Siblings' lost school photo pops up 300 miles away
Chris Kirkum, 32, from Holsworthy, Devon, and his sister Jade Kirkum, 30, from Bude, Cornwall, were just children when they posed for the photo at Bude Junior School.
Decades later, the framed picture resurfaced in an Age UK shop in Boston, Lincolnshire where it was posted on a Facebook group for quirky charity shop finds.
Ms Kirkum, who was tagged by someone she had gone to school with, said: "I clicked on the link and couldn't believe it, it was us, it was the most bizarre thing."
Mr Kirkum, a mechanic, said: "I was doing the washing up when Jade showed me the post.
"I couldn't believe it, a photo of us from primary school, just sitting there in a shop hundreds of miles away."
Chloe Poole, a local administration assistant, saw the post and retrieved the photo from the shop.
She posted it to Ms Kirkum, who received it a few days later.
"I'm just glad she got it back," said Ms Poole.
"Photos hold so many memories."
The siblings do not know how the photo ended up so far from home, but suspect it may have been donated by a family member.
"It just shows how powerful social media can be," said Ms Kirkum.
"It's amazing this photo found its way back."
Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.
'You can find today's trends in charity shops'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg8w4knkn1o
Sadness as charity shop to close after 35 years
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Sea creature spotted with mama off California coast. See the ‘uncommon visitors'
A sea creature was spotted off the coast of California with its mama and boaters are calling the encounter 'amazing.' The killer whale CA201A and her offspring CA201A1 were seen among 'beautiful' weather, according to a July 24 Facebook post by the Monterey Bay Whale Watch. The mama, known as Bendy, and her 8-year-old offspring were spotted 'likely in search of their next meal,' boaters said. Killer whales are highly social ocean predators that live and travel in groups, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 'Killer whales rely on underwater sound to feed, communicate, and navigate,' according to NOAA. 'Pod members communicate with each other through clicks, whistles and pulsed calls.' The area usually hosts humpback whales so Facebook users rushed to the comments to share their thoughts on these 'uncommon visitors,' with one person saying, 'Great photos!' 'STUNNING pics!!' another wrote. Monterey is about a 120-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
‘Sweet' pup survived hurricane. Now she's ‘living a cattle dog's dream' on farm
A 'sweet' pup survived a hurricane — then she got 'the ultimate happy ending.' 'She's living a cattle dog's dream now on a farm with lots of animals and lots of room to run, swim, and play to her heart's content,' Malinda Massey, marketing manager for a North Carolina animal shelter, told McClatchy News in a July 24 email. 'Seeing her not only heal but thrive in such a perfect environment is exactly why we do what we do.' The Forsyth Humane Society celebrated the heartwarming adoption after Lucy experienced a rough patch. The shelter said she had been living at another facility when it was 'devastated by Hurricane Helene,' which left parts of the Southeast with catastrophic storm damage in September. When Lucy landed at the Winston-Salem humane society, she was limping due to a broken bone. A team at Bedrock Veterinary Specialists was able to save her leg and help with the healing process. 'Lucy's injured leg definitely took a toll on her,' Massey wrote. 'She was on strict exercise restriction due to her leg injury. Cattle dogs like Lucy need jobs to do and lots of enrichment, so our team worked around the clock to ensure she was mentally stimulated.' At one point, someone tied to the veterinarian's office felt drawn to Lucy's 'sweet, adorable, and happy' personality. Though the woman was hesitant to take the dog home at first, the two soon kicked off their next chapter together. 'It was a big adjustment for her to walk around the farm with me and see all of the new things and animals,' said the woman, identified only as Brittany in a Facebook post from the shelter. 'You could tell by her face and eyes that she loved it instantly! It did take Lucy some time to adjust to my current pack of pups and to learn that the chickens were not to be chased and caught with our mouths!!!' The woman said Lucy became even more affectionate after she adopted her. Now, the pup loves being close to her new owner — unless she's trying to herd animals like geese or horses. 'It's the ultimate happy ending that fills our team with joy,' Massey wrote.
Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Miami Herald
‘Noises on camera trap' reveal first-of-their-kind babies at UK reserve. Listen
As darkness settled over a nature reserve in the United Kingdom, a baby mammal began to fuss and whine to its parent. Unbeknownst to the family, a nearby trail camera captured their interaction. It turned out to be a 'major milestone' for conservationists. Laura Snell, a conservation officer at the Helman Tor Nature Reserve, was helping with routine monitoring efforts when some 'noises on camera trap footage' caught her attention, Cornwall Wildlife Trust said in a July 23 news release. Immediately, she suspected the sounds came from baby beavers. 'At first we weren't certain,' Snell said in the release. 'But recent footage clearly shows a small kit appearing in the corner of the frame.' A video shared on YouTube on July 22 by Cornwall Wildlife Trust shows a beaver moving around at night. Small whining sounds, almost like the fussing of a human baby, can be heard. In a second clip, a baby beaver is briefly visible in the lower right-hand corner, partially obscured by the plants. The larger beaver seems to be taking care of it. The baby beavers are 'the first confirmed wild kits at the site,' which is home to a beaver reintroduction project. Beavers were once widespread throughout the U.K. but 'were hunted to extinction in the 16th century for their fur, meat, and the oil in their scent glands, which was used in medicine and even perfumes,' Cornwall Wildlife Trust said. In hopes of undoing this local extinction, conservation groups have begun rewilding projects. Now, 'beavers are being re-introduced into different parts of Great Britain after an absence of about 400 years,' the organization said. At Helman Tor Nature Reserve, wild beavers 'mysteriously appeared' in 2024 in 'an illegal release' later dubbed a 'beaver bombing,' officials said. The newfound kits are the offspring of these beavers. 'While we don't condone the way beavers arrived at Helman Tor in 2024, it's hard not to celebrate the birth of kits,' Cheryl Marriott, a director at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said in the release. 'It's a great sign that the beavers are thriving and the habitat they've created is healthy enough to support the next generation, but it's also just the beginning,' the organization wrote in a July 23 Facebook post. 'The Trust continues to monitor the beavers at Helman Tor as part of its Wild Beaver Project, which supports the responsible return and recovery of beavers' throughout the surrounding Cornwall region, the organization said. Helman Tor Nature Reserve is in the southwestern United Kingdom and a roughly 240-mile drive west from London.
