"Lockdown inspired me to gain new skills and has shown me that I missed all of my friends and family so much."
Grace's illustration of the new skills (sewing, baking, running and cycling) she has learnt during lockdown.
Eden, aged 8
Eden: "I wrote my poem and then I designed it to look like the tree by doing finger painting."
"During lockdown I went for a walk every day to Ruislip Woods. This was the only time I went out and I loved it. I didn't see any other children during lockdown. It was just my mum and me. I found a tree in the woods which I really liked because it looked like a wise person. I told it about my fears as I was scared of Covid-19. This is what I imagined it would reply to me. I thought it would reassure me that other major things have happened in history and we have got through them so we will get through Covid-19 as well. It helped me to feel better."
In the deep dark woods I have a favourite tree, It has roots which look like dinosaur feet and tip tops of branches which are too tall to see, It looks so old, It seems so wise, If it could speak Would it answer my cries? "Hey kid, Don't be afraid, Everything will be okay, I have stood here for 200 years, And seen, World War 1 and World War 2, The Great Depression, The Spanish Flu, The Holocaust and the Iraq War, 9/11 and people being poor, Covid-19 is scary and sad, But it will pass, It's not so bad, One day soon it will be gone, Today will be history, And life will go on."
Ritika, aged 12
"My artwork is made from paint and pencils. I based my artwork on my lockdown experiences, I was inspired by the activities I did to pass time at home. My background is based on the bright rainbow colours of they NHS as I believe that they played a huge rule during this pandemic. I spent lots of time on this and I hope it pays off. I also what to thank everyone who organised this highly entertaining competition as I had a lot of fun with it. I hope you like my art."
Ritika's lockdown-inspired artwork, reflecting the colours of the rainbow.
Isra, aged 16
"I wrote a poem titled 'My Dystopian Utopia...' I wanted to touch upon the disappearance of people as a result of COVID-19 and the unsettling yet beautiful atmosphere lockdown left behind. I hope you enjoy my poem!"
My Dystopian Utopia
It was said that the wind carried the last signs of our existence. Humanity evaporated from Earth, left behind the mess we made until we too, Realised there was no going back.
Everything shines a little brighter now. Concrete's no longer dominated by man, Yet, still, it is suffocated by living green. Ruptures in its veins Stretch out and leave a crumbling path to forgotten Buildings.
Reduced to empty carcasses. It seems as if everything has our footprint lodged in it. Clutching on to its colonial empire. But even now that's beginning to fade.
Mechanic rumblings of menacing machines Displaced by the soft ticking of crickets Fading into the distance.
Symphonies of colour erupt from the very Earth, Each flower a smear of blood Oozing out of the sea of green.
A platoon of cigarettes litter this bench, like scars struggling To heal, A reminder that even in its last seconds Man-kind began to hate itself. We had enough of polluting ourselves So we began to pollute the Earth instead.
But that's changing now - reversing even.
The rivers seem to flow a little more freely. Meandering its way across nations, Connecting land to water Like colossal bridges.
Silent symphonies prick The sun-lit sky. Yet I sit here still, On this very bench, As it squirms uncomfortably under my weight, As the trees shiver At every reminder of a human presence, And only now do I begin to Truly appreciate My beautiful utopian dystopia.
