Four friends in self-isolation in Norwich have written a poetry book with a positive spin on lockdown to raise money for the NHS.
The collection of poems, called ‘The Lighter Side of the Lockdown’, costs £5 and £3 from each sale will be donated to the intensive care unit at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
They were written by Linda Marie Augood, Kathryn Bryant, Vee Pond and Carol Saunders after Ms Pond began writing poetry to help lift her spirits amid coronavirus.
She then posted the poems on Facebook, with the aim of putting a smile on the faces of her followers, and it inspired her three other friends to produce poetry as well.
Ms Pond said: “Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I wanted to keep spirits up, so I wrote a silly poem. The next day I wrote another one to do with the situation.
“After two or three poems, three of my friends joined in and it started from there. We got comments on Facebook and our other friends looked forward to reading the poems daily.
“It certainly kept their spirits up.”
It has been published by Paul Dickson, at Paul Dickson Books, which is based on Bridge Court in Fishergate, after Ms Pond approached him in April.
Mr Dickson said: “Vee approached me in April, to ask if I would publish the poems and sell the booklet, in aid of the NHS. I was pleased to help get the poems into print.
“They give a lighter view of living in the lockdown, as the writers overcome their domestic frustations and the day to day lockdown routine.”
“But they also pay tribute to our front line workers who have kept the country going. The last poem in the booklet particularly pays tribute to our NHS heroes. There’s also a poem about Captain, now Colonel Tom Moore and his fantastic NHS fundraising success.”
Illustrations in the book were created by Rebecca Osborne, while Brendan Rallison led the design.
To order The Lighter Side of the Lockdown, go to the Paul Dickson shop at Allthingsnorfolk.com, or send a cheque for £6.80 (includes postage and packaging) made out to Paul Dickson to Paul Dickson Books, 8 Bridge Court, Fishergate, Norwich NR3 1UE.
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