Just over a year ago when the coronavirus hit the UK and we went in to lockdown, we genuinely didn’t think our company would stand a chance. We’d worked really hard to get our first project off the ground and we’d just received our first commission from Sunderland Culture. When we spoke on the phone we’d agreed that if we’d found it that challenging to get our first small commission in normal times, then there was no way we’d be working during the pandemic. Hopefully we’ll come back to this we decided as Liv started looking into youth support roles and I was applying to Tescos and NHS 111.

We weren’t being defeatist, we just genuinely didn’t think we’d be able to keep going at that point, considering our company was literally set up to provide bedside activity to those most vulnerable to the virus.

We decided to park any projects and just spread a little joy in a simple way. Care staff and activities co-ordinators who we’d worked with over the years as individual practitioners had become friends so we worked with them to get art work into care homes during the first lockdown. We called on our friends and we contacted local schools to get involved too. Before long we were taking requests for big birthdays and letters and art work was sent across the country. 

We didn’t really expect the project to go any further than this, but soon we were running workshops in character as post people ‘Posty’ and ‘Wosty’ from the ‘Nice and Toasty Delivery Service’ over zoom with up to 60 children and a handful of older people at a time. 

Workshops as Posty and Wosty were undoubtedly our favourite workshops that we have delivered over the past year as they were so humorous and fun to deliver. At one point Wosty (Liv) was on zoom running through Iris Brickfields as if she had just escaped the villains lair! The children latched on to the characters and totally engaged with how silly and ridiculous the workshops were in the best way. This was a real feat for us as zoom workshops can be so limiting compared to in person workshops. The ideas that came from the workshops then influenced Ali Prichard's show ‘Love From’ which was all about spreading joy, sending love and letting people know you care.

In October last year, we became an official CIC, we filmed Mariana’s Song in November (read more about this in the separate blog) and Roaming River this March (read more about this here), so we’re pretty pleased that we were able to keep going and do so much.

So what has the past year taught us? That a little bit of joy goes a long way. It’s been pretty bloody hard and actually just making some older people smile in that first lockdown would have been good enough. We’ve been super lucky that we’ve been able to adapt and be busy with projects over the year, despite the circumstances.

Looking towards the future, we’re still working on Marianas Song. We’re also one of the 10 national companies to make up The Care Home Friends and Neighbours: Intergenerational linking network so we are working with 10 schools/youth groups and 10 care homes across Sunderland and Newcastle for the next 18 months on a social action project. More about this in our next blog.

Thank you to Sunderland Culture, UNIONarts, Helix Arts, Arts Council England and Northumbria University for supporting our projects over the past year.