The Lighter Side of the Lockdown - charity poetry book published

The Lighter Side of the Lockdown

Poems by Linda Marie Augood, Kathryn Bryant, Vee Pond and Carol Saunders.

The Lighter Side of the Lockdown is a collection of poems written by four friends, all self-isolating in Norwich, during the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

Published by Paul Dickson Books on 23 May 2020, price £5 plus £1.80 p+p.

£3 from each purchase will be donated to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals Charity in aid of ICU at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Foundation Trust. 

Vee Pond

Vee Pond was the first to start writing, to help lift her spirits during the lockdown. She posted her poems on Facebook, aiming to put a smile on the faces of her followers. Her poems inspired three of her friends, Linda Marie Augood, Kathryn Bryant and Carol Saunders to start writing as well.

Linda Marie Augood

Vee Pond explains: “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.”

Kathryn Bryant

"Now, thanks to Paul, our collection of poems has been published and we will be raising money from the sale of each book for the Intensive Care Unit at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital." 

Carol Saunders

Paul Dickson added: “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." 

Thanks go to Rebecca Osborne, who created the Captain Tom illustrations, for drawing the illustrations for this booklet and to Brendan Rallison, designer, for his support. 

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 p+p) made out to Paul Dickson to Paul Dickson Books, 8 Bridge Court, Fishergate, Norwich NR3 1UE.