Two Manchester sisters are turning dead squirrels from Heaton Park into stationery holders
Over near Heaton Park, there are a couple of women who run an amateur taxidermy business - taking dead squirrels and turning them into stationery holders..
A couple of amateur Manchester taxidermists have gained serious notoriety this week after a post advertising their headless squirrel stationery holders went viral on social media.
The business, which is apparently run by a pair of sisters local to the Heaton Park area, decided to advertise on a Facebook page called The Mancunian Daily as a way to drum up some more interest in their morbid creations.
Little did they know just quite how much attention they would get.
The original Facebook post has now been viewed over five million times and has amassed over 42,000 comments on The Mancunian Daily page alone.
Short and succinct, it reads: “Hi my name is Karen, I upcycle dead squirrels I find in Heaton Park. Perfect holder’s for pens, cutlery etc.
“My husband uses the heads for golf so nothing gets wasted. £10 each or 2 for £35. Tia xx”
Shocking and horrifying some, whilst genuinely intriguing others, the post’s accompanying images show decapitated, hollowed-out squirrels with crossed arms and, in some cases, pink painted nails and rhinestone collars.
It has since been viewed by millions around the globe after being shared widely across Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, and has attracted some very interesting comments, to say the least.
Many have speculated whether ‘Karen’ is real – and even more wondered aloud about the dead squirrels, how exactly she was finding them and what her husband does with the heads to ensure ‘nothing gets wasted’.
One person asked: “She seems to come across a lot of dead squirrels!!!! I only see beautiful live ones thank goodness! Upcycle??? Don’t be falling asleep in the bloody park!!”
Another said: “God im sure people will be going nuts for these, Like somthing out of a f**king horror movie, i mean you’ve even painted the one with the collars f**king nails pink”
Image: via The Mancunian Daily
The person who claims to be the creator of the rodent accessories wishes to remain anonymous, but came forward to The Manc to address the negativity she’s received.
She told us that the taxidermy business is actually run by her and her sister and that although she was upset by some of the comments they now have ‘enough bookings to last a lifetime’.
She says they’ve received hundreds of orders through The Mancunian Daily page.
She told The Manc that she first began experimenting with the practice a few years ago – initially operating on dead birds her cats would bring into the house.
Then, having stumbled across a lot of dead squirrels on walks in the park with her dog, she decided to branch out and ‘upcycle’ them, rather than leaving them behind for the foxes.
She said: “I only do arts and crafts as a side line job. My dog gets walked every day round Heaton Park and we have found a lot of already dead squirrels nearly daily as we walk through bushes and not foot paths.
“I started taxidermy a few years ago on dead birds my cats bring in my house. I decided to do something with the dead squirrels as it would be inhumane to leave them there to get picked up by the foxes.”
Image: via The Mancunian Daily
As for what her husband does with the heads? She clarified, “No I don’t stuff them. He takes them into the shed where he keeps his golf stuff and discards of them on the gollys I think but I have seen him chipping in the garden but I don’t know what he is hitting.”
Screenshots shared with The Manc show one customer, based in Germany, asking for four squirrel pots via International shipment – adding “it would be awesome if I could get 4 fat ones so Beer cans fit in.”
Another potential buyer has messaged to ask, “have you got any squirrells left without all the sparkles please ta.”
Image: via The Mancunian Daily
Of course, not everyone is so keen on the idea of using a dead squirrel as cutlery or stationery pot – and the Facebook page, which is managing orders on the pair’s behalf, has also received a lot of negative engagement too.
Suffice to say, there’s been a lot of interest in the squirrel pots – both negative and positive.
Commenting on the post, the Mancunian Daily admin told us, “We are shocked that the post has got over 5 and a half million views and still going, but we are very grateful for all the new followers to our page.
“Although some of the comments have been nasty we like to promote a positive page as we continue to grow.”
If anyone wants to order a squirrel holder, they can do so by messaging The Mancunian Dailyhere.
Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
Georgina Pellant -
19th January 2022 
