A little over a year ago, we launched our collaborative eBook BORN IN LOCKDOWN. With 277 authors, this is a story like no other, capturing a moment in history with a chorus of diverse voices. We raised nearly £7,000 for Sands, and the book has been downloaded more than 5,000 times. We made the BBC News homepage and were the lead story on Positive News. For me, it was a privilege of a project, from start to finish.
One of the really wonderful – and unexpected – things to come out of the project was a collaboration with Open Collab. Seeing Mothership featured on BBC Points West, Bristol-based musicians Charlie & Jake (aka Open Collab) got in touch with a proposal: they wanted to set our Born in Lockdown words to live, improvised music, creating a unique sonic landscape. We jumped at it! We decided they’d work with the last two chapters of our book, with 15 of our contributors recording readings to feature in the piece. The result was stunning. I re-watched this collaboration today, and it had me in tears all over again (HERE it is, if you haven’t seen it yet). Wow. The rawness of emotion, the intensity of feeling, and the hopeful spirit. I think it’s amazing. A record of a time, like no other.
The ‘post-pandemic’ landscape that we now find ourselves in is understandably hard to navigate for so many people; the months when we were fully locked down feel at once so recent, and so long ago. Losses continue to be felt. Those lockdown babies, written about so tenderly by our Born in Lockdown crew, are now toddlers. And as strange times for our world continue, with new stresses and pressures, the need for us to write, to process, to document, is there more than ever.
Several people have asked if Mothership courses will return to being face-to-face now, but the truth is, we’ve found our home on Zoom. Our connection is no less diminished for being on screen. I love the fact that mothers anywhere and everywhere can join us. That we can beam inspiration and creative vibes and solidarity into living rooms, nurseries, and bedrooms, where babes and tots are nestled in slings, or napping in adjacent spaces, or watching telly in the background (or howling! We’re all good with howling too, thanks to ‘mute’), while all the while, mothers write. I’ve now run over 200 Mothership workshops, and honestly? Every single one has been a joy.
Our programme of summer courses has just launched and is open for booking – you can find out more HERE. As always, we have four spaces set aside for anyone who couldn’t otherwise afford to take part; these are awarded on trust – no need to prove financial circumstances – and by lottery/draw; get in touch to find out more.
Creativity and maternity forever!
