Wakefield's Yorkshire Prose pens a warming poem for winter

Renowned Yorkshire dialect poet Ben Taylor aka Yorkshire Prose, who has built up a huge following online for his humorous and often poignant words has created a poem about the joys of sitting around an open fire.
Ben Taylor, aka Yorkshire Prose likes to sit by a  fire to work on his poems.Ben Taylor, aka Yorkshire Prose likes to sit by a  fire to work on his poems.
Ben Taylor, aka Yorkshire Prose likes to sit by a fire to work on his poems.

Ben, from Wakefield, is well known across social media. For the past five years the Royal Navy petty officer has written about anything from pints to roast dinners in his distinctive Yorkshire dialect style, building a large following of fans across his platforms. He currently has 34.5k followers on Twitter alone and his YouTube videos have been viewed millions of times across the globe.

His piece called Joy of the Fireplace was commissioned by the Coal Merchants Federation to encourage the nation to save their real fires by turning to smokeless fuel this winter.

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To assess the power of the warming poem, scientists from Thrill Laboratory tested the response of listening participants. Using skin flush technology, they were able to determine heart rate, while a FACS (facial action coding system) analysed 43 different muscle groups for signs of increased pleasure.

The results of the experiment revealed that all participants experienced increased feelings of warmth just by listening to the poem. Compared to their neutral states, overall listeners felt a 13 per cent rise in their feelings of warmth.

The line “That's why t' fireplace becomes t' heart o' t' 'ome” was the most powerful, yielding the highest feelings of warmth.

Wilma Brooks, spokesperson for the Coal Merchants Federation, said: "The feeling a fire can give is almost indescribable but Yorkshire Prose has done it perfectly. A fire can take you back to childhood memories, allows the mind to relax and unwind and, importantly, warms your cockles in the cold winter months".

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Ben said: "Sitting by t' fire is a favourite place of mine to write. If I've had an idea while I've been out wi' t' dog on a crisp wintery day, sat thawing out int glow of the fire is a great place to turn that spark of a thought into a piece of writing.

Ben Taylor aka Yorkshire Prose gets much of his inspiration from the Yorkshire landscape while out walking his dog Barbara.Ben Taylor aka Yorkshire Prose gets much of his inspiration from the Yorkshire landscape while out walking his dog Barbara.
Ben Taylor aka Yorkshire Prose gets much of his inspiration from the Yorkshire landscape while out walking his dog Barbara.

"There's summat about the crackling sounds and just that fireside feeling, that helps int creative process."

Joy of the Fireplace

We're coming to that time o' year,

Weather's turning and mornings are dark,

There's that satisfying crunching o' grass underfoot,

As you walk dog ovver t' field and t' park.

Frost nips at your nose and your fingers,

And your ears glow red like they're bit,

You feel smug as you turn back for 'ome,

Cos you know waiting theeare is t' fire you've lit.

That's got to be one o' t' best feelings in life,

In front o’fire wi’an ‘ot cup o’tea

Dog ligged art ont hearth warming up,

There's no place 'at I'd rather be.

That's why t' fireplace becomes t' heart o' t' 'ome,

Them flickering flames as they draw breath and grow,

There's warmth and there’s laughter and tales that are shared,

All in front o' them embers aglow.

As cosy conversation fills t' room,

Cheeks flush red and warming toes tingle,

It flickers and flames as I sit content

Them fireside senses all mingle.

That feeling o' comfort, o' loving and warmth,

Ano it's summat o' which I'll never tire,

You'll find me when I'm an old man, wi' a dog,

Wi 'me feet up in front of a fire.