Christmas? Bah, Covid! Again! It's easy to feel downbeat about December 2021. Just as December 2020 turned out to be not as we'd hoped, with families locked down or separated, December 2021 has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. The year started so promisingly, with the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration, Amanda Gorman, delivering an inspirational message of hope with her poem 'The Hill We Climb'. In the summertime live poetry events began returning - and how good that felt! Now many if not most are being cancelled again. 

But we're still holding on to the hope and expectation of seeing our families at Christmas this year. And we at Write Out Loud would like to share this wonderful poem by Liz Berry. 

'Christmas Eve' pictures snow falling on Berry's native Black Country in the West Midlands, whispering like her voice, a moment of warmth despite winter's chill. It is lovingly produced by Cerys Matthews, and Hidden Orchestra. 

We hope you like it just as much as we do. And that you're able to enjoy this festive season, with loved ones hopefully, and look forward to a better 2022.