Rita is delighted with her ‘In The Frame’ finds

A charity shop customer is delighted after finding the perfect pictures to display in the home that her beloved husband renovated.

Rita Lambert has been on the hunt for framed photographs of well-known landmarks to put on the walls of her Heath Charnock home, which her builder husband Mike began renovating in 2015.

Mike was cared for at St Catherine’s Hospice in 2019 following a cancer diagnosis, and Rita says that buying the framed pictures from The Mill Shop is a wonderful way to pay homage to him, whilst giving back to the charity.

The photographs were donated to St Catherine’s as part of the hospice’s ‘In The Frame’ initiative, which sees donated picture frames re-used and upcycled to display original paintings, artwork and photographs from talented local contributors.

“Mike and I were always interested in architecture, and I’ve been looking for photographs of interesting landmarks and places we’ve visited which mean something to us,” Rita said. “I’d never come across exactly what I was looking for, but I volunteer in The Mill café in the hospice grounds, and a few months ago there was a craft fair upstairs so I went for a browse.

“I met Peter Frankish, another volunteer who came up with the idea for ‘In The Frame’ and who has taken the project forward. There’s also a section in The Mill Shop next door to the café which sells the framed work, and after speaking with Peter about what I was looking for, he arranged for me to view some there which he was in the process of framing.

“He really understood what I was after, and I bought six black and white shots which I’m absolutely delighted with. There’s one of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge in London; one overlooking St Paul’s Square which I particularly love; and one of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York with the Empire State Building in the background, plus some landscapes.

“I wanted something special and meaningful to put around the house, because it meant so much to Mike. He loved renovating properties and this one is a converted barn which is now quite modern, so the images are perfect and I’m so pleased with how they look.”

Mike was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2016 and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But in October 2019 he began experiencing headaches, and the couple were told that the cancer had unfortunately reached his brain.

“He was in St Catherine’s for around two weeks, and they took such good care of us both,” Rita said. “He didn’t want to be in hospital, we were both quite fearful of that. So it was a relief to come to the hospice and we felt quite blessed that he could be there in his final days. It’s a brilliant place and we immediately felt like he was in the right place; it put our minds at rest so much.

“The nurses and all of the staff are so committed, and it’s such a calming and lovely place. I’m pleased that I’m able to give something back by volunteering in the café which raises funds for the charity, and even more so that I’ve managed to find the perfect pictures for mine and Mike’s home whilst also supporting the hospice.”

• The ‘In The Frame’ exhibition at The Mill Shop is regularly updated with a variety of framed artwork and photographs for sale. The shop is open every day from 10am until 4pm, and pictures are also available to purchase online here.

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