The Hardleeys have officially moved into their new home underneath Alder Hey in the Park.
The Hardleeys (an anagram of Alder Hey) are a family of small creatures who lived in a burrow under the old Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. After being awoken from their hibernation they have finally made the short journey to their new home underneath the new Alder Hey in the Park.
Popular actor Sue Johnston made the trip to Alder Hey in the Park to celebrate their move and to read about some their adventures to patients at the hospital and to support the launch of The Hardleeys book and DVD.
Sue said: “When I was asked to read the story of The Hardleeys for Alder Hey, my initial thought was who or what on earth are Hardleeys! But I soon learnt all about the adorable family of creatures and it is wonderful to contribute to Alder Hey Children’s Charity in this way.”
The Hardleeys are made up of a number of funny and interesting characters including Florence and her brother Albert, baby Rosie, Lizzie the cook, Robert who is the mayor and Isambard who is an inventor. Their adventures can be followed in a new children’s book and DVD, available from Alder Hey Children’s Charity. All profits from the sales of the book and DVD go to Alder Hey Charity to support life-saving medical equipment and research at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Clare White, Chief Executive of Alder Hey Children’s Charity, said: “We are really grateful to Sue in helping us welcome The Hardleeys of Alder Hey to their new home. We would encourage everyone to follow their adventures with our new books and DVDs. There’ll be more adventures to come in the series!”
Allan Johnston from Jungle who created the Hardleeys characters for Alder Hey Children’s Charity said: “It’s great to be involved with Alder Hey. We wanted to create a brand new and unique set of characters for the hospital which we did with The Hardleeys. It is fantastic working with Sue Johnston who helped us bring them to life.”
One of the busiest children’s hospitals in Europe, Alder Hey treats over 275,000 children and young people every year, and opened a new state-of-the-art facility in October 2015. Alder Hey Children’s Charity have invested over £20m towards the new hospital and recently launched their new o raise much needed funds for childhood research and patient experience initiatives.