Harbingers

Well, I never really understood what a 'Harbinger' was..., is..., but it is a word that always makes me smile at this time of year when Sir Terence Wogan starts to mention anything and everything as being a "harbinger of spring". I looked it up and according to Wiki, a harbinger is a sign of things to come. Well I do hope so because today Linda and I went for a walk around Burscough and spotted several of the affor mentioned harbingers which bode well for the spring. First of all, we start with a beautiful display of Crocus in our own garden, planted last year by Linda and Katie and smiling up at us today like so many hungry baby birds as the sun blessed Burscough for the first time in ages! Weeks, months, nay decades it seems. We also have several displays of Snowdrops, some of which are very special as Linda actually kept them from her Grandmothers garden and we have the pleasure today of seeing flowers from the same bulbs that once delighted Mrs. Pawson herself in Willis Lane, Whiston. A simple but fascinating piece of living history.

It was a gorgeous day to day and for a change I didn't have to wear my hat and gloves, or even my Barbour jacket for our Sunday stroll, it was, well, warm! We've had a tough weekend, in fact a tough few weekends, emptying Linda's house in Southport, so we decided that we'd earned a relaxing walk in the sunshine. (I'm sitting here typing this with a Janet Clarke sized G&T that we have also well-earned!). We'd tried earlier to visit Bank Hall which boasts one of the most magnificent displays of Snowdrops in the country, but, alas, so did half of the county and the resulting queues were not unlike the sort one sees when Gordon and his pals put up the price of petrol by 0.0003 pence at budget time. So we came back home and strolled around the lanes and fields that are so accessible to us around here. I'm creeping to our lovely village now as my last post was somewhat less complimentary to our home location.

Of course I took along my camera and my 'big' lens and as a direct result of doing do, there wasn't so much as a Starling or a stray dog to photograph in the sunshine. Harbinger 2 was delightful though and we saw Snowdrops a plenty. Such simple but beautiful flowers, they never stay around for long enough in my opinion! We did see a black cat by railway line, and a dead rabbit, which started to conjour up a cunning plan to photograph them both (very badly) and tell the local newspaper that we have a wild puma-like 'big' cat on the loose in the village, "the Burscough Big Cat", and that everyone should lock up Mr. Bunny, Fido and Mrs. Fluffy-Whiskers, and indeed any small children, just in case.... But we changed our minds.

Instead we kept on strolling and musing at how such controversy can begin and then we came accross harbinger 3. The people of this village do indeed have a cracking sense of humor. I'll explain.

Of all the unique features in Burscough, the one at the top of Red Cat Lane is my favourite. An expression that has been around for centuries and yet, the only real example that either of us has ever seen.

Yes, we have a 'knackers yard' at the top of the lane and in case you're unsure about what that really means I'll explain in two ways...

First of all, from Wiki; A Knackerman is a person who collects dead, dying and injured farm animals and horses. They render dead animals that are unfit for human consumption and turn them into dog food, cat food and glue. Animals such as workhorses that have died 'in harness' because they are too exhausted or too old to continue working. That is where the slang expression 'Knackered' comes from, meaning 'being VERY tired'. Fabulous!

Anyway, the second, and perhaps the best explanation of what the Knackers Yard is all about comes from our local 'neighbors' who carry out this traditional duty. We nearly wet ourselves at the side of the road when Linda spotted the weather vane atop the Knackerman's cottage.

Enjoy!