ERoSH launches poetry competition

Launched to celebrate UNESCO's World Poetry Day on March 21 2007, ERoSH is running a national poetry competition for happy people and budding poets living in sheltered housing across the UK.

'I lead a sheltered life', the title of the competition, will show the high levels of happiness and well being that tenants and residents enjoy from living in sheltered housing. Tenants and residents have led and continue to lead very active lives that they enjoy to the full and one popular pastime is writing poetry.

ERoSH is therefore calling on tenants and residents to pen some positive prose to help mark its tenth year - limericks, funny poems, upbeat verses or ones that recall good times and happy memories.

Entrants can write a poem about anything that makes them happy:

• Why they love living in sheltered housing, their life today, childhood memories, their greatest love, their favourite hobby, their family and friends, what makes them smile or laugh, or what matters most to them.
• Entrants can write in any format that they wish: ballads, ditties, epics, limericks, lyrics or odes.
• Entrants can use any style they wish: achieve affect with alliteration or conclude with couplets. Revel in rhyme or forget the beat with blank verse. Hexameter, pentameter, metaphors and meters - the choice is theirs.

All short-listed entrants will be notified in September 2007 and will receive a commemorative certificate. Plus, there will be one fantastic prize of £100 for the overall winning poet.

Completed entry forms should be sent by the closing date of Tuesday 31 July 2007 to: 'I lead a sheltered life' National Competition, ERoSH, PO Box 2616, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 1WZ.