RAW Chronicles - Special Bulletin October 2025

Special Bulletin

Hey everyone! We’ve got some special news this month that couldn’t wait for our November blog post, so welcome to this extra edition of RAW Photography Manchester’s RAW Chronicles. It’s been a busy time, and we wanted to share an interesting adventure to Yorkshire, cool Halloween pictures, and some big updates about our best friend and company mascot, Vixie. So grab a cuppa, settle in, and let’s get to it!

How the Halloween project came about 🦇

We all know that Christmas is nice, but honestly, here at RAW Photography Manchester, we think Halloween just beats it. Well, I think so, anyway. I love bats and spiders for a start (yes, really!) because they’re under-appreciated creatures that quietly do amazing work for our environment. And let’s face it: Halloween arrives at just the right time: when the weather starts to turn, the days get shorter, and it’s perfectly acceptable to embrace a bit of spooky fun as we head into the wetter, colder months. So bring on the bats, the webs, the falling leaves, and the woodland runs!

A trip to Haworth, home of the Brontë Sisters

Which brings us to Vixie’s adventure. As some of you may know, our beloved Vixie was booked in for TPLO surgery for mid-October. So this year, I desperately wanted to craft a fantastic Halloween image of me and her before that journey began. My idea was simple: me as a witch, Vixie by my side in full autumn woodland mode, the whole scene capturing the magic of October.

The resulting image! Just what I had in mind.

Now, unlike me, and despite being an actor, Callum doesn’t really “do fancy dress”, so he decided to skip that part and be boring. After our location research, we found ourselves drawn to the quaint, picturesque village of Haworth in Yorkshire, and in particular to a shop, The Cabinet of Curiosities: a historic Victorian druggist and wonder-filled space with a museum-like interior and plenty of old-world charm.

We chose a date and time, hoping for quiet so we could get great pictures, but oh, how wrong we were 😅! The village was packed, and the shop front hidden by a sea of people wearing the most epic costumes. Callum instantly regretted his life choices as he stood out like a sore thumb.

We asked a lady in an extravagant costume what was going on?! “What? It’s the Steampunk Weekend, of course!” (Which absolutely made my week). The extra layer of weird-wonder and spectacular steampunk attire actually added to the Halloween vibe we were after. For those interested, the Haworth Steampunk Weekend is a charity event (monies raised go to Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice in Oxenhope) that draws steampunk fans in extraordinary outfits, street entertainers, market stalls, steam props and clothes, and all sorts of steampunk goodies.

So yes, Vixie got her Halloween moment in a way we didn’t expect, but in a really fun way. (Huge thanks to the lovely lady who lent me her fluffy coat for the photo! 🙏)

Vixie’s TPLO journey

So, after all the Haworth Halloween fun was over, it was time for Vixie to begin her TPLO journey. For those interested in the topic, read on. (WARNING: coming up, a few photos showing details of her injury and scar. If you’re squeamish like me, look away 🫣)

Back in September, Vixie started limping. At first, we hoped it was a minor thing, so we went to our vet’s, got painkillers, and crossed our fingers. But unfortunately, the limp didn’t go away; after some (costly!!) X-rays, the diagnosis came: a damaged cruciate ligament, and the recommendation: surgery.

On 16 October, Vixie underwent a full Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy at Animal Trust Vets Hospital in Bolton. The team, from receptionists to nurses and the surgeon, was just fantastic.

We’d done our homework: watched videos, read materials, but nothing prepares you for the first 24-48 hours of bringing your shattered pupper home, looking like their world has drained of all colour. She came home, cone on, restricted to a tiny area, meds every few hours (huge shoutout to people who go through this and don't work from home like me! You are true warriors).

And then came the only time I ever wished I'd gone for a chihuahua: toilet time. The vet team recommended 5-minute outings max, and in the home garden. Now, our garden is only accessible by steps, so we had to fashion a ramp out of old wood planks and carry our 40-kilo wolf outside, every 2 hours, hoping she would manage to crouch on a leg that just had a metal plate inserted and secured with big metal bolts... what fun! 🤣

Thankfully, a mere 2 weeks later, she is already doing much better. The swelling has gone down, and despite not going to the toilets regularly (probably due to the fact she's not moving much), she is eating and drinking well and doing fine in herself.

Now onto the next phase of this 4-month-long challenge: the part where she feels a lot better than she is and grows in confidence, and where we have to curb her enthusiasm and keep her locked in and away from every other human and dog so she doesn't get over excited... can't wait!

So there you have it — our extra update for October/November: our love for all things Halloween, our unexpected discovery in Haworth, and Vixie’s surgery and recovery. Thanks for being part of the RAW Photography Manchester journey, for following along, cheering us on, and trusting us with your pets, your people, your moments.

Until next time. Stay safe. Keep warm. 🧡🐾

— The RAW team

Callum, Roxane, Vixie, & Miss BunnyPenny at RAW Photography Manchester