Today, we take a look at the celebrations of William Wordsworth’s sister, and Olympic poetry set to inspire. We also focus on the poet’s home which is going to be transformed.

Dorothy Wordsworth to be Celebrated

William Wordsworth is often celebrated for his contribution to literature; however his sister Dorothy Wordsworth was also a poet, and a diarist, in her own right.

Now plans for a year-round celebration of her work have been awarded a significant grant. The grant has been awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in order to support the project which is titled “I Am Dorothy”. The grant of £67,100 will be used to fund a number of different activities within the local community, including a special piece of art, a portrait of Dorothy, that will be on display during the Cockermouth Christmas lights in December.

Dorothy Wordsworth was born at Wordsworth House on 25^th December, 250 years ago. Her brother acknowledged her are one of his most significant collaborators. She was a passionate poet, and also diarist and an early environmentalist who is known for her observations of nature.

As part of the project, and in a nod to Dorothy’s love of the environment people are being encouraged to join in the “Make the Journey” challenge. This means trying to travel between Rydal Mount in Ambleside, where Dorothy died, to Wordsworth House on Main Street, where she was born. The distance between the two is 30 miles.

The organisers are also asking that whether people make the journey, create poems or art that are inspired by Dorothy that they post them on social media using the hashtags #Dorothy250 and #IAmDorothy.

Motivating an Olympic Team with Poetry

The Australian men’s sevens team at the Olympics are subjected to some rather unusual tactics at the hands of their coach. Tim Walsh, who is a gold medal-winning coach, has subjected them to their bus being stormed by SAS soldiers and poetry.

When the team was announced, each member received a handwritten piece of poetry, now the poetry which Walsh previously used ahead of the team’s Olympic qualifier which took place in November 2019 has made a return to the training regime.

The poems are written by Walsh himself and have already helped him to coach other teams, including the ladies team, to the top of their game.

Former Poets Home to be Transformed into Luxury Residences

A former hospital site in the heart of Richmond, that was once the home of a poet, is set to be transformed into stunning new residences in a sought after area.

The original house was originally the home of James Thomson. The poet and playwright was well known for writing Rule Britannia. He lived there between 1739 and 1748.

The plans for the building suggest that there will be 56 apartments in total, the area where they are located will be very close to the Kew Foot Road Conservation area which is an incredibly popular area of London to live in.

On Thompson’s death, the property was transferred to his friend George Ross. However in recent years the Grade II listed Georgian building has also been used as a hospital.