Plasterer who has written a children’s book

A COVENTRY-BORN plasterer, who nearly gave up on his dream of writing a children’s book, has become a successful author.

By day, Daryl Baldwin is a plasterer, but by night he is a writer on a mission to show children it is okay to celebrate their differences.

His debut book, Freddie Finds His Shell , was released in November and has proved to be a hit.

Born without a shell, Freddie, a young tortoise, knows he is different.

The story follows Freddie’s journey of acceptance, where he meets friends along the way and discovers how to be happy just as he is.

You might think such fantastical tales are a far cry from the day to day of a plasterer, but spinning a yarn is nothing new for Mr Baldwin. “I’ve always had a really good imagination, I have a son called Archie who’s 14 now, when he was younger I always made up stories for him at bedtime,” he said.

“Last year my wife said I don’t know why you don’t have a go at writing it down, so I did.”

Mr Baldwin’s vivid imagination also stemmed from childhood experiences: “I think my mum was the most pleased about it, she always puts my imagination down to the fact that when I was young, I was born deaf and I could only hear very high pitched voices so she thinks my imagination has come from that because she said I went into my own little world.”

He has dedicated the book to his son.

He said: “Archie couldn’t believe it, he was straight onto Facebook to his mates, he was very proud.”

He said he nearly gave up on hearing anything back after sending the book off to a publisher, but nine weeks later he got the call from his wife while out on a plastering job that they were going to publish.

“It was lovely, I just wanted to come straight home. It was early on in the morning as well, it was hard to finish the day’s work!”

Mr Baldwin has always kept his hand in the creative arts: “I wanted to be an actor when I was in school, and I went to Coventry centre for performing arts when I was young. I trained as an actor but gradually fell into plastering. I worked at the Apollo Theatre in Coventry as a dresser.

“I wanted to write something about kids being happy in the skin they’re in, with social media and television, everyone seems to be perfect.”

And writing runs in the family, as Mr Baldwin’s father, uncle and brother all worked as compositors at the Coventry Telegraph, operating and setting the actual printing plates.

“They had to retrain when it went across to the computers, my dad had never used a computer in his life before that,” he said.

Mr Baldwin left Coventry a few years ago to settle in Burbage, and said he can’t wait to actually see his book on sale in Coventry, which has already been spotted by some of his eagle-eyes friends. I’m a Coventry lad all my life but we moved out here a few years ago, but a friend of mine texted me to see he had seen it in sale in WH Smith in Coventry but with the lockdown I haven’t been across to see it.”

Freddie Finds His Shell is published by Austin Macauley and can be found on Amazon.

A MOBILE Covid-19 test centre is visiting parts of Warwickshire to stop the rise in cases among workers.

Data from Warwickshire Public Health has, over recent weeks, shown that the highest number of Covid-19 cases are in those who are attending work.

In a bid to stop the spread in workplaces, such as factories and distribution centres, a mobile test centre is visiting areas of the county over the next two weeks.

Health bosses want those in the following to make use of the centre, which is for those who are not showing any symptoms of the virus.

Small to medium enterprises with under 50 employees. Sole traders.

Those companies operating in the construction, manufacturing, warehousing and food production sectors.

Employing ‘routine’ and manual workers.

Over the next weeks, from 8am until 2pm, the mobile unit will be at the following:

Wednesday 10 / Thursday 11 March 2021: Birch Coppice Business Park, Dordon, Tamworth B78 1SQ.

Friday 12 March 2021: Budbrooke site, Old Budbrooke Road (CV35 7DP).

Dr Shade Agboola, Warwickshire County Council’s Director of Public Health, explained that they want to make it easier for working people to access tests.

“We know that it’s difficult for some people to access services due to work locations or shift patterns,” she said.

“So, we are hoping that the mobile testing service will mean that we can deliver regular testing close to business premises to suit both the employers and their employees.

“Encouraging your workforce to have a Covid-19 test at least once a week will not only help to identify any positive cases early and reduce transmissions within the workplace, but it will also reduce onward transmissions between households.

“As well as testing we would encourage businesses to think about how their employees get to work. Simple steps such as reducing car sharing down to two per vehicle or only car sharing with those in your work bubble can really make a difference to workforce spread, as will limiting the number of people using common spaces such as break rooms and ensuring staff wear a face covering over their nose and mouth.”

It was already warned that workers should expect Covid-19 testing to become the ‘new normal’ by Warwickshire’s health experts.

The new mobile test service for those without symptoms of Covid-19 and uses lateral flow tests which are easy to use and quick to return a result, often within 30 minutes.

This gives the person tested the chance to see if they are safe to continue in their job role or whether they need to self-isolate very quickly.

If you are unable to make the times and dates above, there are six static mass Covid-19 test centres in the county.