BOOTHEN End Bard Ian Dyer is hoping his rousing Stoke City-inspired poems will help raise money for charity after releasing a CD of his work.

The 10-track CD, entitled One to Ten, has been produced to raise funds for the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust.

They will go on sale for £2.99, with £2 heading to the charity and the rest being used for production costs.

The 44-year-old’s poems have proved a massive hit among Stoke fans after his impromptu performances were loaded on to You Tube by supporters.

And now, the former ‘naughty 40’ hooligan, is hoping his work can help a local cause.

“There was so much interest from the poems after the exposure they were given on the Oatcake internet message board and following the story in The Sentinel,” said Dyer, who lives in Fenton.

“When I wrote the poem One to Ten, I thought it sounded a good name for the title of a CD with them all on and wanted to do it.

“The only things I had done for charity in the past was putting money into collection tubs.

“At the final home game against Wigan I noticed the collectors were out and I realised then I just wanted to do something for charity.”

Dyer admits being inspired by the fund-raising actions of Stoke City boss Tony Pulis and midfielder Rory Delap, who have run the London Marathon and embarked on a sponsored cycle ride respectively.

Like the Stoke pair, Ian is raising money for the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust.
He added: “I have watched other people go out there and do something for them and I wanted to do my bit.”
Last season Ian’s poem, ‘Fortress’, struck a chord among many supporters with its stirring stanzas, describing the force of the crowd in the Britannia Stadium.

After Stoke sealed their Premier League safety with a 2-1 victory over Hull City in May, Ian wrote ‘One to Ten’, a poem revelling in the success of proving the critics wrong.

And he admits the season has been a real creative catalyst.

“I wrote three poems that were all relevant to last season and that reignited the fire in me to do them.

“I didn’tstopped write poems for about 12 months before that and I wish I had never stopped.”

Ian first began writing poetry during a six-week prison sentence after being arrested for fighting at Luton Town in 1984.

The release of his fund-raising CD coincides with him undertaking a variety of voluntary work aimed at steering youngsters away from crime.
which has left him noting this spell as one of the happiest of his life.

“I feel like all my Christmases have come at once. For once in my life I feel good about myself and where I am going,” added Dyer.

Simon Hancock, a partner in stoketshirts.co.uk, has offered to sell Ian’s CD on the company’s website.
Simon said: “We wanted to help Ian by being a mail-order outlet for the CD. as we have an established infrastructure and customer base.

“It made sense for us to offer the CD on our store rather than Ian go through the hurdle of setting one up himself. Going forward, We hope to be able to help other fans who may want to get their creations out there this way.”

The company, which supplies a broad range of Stoke City and Potteries-inspired merchandise, is also poised to release a T-shirt bearing the lyrics of Ian’s poem ’Fortress’.

Simon added: “Ian’s poem certainly gave us the spur to get a design together. The Fortress idea was something I had been thinking of for a while – right from when Tony Pulis used the term, but couldn’t find the right approach.

Simon added: “FansI reckon it will be popular with fans. They loved the poem because so many can identify with the emotions and it’s a strong image.”

Ian’s CDs can be purchased at The Sentinel; The Red House pub in Longton; Plasterscene in Fenton, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin pub in Stoke, as well as www.stoketshirts.co.uk.

So how do you feel now then Stokie on a scale of one to ten?

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