The Northern Soul Christmas Poem: 7.03am, The Snow Lays Round About

Posted by Helen Nugent | Dec 23, 2023 | Books, Enterprise

Oh my, it’s nearly Christmas. We love our festive traditions and here’s a particular favourite: The Northern Soul Christmas Poem by award-winning poet Wendy Pratt, written in response to Not Quite Light’s beautiful photograph taken in Ardwick, Manchester.

7.03am, The Snow Lays Round About

Even the razor wire shines
with the silver of clouds reflected
in a slow-moving river.

Even the streetlamps are stars
and the sky is a shade of promise
and anyone, any single person

even a poor man
gathering fuel
or a delivery man
delivering food

could stop here
and feel like a good king
crowned with a richness

the snow’s brought back
as it lays across the street, deep
and crisp and even.

Poem written exclusively for Northern Soul by Wendy Pratt. Photo by Not Quite Light.

About The Author

Helen Nugent

Helen Nugent is the Founder and Editor of Northern Soul. A Northern lass, born and bred in Manchester, Helen has been back in her home town for 13 years after working in London for The Times and a number of other national newspapers. You can find articles by Helen in, among others, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, The Times, the i newspaper, The Observer, Big Issue North, The Yorkshire Post, and The Spectator. Previous roles include producing and presenting the business news at BBC Radio 5 Live and on BBC local radio across the UK, and freelancing for The Daily Telegraph, The Independent on Sunday, The Sunday Times, and the Financial Times. She also spent 18 months as Money Editor of The Spectator. During ten years at The Times, she won a series of awards including Journalist of the Year and had a number of jobs including News Reporter, News Editor, Lobby Correspondent in the House of Commons, Business Reporter, and Financial Writer. In addition, Helen runs her own media training and PR consultancy firm, Helen Nugent Consulting. Helen has appeared on Sky News, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC World Service, talkRadio, and GB News. An experienced chairperson and speaker, she regularly chairs conferences and events for, among others, literature festivals, award ceremonies, and tech shows. She was also a Guest Lecturer at Westminster University in the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, and a Guest Lecturer at City University and at MMU. She taught Music Journalism at Salford University for a number of years, and taught Political Reporting at Huddersfield University. In 2017, she was shortlisted for Person with Purpose at the Northern Power Women Awards. In 2019, she was a judge for the HWA Gold Crown Awards which recognise the best historical novels. Feel free to drop her a line at nugenthelen@hotmail.com or via the contacts page. All correspondence is welcome, particularly if you would like to share a magical Northern experience.