A woman from Pinner has written a book exploring the movement of knitted postbox toppers that became popular across the UK when lockdown hit last year. All the profits from the book will be donated to YoungMinds, a charity supporting children and young people’s mental health.
Lockdown Letterboxes: A very British yarn about the rise of postbox graffiti knitters during COVID, was published last month and uncovers the stories of how everyone’s lives changed during lockdown through yarn bombers of all ages, from all walks of life.
Journalist Belinda Goldsmith said: “I was out for a morning run and noticed a fluffy cover on a postbox so stopped to take a photo of it.
“I did a bit of research and discovered post box toppers had gone viral and people in hundreds of villages and towns across the UK had started making them during lockdown.
“The aim of the book is to look at how everyone’s lives have changed during lockdown and the impact of getting involved with the project. I have spoken to people all over the country from Scotland, Wales, Essex, Devon and more locally.”
The book is written by Belinda and photographed by Rose Cussen from North Harrow, and features around 50 postboxes many of which are locally made.
Belinda has appeared on BBC Breakfast, Channel 5 and ITV News and more talking about the postbox knitting craze which emerged during lockdown and promoting the charity book.
Lockdown Letterboxes delves into the world of yarn bombers, hearing all kinds of stories from a seven-year-old boy learning the craft, to teenagers using knitting as rest bite from their exams, key workers for the NHS in their 20s, furloughed knitters in their 30s, a 40-year-old diagnosed with breast cancer, a 50-year-old suffering with mental health issues and elderly knitters isolating.
The book is available locally at Foodie Wuwdies, Augustina’s Tearoom, TAG in Eastcote, and the Red Onion Cafe in Ruislip or can be found on amazon by searching ‘Lockdown Letterboxes’. All proceeds go to the YoungMinds mental health charity.
Alison Tucker’s work please