maandag 29 juli 2013

29th July - This scene no longer exists

This photo, which looks as though it was taken in a park, was in fact the scene which met your eyes on entering the grounds of North Manchester General Hospital in spring during the 1980s. There were several beautiful blossom trees and various flowerbeds with spring bulbs. It was all bulldozed to make way for a new front entrance and wing of the hospital.
I worked there for a while and during lunch breaks I sometimes used to go round the back of the hospital where there were some derelict greenhouses and gardeners' sheds etc. I never saw any gardeners during these forays. An impromptu nature reserve had developed (which needless to say has now made way for acres of tarmac) and among the wildlife I spotted were Poplar Hawk Moths, which have a wingspan of 3 to 4 inches, a blackbird with a white head, and a kestrel.
One day, one of the Poplar Hawk Moths got into the patients' bathroom of the ward I worked on. A patient ran out in alarm. "There's a massive moth in there!" he shouted. "What do you mean - massive?" someone asked.
"It's just filled in a menu!" was his reply.

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