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Ghostly tribute to “Screeching Ginny”
YOUNGSTERS
chose Hallowe’en to launch a new piece of artwork at Liverpool South
Parkway in Merseyside telling the spooky tale about a witch said to
haunt the local railway. Students from St Benedict's College
Student Support Centre in Garston created the artwork, in
collaboration with Merseytravel and Liverpool artist Peter Ogunsiji.
Laser cut into galvanised steel, the artwork tells of “Screeching
Ginny”, a local folk story about a so-called witch in
Cressington, who fell in love with a local boy and put a spell on
him to make him love her. Her mother was able to break the
spell and the local boy fell in love with another. The witch saw the
boy with his new fiancée at the old Garston Dock Station and, in
despair, threw herself into the front of an oncoming train.
The witch, and her screeches, are still said to haunt the railways
around the area.
Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel:- “This has been a
fantastic project and the students have all taken an active part in
creating this artwork. It’s only right we display their talents at
Liverpool South Parkway.”
Maria Checkland who works in Merseytravel’s Community Links team,
was heavily involved in the project. She said:- “The students
have been brilliant throughout this project, and have come up with
some really creative ideas for this artwork. We exchanged our views
about what we thought Screeching Ginny would look like, and how we
could tell the story in a simple way. From that, Peter
Ogunsiji took all their ideas away and created a design the students
thought was great. It was then laser cut in galvanised steel, then
taken back to the centre to be painted.”
A short synopsis of the story (see below in italic), developed by
the students, accompanies the artwork on a plaque.
The Story of Screeching Ginny
On 15 November 1959, a group of children were playing near the
railway at Garston Dock Station. All of sudden, an ugly witch
appeared and chased them, flying after them and screeching at the
top of her voice. On St Mary’s Road she gave up the chase, but
the children kept running.
A local boy, aged 10, ran down Russell Road to where his gran was
waiting for him. He told his gran about the witch. She told him it
was Screeching Ginny.
According to local folklore, Ginny was from a strange family who
people thought were witches. They had moved to a house in
Cressington.
It was said that people who didn’t like the family died
in strange circumstances.
Ginny had fallen in love with a local boy, and put a spell on him to
make him love her, but this was broken by her mother. The boy got
engaged to someone else and Ginny was heartbroken. She
followed him and his sweetheart to the station, where she ran
screeching onto the tracks and was hit by a train.
Her ghost is said to still haunt Garston Dock Station even after it
closed in the 1940s. |
Local families join the Club
FAMILIES in
the Norris Green area are jumping for joy as the doors officially
open on a new Children's Centre. Local infants will join
parents, staff and local councillors for the launch of the £2.5m
Clubmoor Children's Centre on Thursday 2 November.
The centre will offer childcare and early learning places for 50
local children under five as well as serving the needs of families
in the whole area. And it will be a 1-stop shop of services
for children and their parents - including adult education, health
and family support services, Connexions and Job Centre plus.
Children's Centre manager Sally Croughan said:- "It's a really
exciting time for the community, and I'm delighted our multi-skilled
team has now moved into the centre. At the heart of everything we
are doing is partnership work with many local organisations. It's
allowing us to develop a range of varied activities and services for
local children and their families. We aim to offer
tailor-made services for the whole community. Not only do we see the
centre as an environment where children can get the best start in
life, but also as a facility which helps them fulfil their potential
throughout their lives."
Liverpool City Council's assistant executive member for Children's
Services, Councillor Jan Clein, said:- "The new Clubmoor
Children's Centre will bring massive benefits to local families,
providing a huge range of services for local children and the wider
community. Liverpool's Children's Centres are playing an
important role in local communities, making it easier for parents to
get vital services and support in the early stages of children's
lives."
The new Clubmoor Children's Centre joins a growing network of Sure
Start centres in Liverpool, offering a range of services for young
children and their families.
Youth workers making a positive difference!
YOUNG people often
get bad press, however, descending upon Southport this month will be
1,000 enthusiastic youth workers keen to make a difference to young
people in their communities. Now in its 4th year, Youthwork
the conference is taking place at the Southport Theatre and Floral
Hall complex from 10 Nov. to 12 November 2006 and is designed to equip and
support youth workers, from around the UK, in their vital role.
In a world of continual change, youth workers are faced with the
challenge of engaging and inspiring young people to reach their
potential. The theme for Youthwork the conference 2006 is “Infinite
Possibilities; Reimaging mission to the digital generation” and
will offer delegates ideas of how to communicate with young people
living in the world of Mp3 players, instant messaging and mobile
video calling.
Project Manager, Ruth Fisher said:- “We’re really pleased that
the online booking has been so successful in helping to reach more
delegates than ever before – passionate youth workers reaching out
to young people in a relevant way have a vital role to play in our
society; joining together to inspire and encourage them in this
challenge is not only incredibly exciting but also a real
privilege”.
The main sessions will guide delegates through teachings from the
Bible and the seminar programme will be practical and skills based.
There will also be extended lecture style seminars and - “lastminute.org”
– giving ideas to those busy youth workers with limited preparation
time. In addition to the main sessions and seminars, there is
a large exhibition area where delegates can pick up new resources
from a number of organisations. There are also forums, receptions
and late night debates throughout the weekend and time to meet and
share experiences with other youth workers.
Youthwork the conference takes place in Southport from 10 Nov. to 12
November 2006. For full-time and salaried youth workers, an
additional 24 hour conference will take place from 9 Nov. to 10 November
2006.
All group bookings receive a discount of 6 places for the price of 5
with a further discount being offered to all delegates who book
online. To make a booking, log on to
www.youthwork.co.uk/conference.
Alternatively, to request a brochure, call Customer Service on 0870
060 3327. |
