East Durham mum's lockdown poem inspiring people to explore County Durham once again

A moving poem written by an East Durham mum during lockdown that became a social media sensation features in a new campaign promoting County Durham.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Rainbow Children, by Gemma Peacock from Shotton Colliery, was shared more than 10,000 times on Facebook from Canada to Australia, after she wrote it while feeling down one day during the height of the nationwide lockdown.

Many people recorded themselves reading it including North East celebrities such as Ant and Dec.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Her words are now being used as part of a new campaign by tourism chiefs at Visit County Durham to encourage people to once again visit the area and support its local businesses.

Gemma Peacock and family filming for the campaign video at Beamish Museum.Gemma Peacock and family filming for the campaign video at Beamish Museum.
Gemma Peacock and family filming for the campaign video at Beamish Museum.

The Worth the Wait staycation drive showcases some of the places visitors can enjoy again following the long weeks of lockdown with the poem accompanying a video highlighting the area’s countryside, heritage, culture, family fun and food and drink.

Gemma, 35, wrote The Rainbow Children to reassure her young children at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown after being inspired by all the pictures of rainbows in people’s windows.

She said: “I only expected family and friends to read my poem online when I wrote it in April, but now it has reached thousands and I’m pleased that it has helped people through the lockdown.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"And I couldn’t be more proud that it is inspiring people to come and visit the beautiful county we love so much.”

Gemma, husband Lee and their children Sonny and Kaleb even have a starring role in the video on a visit to Beamish museum.

Councillor Joy Allen, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for transformation, culture and tourism, said Gemma's poem really captured the nation’s mood.

She said: “We know tourism is crucial to getting our economy back on track and to supporting local businesses as we begin to recover from the pandemic, and by attracting people to County Durham this video can help do just that.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The video can be watched on the campaign’s website at www.thisisdurham.com/worththewait or on YouTube.

Read More
Read more: Two year plan to help Hartlepool recover from effects of pandemic

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Hartlepool Mail website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here.

Thank you.