Sunderland's own Christmas tale inspired by Penshaw Monument goes on sale to help life-saving children's charity
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Graphic designer William Boddy, 51, had always dreamed of creating his own Christmas story, and when Dixie Martha Baker, 13, a relative of his wife’s, shared her own illustrations during lockdown, they decided to team up to write When Santa Got Stuck Up the Monument.
They collaborated via email as they pulled together images and the storyline, with the book now on sale and helping to give Children's Heart Unit Fund (CHUF) a welcome cash boost.
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William is married to Heather, 48, who works at Penshaw Farm Shop, which has added the £4 story to its counters for the festive period after it wanted to do something special to mark this Christmas and help a good cause.
Dixie is the daughter of Heather’s cousin Joanne McKinnon, from Washington, and her sister Elma, now 10, was treated for a heart condition when she was just five-months-old, making the fundraising effort even more important for the family.
Dad-of-three William said: “Heather knew I always wanted to write something and I said yes straight away.
"I wanted to set it somewhere familiar, everyone in the North East knows Penshaw Monument.
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Hide Ad“It would be good if families could walk up the hill, look up and the top of Penshaw Monument, see where Santa was stuck and retrace his steps.”
William got in touch with Dixie to ask if she would like to join in the project after he saw some of her drawings and she then spent her school holidays working on the images.
“It’s gone down really well and we’ve had orders in from across the world, Africa and Australia and we also got a message from someone from Sunderland now living in New Jersey who had seen the book and wanted a bit of Penshaw in their Christmas,” added William.
The book can be bought from the Penshaw Tearoom and its bakery, with more information available via its When Santa Got Stuck Up The Monument Facebook page.