Category Archives: blog

Hills Road Sixth Form College Student Wins Megan Young Poetry Prize

Merrilyn Thomas Posted on by

It is almost a year since the publication of Wordsmith: The Gift of a Soul. This precious memoir is a tribute to the amazing talents of my daughter Megan Young. As she herself wrote: ‘I am a scientist, an artist, a Wordsmith’. She grew up to become an equine veterinary surgeon. But she was born a poet and wrote poetry almost from the moment she could form the letters. It is her work that has given birth to this book and also to the poetry competition, The Megan Young Poetry Prize, which was awarded for the first time earlier this … Read more …

The Death of a Child: A Perpetual Grief

Merrilyn Thomas Posted on by

Time stands still for a parent when a child dies. However much life moves on, as it inevitably does, there is a part of that parent which stops, and remains stopped, at that time when the child died. The way in which life – time – is measured alters. Without conscious thought, my memories are slotted into two different boxes – when Megan was alive and after she had died. These thoughts were reawakened recently when I read a most heartfelt and moving letter in a national newspaper from a woman whose young daughter had died more than 20 years … Read more …

Megan’s Poetry the Inspiration Behind Wye Ride Jump

Merrilyn Thomas Posted on by

Every spring, hundreds of riders, horses and ponies gather on the North Downs in Kent to take part in a ten-mile cross-country ride across this beautiful rural area. It is known to those who take part as the Wye Ride, named after the nearby village of Wye. The Wye Ride was one of the highlights of Megan’s year. She took part every year, loving, as do many others, the chance to leave the confinements of winter behind and glory in the freedom and exhilaration of galloping across the downland hills. The land is kindly opened up for the occasion by … Read more …

A Celebration of Poetry

Merrilyn Thomas Posted on by

Just over a month ago, five young poets took part in the final of the Megan Young Poetry Prize. At an evening called A Celebration of Poetry, they read their contributions and the winner was announced by the former poet laureate, Sir Andrew Motion, who also presented the award. The event had been organised by the Stephen Perse Foundation school in Cambridge (formerly known as The Perse School for Girls). This was the school attended by my daughter Megan in the 1990s. Just before Christmas I had sent a copy of Wordsmith: The Gift of a Soul, to the school. … Read more …