Sunderland-inspired poetry and illustrations in special new book by writer-painter duo

A Wearside writer and artist have come together to create a beautiful book of poetry and illustrations, all inspired by events in Sunderland going back... more than a bit.

A Sunderland Miscellany combines the talents of Ian Mole and Pete Dimmock.

It contains 50 poems written by Ian, ranging in subject matter from "cannonball" rocks, to football and historical figures like 19th century politician and bigwig George Hudson and naval hero Jack Crawford.

From Ian's more personal experiences another poem is entitled Two Old Gannies On the Bus and is something we can all relate to.

Ian is a retired English teacher who now lives in London, but is a regular visitor back to his home city. He has written a string of popular books inspired by Sunderland.

Pete is a gifted painter who runs an art class at Ashbrooke Sports Club on Fridays. Peter and Ian were only recently introduced after Ian asked a friend if she knew any illustrators. The results are very impressive.

The poems are in chronological order, so the first one is about the limestone "cannonball" rocks found at Sunderland's beaches and over 200 million years old.

Next is about the 4,000 year-old stone axe in Sunderland Museum.

Ian said: "The subjects include pubs like Chaplin's - The Albion in the old days, Sunderland footballers like Charlie Hurley and Cloughie, coming right up to modern times - what covid was like in Sunderland, when The Spice Girls played here and just walking down the beach.

“The last poem is My Favourite Sunderland Things and is set to the tune of My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music.

"There are 50 poems, 25 pictures by Pete and 25 photographs. It's 105 pages with a poem on the left page and an illustration on the right."

The book is available for £9 at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, National Glass Centre, A Love Supreme shop, Grangetown Post Office and on eBay.

The book is dedicated to Arthur Wyvill, who was to format the pages but sadly died suddenly in December 2023. Arthur had formatted all but one of Ian's previous books.

Ian and Pete are already planning their next collaboration; a book about London.