South Shields writer's charity bid to help Souter Lighthouse - and you can lend a hand too

The South Shields writer has produced a book all about it and is hoping the collection of poems and photos will raise £2,000 for the landmark.

Her new publication is called ‘The Lure of the Lighthouse’ and it has gone on sale for £5.99 at the lighthouse shop.

All of the sales from her book will go towards the upkeep and preservation of the lighthouse.

Pat, who lives at Seymour Court, a McCarthy Stone retirement development in South Shields, got the idea to write the book after spotting an article on Souter’s 150th anniversary.

"I thought I could produce a booklet to celebrate the milestone – a tribute to the lighthouse. A few poems plus some of my own photos turned into a book of 12 poems, and more photographs from ten local, talented photographers also keen to help.”

Pat had help from the team at McCarthy Stone in the funding of the design and the printing of her book.

Suzanne Callaghan, House Manager at Seymour Court, said: “It is fantastic that it will help towards raising funds to ensure those of us in the local community, and visitors to South Shields, can continue to enjoy Souter Lighthouse for years to come.”

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1988 and is managed and protected by The National Trust.

Pat is a former English and Art teacher and worked in Germany for nine years where she met her husband of 40 years, Brian.

After Brian retired in 1976, the couple moved to Lincolnshire, where they spent 33 happy years.

Now sadly widowed, Pat downsized and moved north. She loves walking, creative writing groups, researching her family’s history as well as local history.

She remembered the first time she went to view her apartment at Seymour Court. “When I walked in the first thing I noticed was a picture of Souter Lighthouse. It instantly gave me a feeling of familiarity and the thought that perhaps this was where I was meant to be.”