Autumn Equinox: Day 2

The second day of our Autumn Equinox celebrations, and unfortunately rain sort of stopped play for a bit today. The woodland walk I was meant to be leading this morning was cancelled, and then we had to move the Poetry in the Park session for the care home indoors. Still, the rain eased off in the afternoon, so not all was lost.

Autumn Equinox Celebration

In lieu of our planned Poetry in the Park event, I did an indoor Autumn Equinox Celebration at Castlerea Care Home. We had poetry, music, apple pies and lots of seasonal conversation.

Autumn Equinox Walk in the Woods

This evening, I led a woodland walk for Friends of Bailey's Wood to celebrate the changing seasons. As well as talking about the folklore and astronomy of the equinox, we also spotted some lovely signs of autumn, including conkers, acorns and very cute mushrooms. The sun was just starting to set as we finished the walk, which looked fabulous through the trees.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 4

It's the fourth day of the festive season, and I was out in the woods!

Festive Walk and Talk in the Woods

Today was the regular Friends of Bailey's Wood Walk and Talk session, and so I gave it a festive flavour with tales of Christmas folklore, plus mulled apple juice and mince pies for the walkers. The antlers were a little nod to the fact that Bailey's Wood is a remnant of the medieval deer park at Blackley, though I'm now wondering whether dressing as a deer in an ancient hunting ground was really that sensible!

Advent Tea

Today's tea from my Bird and Blend advent calendar was Chocolate Digestives!

Advent Model

And our little festive model from our other advent calendar was a teeny little snow plough!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 2

It's the second day of our Yuletide celebrations. Today was more of an outdoor kinda day (for me - Rob was at work all day).

Walk in the Woods

I had a lovely walk in Blackley Forest today, listening to Christmas music and looking out for all the signs that the Holly King's reign has truly begun. There's a beautiful glade of silver birch trees in the forest, and I've fallen into the tradition of visiting it each December, standing in the middle of it and listening to 'Carol of the Bells'.

Stollen

Tonight, I had a bit of a difficult thing to do, as it was the monthly Friends of Crumpsall Park committee meeting, and sadly the meeting when I resigned as treasurer. I've been treasurer for eight years, and I still love the park a lot, but it's time for me to hand over to someone else now. I took some stollen for the committee so that it wasn't all doom and gloom!

Advent Tea

Today's tea in my Bird and Blend advent calendar was Earl Grey Creme!

Advent Model

Today's model in our other advent calendar was a little Christmas wreath!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 30

The penultimate day of our Halloween celebrations! I've got forest, films and pumpkins planned!

Ghost Stories Walk and Talk

Today started off with a really enjoyable Ghost Stories Walk and Talk for Friends of Bailey's Wood. I led a gentle, social walk in the forest, telling stories about lost knights, woodland werewolves, and the time the devil came to Dam Head. And then we had Halloween cakes and cherry squash in the woods!

Halloween Film Afternoon at the Care Home

This afternoon, I was at Castlerea Care Home for our annual Halloween Film Afternoon. I did my traditional dramatic reading of 'The Raven', and then we settled down with some popcorn and Halloween cakes to watch... well... Halloween.

Crown Prince Squash

More squash! We got a Crown Prince Squash in our Groobarbs veg box today!

Halloween Dinner

We went for dinner at my mother-in-law's tonight. I took her a mini pumpkin, and she gave us pumpkin pie (not made from the same pumpkin, of course).

P is for Prom Night

And then we continued our Horror A-Z with my mother-in-law, watching Prom Night tonight.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 26

Today was a very busy day, involving four different outfits and two different wigs. It was a good day.

Bailey’s Wood Litter-Pick

This morning started off with the monthly Friends of Bailey's Wood litter-pick. As is tradition, we dressed up for October litter-pick. And, as is also tradition, we (or maybe that should be I) tried to make our costumes as unsettling as possible.

Christmas Duck

One of the guys on the litter-pick presented me with a present this morning. He said, "I know you're into your ducks," and I think this is because my little Halloween ducks have been turning up at various events. Then he told me he'd found this one in his garden one day, and I could have it for when we start celebrating Christmas. I love my little garden duck!

Mouse and Chocolate Owls

A present from my mum!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Halloween Special

This afternoon was the annual Hannah's Bookshelf Halloween Special on North Manchester FM, featuring seasonal flash fiction from this year's 3 Minute Scares entries.

Abominable Books

Also on my radio show today, I opened my October box from the Abominable Book Club. I got Disturbance by Jenna Clake and Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram, plus a tote bag, popcorn and a few other treats.

Bailey’s Wood Horror Walk

Then it was to the woods for the Friends of Bailey's Wood evening event... Saturday the 26th - Horror in the Woods. I led some brave souls through the forest, telling stories of other realms, vengeful trees, and why you should never book a cabin in the woods on Airbnb.

L is for The Loved Ones

Back home, we continued our horror A-Z with The Loved Ones.

M is for The Menu

And then we rounded off the day with The Menu.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 23

Today was a bit of a busy, but absolutely lovely, day of Halloween celebrations.

Bailey’s Wood Halloween Story Walk

This morning, I led a Halloween Story Walk for Friends of Bailey's Wood. The kids who came along were so creative and imaginative, looking for clues about the identity of the creature who lives in the woods. Ultimately, they concluded that there's maybe... just maybe... something wrong with the trees. Gulp.

Campfire Tales at Castlerea Care Home

I did my regular poetry and stories session with the residents at Castlerea Care Home this afternoon. On a whim, I thought we might honour the spooky season by telling scary stories. We lit a campfire, gathered round, and started telling stories. I told some of my favourite urban legends (The Killer on the Back Seat and The Vanishing Hitchhiker), and the housemates invented a story about a ghost in the care home. We also listened to some classic Halloween songs (although we had to temporarily turn off the campfire to do that).

Uchiki Kuri Squash Curry

Squash season continues with Uchiki Kuri!