Baby boomer's lockdown poem goes viral

When Logan Campbell resident Jan Beaumont decided to put pen to paper and wax lyrical about the effects of the coronavirus lockdown, she had no idea her creative efforts would themselves go viral! Three days after posting it on her Facebook page, Jan’s poem had racked up 1,400 shares and more than 500 comments on her page alone. The normally very social resident at Ryman Healthcare’s Greenlane retirement village says she had been feeling a bit bored on Saturday, so she grabbed a pen and wrote a poem. “It took me all of 20 minutes,” she says incredulously. “It was just something to pass the time really and to give my friends a giggle and now it’s gone to the UK, Canada, South Africa, America, Australia… and that’s just on my page!” The poem describes what it’s like to be one of the ‘oldies’ staying behind closed doors because of the virus, before proceeding to list some of the mischievous hijinks from her youth. Like many, Jan has turned to ‘gutsy thrillers’ on Netflix where she admits to ‘swooning over Idris’ [Elba].

Jan’s daughter Belinda thought the poem was so good she sent it to

Ryman where it has notched a further 40 shares and 37 comments.

Says Jan: “She’s also posted it and tagged Idris Elba as well!! Wouldn’t it be amazing if he replied?” The 13-verse poem has clearly resonated with the online community, many of whom found it very relatable and a real pick-me-up in what is a stressful, anxious time. Jan says she has a few other works up her sleeve which she will save for the future.

The lockdown poem has now reached several thousand

shares, and begins: I'm normally a social girl I love to meet my mates But lately with the virus here We can't go out the gates.

You see, we are the 'oldies' now We need to stay inside If they haven't seen us for a while They'll think we've upped and died.

They'll never know the things we did Before we got this old There wasn't any Facebook So not everything was told.

We may seem sweet old ladies Who would never be uncouth But we grew up in the 60s - If you only knew the truth! …

Pictured: Logan Campbell resident and poet Jan Beaumont.