Jane Dolby

Jane Dolby

Jane Dolby was widowed in 2010 when her trawler-man husband lost his life at sea during a freak storm. It was 10 months before Colin's body was found and during that time was unable to prove her husband had actually died because without a body, a death certificate cannot be issued. Jane had four children, the youngest of whom was just 3 years old and was helped and supported through this difficult time by the Fishermans Mission charity. In 2012, wanting to repay the charity for all their help, Jane had the idea of gathering local fishermen's wives together to record a song.

The plan was for Fishwives Choir to sing along to a backing track and make a few CDs to sell in the local pubs. But the project soon gathered interest and within weeks, around 80 ladies all related to fishermen or from fishing families were involved. They came from all around the UK and in 2013, fishwives from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland recorded a single. They were invited to perform on The One Show, BBC breakfast and appeared in the national and international media. The girls were the subject of several documentaries including Radio 4's A Fishwives Tale which was later nominated for an award at the European radio awards. Jane's blog, in which she recorded her thoughts and feelings around loss and bereavement but also the often hilarious antics of the Fishwives, came to the attention of a literary agent who secured a book deal for Jane and Song of the Sea was published in 2015.

Shorelines talk: The Friction Makes The Pearl

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