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FORTNIGHTLY CHALLENGE
Every second Monday at midday a new fortnightly challenge will be announced for you and yours to do. These challenges will work for all ages, singles, couples and families.
Richard, Leanne and baby Ezra will be the hosts and judges.
There is an Under16s and an Over16s category with a £10 prize for the overall winner.
Scroll down to see what this fortnight's challenge is. ​
​Upload your photo, with your name and state if you are 16 or younger, to ​Devizes Covid19 Support Facebook page which can be found here.   ​

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RULES/INSTRUCTIONS
1. You must live in or around Devizes
2. You can only enter one response per challenge
3. Your response must be your response!
4. You must do the challenge during the week the challenge was set
5. Your response must be submitted as a comment under the introduction video on Devizes Covid19 Support Facebook page by midday on Sunday

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This Fortnight's Challenge: NHS & Keyworker Displays of Support

​This fortnight's challenge is linked to the displays of support for the NHS and all Keyworkers that people across the country have been displaying in the form of rainbows and other visual presentations in their windows.
 
There are so many great displays but, due to the lockdown, it is impossible for everyone to see them all. Therefore, we are asking you to upload a picture of your NHS and Key Worker display so that we can all see the amazing support for our fantastic workers here in Devizes!
 
Please upload your entry by 10th May and the winners will be announced on the 11th May. Pictures should be uploaded onto the Devizes Covid19 Support Facebook page (found here) as a comment under the introduction video for the competition.

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Under 16s

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Over 16s

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Previous challenges...

Week 4: Our Stories

A very short story challenge.
Humans are storytelling beings. We learn from each other, we share ourselves with each other, we allow others access to our lives often through storytelling. As we think about our experiences, either of the last month or from the more distant past, how would we tell our story in either 5 short sentences, 5 simple images (with short explanations), or with only 5 objects (with short explanations)?

What parts of your experiences would you include? If you have had experiences of God's story interacting with your own, how would you describe this? Please send in your 5 sentence story, 5 simple images (in one photo) or 5 objects (again in a single photo) before midday on Sunday 26th April.

​WINNERS: A massive thank you to both entries for this competition. It isn't easy sharing a part of yourself through telling your story. As such Jim (My Life) and Thelma (My Day) are joint winners. I found reading both of these such an encouragement as the lockdown continues. I encourage everyone to share your story with someone. It can be scary but, by sharing a piece of your story, you enable people to walk beside you and, you never know, you may just bring a smile to, or encourage, someone who is struggling.

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Over 16s

Week 3. The Experience

A literary challenge inspired by a suggestion from Nina Woolrych.
Over the last three weeks we have all experienced a dramatic change in our routines, movements, and interactions. This type of sudden change and increased intensity can be very unsettling leaving us with a mixture of emotions which will change as isolation continues; excitement, panic, fear, anxiety, determination. Without a suitable outlet for these emotions or an opportunity to talk through our experiences they can feel like an increasing pressure inside us until we feel ready to explode. This week's challenge provides an opportunity for all of us to let our emotions, feelings, and experiences out in the form of a written composition or poem. Do not worry about rhymes as poems are more about patterns. For example, you could start each line with the same word or letter or devise a simple repeating pattern. Alternatively you could use an acrostic style where a word is formed by reading down the first letters of each line. As always, send your compositions to viralstjames@gmail.com with the subject heading "CHALLENGE". Happy writing!

WINNERS: I have really enjoyed reading the poems submitted this week. Such a lovely variety of styles and subject matter. Some embracing the difficulties and challenges of the current situation, some exploring where we can find hope, and together bringing the reality of the mixture of emotions we are all feeling together.
​The winner of the U16s category is the collaborative poem by Teddy and Issac Seager using the acrostic style to great effect recognising the good and bad of being in Lockdown.
The winner of the O16s category, and of the £10 prize, is Hannah Mead with her poem "Escape". A lovely description of the power of our imaginations to provide some relief and hope in difficult situations. It certainly helped my mind to escape to Narnia and find comfort in the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Great Lion.

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Under 16s

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Over 16s

​Escape
Today
The News is banned.
I will avoid
Social Media:
WhatsApp, Twitter, Emails
And any other adulting required of me.
And instead
I shall escape
A temporarily unsettling world
And run
Towards magical lands.
 
And there
I shall dance with the nymphs
And sip tea with the fauns.
I’ll let snowflakes dissolve on my tongue
As I twirl in the snow.
And I shall fly on dragons
As they snort fire
From their nostrils
Clinging on
As we soar across mysterious lands.
 
I shall wander through majestic palaces
And wonder at the towers on the horizon,
Towers of goodness and strength
Reaching towards the heavens.
 
And I will seek out the Lion
And the promise of Hope.
Sit in His presence
Marvelling at his mighty Power and Wisdom.
Until my adventure is over
And I find myself
Beside a lamp-post.
And I push myself
Through prickly branches
And thick fur coats.
Back to another world
Where I must attempt to adult once again.
 
My escape has been temporary.
But Hope is restored.

Week 2. The Cross

As we approach holy week, our thoughts begin to focus on the movements of Jesus from arriving into Jerusalem leading to his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection.
A central image of these events and the Christian faith is the cross. The cross that shows Gods defeat of sin and death for every person who accepts it. A universal, yet deeply personal, act of love. To illustrate these facets of the cross we challenge you to construct your own cross out of your personal belongings and send us a picture. You could use a theme like music, sport or cooking or simply use a whole mixture of things that combine to represent you as a person. The images of all these crosses will be brought together for the Easter viralstjames YouTube service showing the unity that the cross brings.
WINNERS: Jessica Hopgood and Cheryl Chapman

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Under 16s Responses

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Over 16 Responses

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Week 1. You Are Love / Hope is Still Here

Create a piece of art with either the words 'You Are Loved' or 'Hope is Here' or 'Hope is Still Here'. It could be poster, a print, a painting, pencil, pens, digital, a painting on a stone, chalk on a pavement, etc. You can, and you are more likely to win if you do, leave your art were people can see it when they go out for their daily exercise. Send a photo of your art close up, as well as it in situ. How wonderful would it be it, as people walked around Devizes they saw our colourful pieces of art on lampposts, etc. 
WINNERS: The Seagers and The Wallaces

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Under 16s Responses

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Over 16s Responses