Preston Poet's work now being used at Barratt Homes

You never quite know the reaction you’ll receive until you do something amazing. That was true of Preston poet Sarah Chadwick. 

 

Her roots are firmly based in the North of England and that was apparent in her spoken word piece entitled ‘Proud Preston’. It went viral on social media and it was a creative project that was inspired by ‘This is the Place’ by Tony Walsh in memory of the 22 people who lost their lives in May 2017 in response to the Manchester Arena bombing. 

 

Barratt Homes saw her true talent and this led to her being commissioned to write a poem entitled ‘Up North’. It praises the established community surrounding their development on Lightfoot Lane, Romans Green. 

 

Despite being born and bred in Preston, Sarah moved to the East Midlands to study at Loughborough University. This was finalised with a degree in Msc in Sports and Exercise Psychology and is happy to be coming  back to her hometown. 

 

She expressed her poem with these sentiments, 

 

“It was a pleasure and privilege to write about our history, culture and sense of community. I hope that my words captured the essence of what it means to be northern and resonate with people from Preston and beyond”. 

 

Sarah’s unique ability in writing poetry combines a vast knowledge of the subject  in which she is writing and the skill in using words to describe a town, place and  people. 

 

Philipa Stewart, Sales Director at Barratt Homes North West revealed her joy about the inclusion of Sarah’s work within the property development, 

 

“We were extremely excited to work with Sarah on this project and we hope her poem will be enjoyed by many. As a leading house builder, we want to do as much as we can to support the community in which we build and that includes showcasing it’s best qualities. We will proudly be displaying Sarah’s latest poem in the show homes now open at Romans Green”.

An extract from ‘Up North’ reads:-

The pride that we feel is second to none
Our strong sense of honour is founded upon 
A certain solidarity we can’t quite explain
Because everywhere else is just not the same

Famed for our culture, craft and cuisine
Where our grit and our graft help us succeed
While our music inspired the rock to our roll
Sparking the sound of our own Northern Soul

Known for our loyalty, laughter and love
Derived from our historical family above, of
Ship-building, coal-mining, wool - weaving heroes 
Whose spirit remains in our blood and our bones. 

^Alex Ashworth CCG Art Blogger