore on…..;)
Hope you are sufficiently recovered for ‘the next round’…..Hugs! xxx
Lol, thanks Bushka. We has a lovely Christmas dinner. When we’d eaten hubs insisted on playing country and western music and making us sing along! All smashin fun!xxxxx
Good to see that you had a good Christmas.
It’s always interesting to walk round graveyards, but inevitably tinged with sadness looking at young children’s graves.
You must be relieved that the animal rescue was quiet.
Happy New Year! Flighty xx
Thanks Flighty, yes, there is something a little heart-wrenching about looking at children’s graves.
We were all delighted that so few creatures were brought in. Usually animals caught up in snow have little chance of survival as they are often too far gone when they arrive so this year it was nice for a change to just focus on our current residents, who are all coming along beautifully and should be released in the spring.xxxxx
Oh, I’m so pleased you like the name Duggy ~ Skullduggery just came to me as I was thinking about your blog 🙂 What a lovely Christmas table you had! Your daughter looks terrific as a guide, and the stories you told of the squirrel, and tripping over an inebriated individual once before, had me chuckling away. I don’t know how I’d be on a ghost tour….probably shivering in my boots! Your little hedgehog is a cutie! Glad to hear you had a well-deserved day to yourself. Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Thanks Glo, I think your name was a wonderful flash of inspiration. Everyone immediately loved it!
The ghost walks can become a little eerie, all the stories told have been around for over a hundred years and a guide acts them out. The cemetery seems to be a hotspot for unusual activity, usually by the living!xxxxx