A couple of weeks ago I had the amazing opportunity to work with LNER on recording some words for their epic recording of a spoken word poem that celebrates regional accents from up and down the East Coast Mainline.

LNER is the new operator of the line and wanted to celebrate the people, places, accents and regional dialects running the length of the East Coast Mainline from London, through the Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East up through Scotland to Aberdeen and Inverness.

I’ve lived most of my life within less than a mile of the East Coast Mainline itself, as well as travelled on it up to Edinburgh and down to London countless times, so needless to say I felt a bit honoured being able to take part in LNER’s ‘Track Record’ and be a voice for my local area.

Recent research from LNER revealed that almost half of all Brits think the number of people speaking with a traditional accent is falling. As the poem progresses from North London right up to Scotland, the accents change to follow the track. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate and preserve some of our wonderful regional accents, I’m certainly proud of mine!

The Track Record has been written by poet Ben Norris in collaboration with broadcaster Edith Bowman. It features the voices of LNER staff, local school children and people from communities along the East Coast Line.

As well as accents, the poem celebrates hidden gems that locals love, a list of local words and colloquialisms that are going out of fashion and includes a lovely bit of humour. It’s just a really beautifully written poem that warms your heart, especially if you’re from any of the areas the East Coast Line passes through.

You can listen / watch it now www.lner.co.uk/trackrecord try to guess which line is mine!

Here’s a pic from the day I went to Leeds for the recording. It was such a fun day and lovely to meet some of the other people and bloggers also recording lines for the poem!

I’d love to know what you think of the track! Did you spot me / my voice? Have you travelled on the East Coast Mainline?