Lemn Sissay has been awarded an OBE, and has dedicated it to his younger self who overcame a “dehumanising” time in care.
The revered poet, author, broadcaster, and Chancellor of the University of Manchester was presented with the prestigious honour by Prince Charles during a ceremony at Windsor Castle yesterday, and admitted that his younger self who grew up in foster care and children’s homes in Wigan “would never have believed” he would become an OBE.
54-year-old Sissay – who was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics – received the honour for services to literature and to charity.
Throughout his career, Sissay has not only seen the publication of nine of his books, the production of seven plays, and four further radio plays, but he has also made an impact by detailing his experiences in the British care system in his autobiography of his early life – My Name Is Why.
Born in 1967 in Billinge to an Ethiopian mother shortly after she moved to England to study, Sissay spent a significant part of his early life in care.
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He was eventually taken into long-term foster care in Wigan, and named Norman Greenwood.
Well done to @lemnsissay on receiving an OBE for Services to Literature and to Charity.
📖 Sissay was 17 when he wrote his first poetry book. His work is now sculpted in granite, declaimed in over 30 countries, and was performed to millions as the poet of the London Olympics! pic.twitter.com/gcvX2IViAq
In 1995, he made a BBC documentary, Internal Flight, about his life, and his one-man show Something Dark – which detailed how he was given up as a baby – was adapted for BBC Radio 3 in 2006.
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He became an MBE in the 2010 New Year Honours, and then took up his post as chancellor of the University of Manchester in 2015.
After receiving his honour for services to literature and charity from the Prince of Wales, Sissay said: “If I had said to him that one day you will be in Windsor Castle to receive an OBE from Prince Charles, I would never have believed that kind of magical story – almost fairy tale – would happen.”
Sissay was presented with the prestigious honour by Prince Charles during a ceremony at Windsor Castle / Credit: @ClarenceHouse (via Twitter)
He added: “If you can go to that boy – who lost his family, who left children’s homes at 18 years of age and didn’t know anybody for longer than a year at that age and had spent all of those Christmases alone – if you were going to say to that child that, ‘In your adulthood you are going to be honoured for what it is that you do and who it is that you are but you have got to turn it down…’
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“I just could not do that to him. This is a way of being able to honour service and what you were born to be. I was born to be a poet.
“The service is the work [I have done] for care leavers, and it has come from my own experience.”
Tribute paid to man ‘loved by so many’ stabbed to death in Levenshulme
Daisy Jackson
The brother of a man stabbed to death in Levenshulme has paid a heartbreaking tribute to him.
Zherko Rasul Osman was just 24 years old when he was fatally wounded in an incident on Chapel Street on Saturday evening.
Despite the best efforts of emergency services personnel, Zherko sadly died at the scene.
Now, his brother has paid tribute to him, saying he was ‘someone who was loved by so many’.
The touching tribute reads: “My brother was a kind, friendly and loving person who never looked for trouble or wanted to harm anyone.
“He was loved and respected by his friends, his mates and the neighbours in the community where he lived. He had a good heart and would always be remembered for the warmth and happiness he brought to those around him.
“His life was taken so suddenly and for no reason, leaving a pain and emptiness that words cannot describe. We are heartbroken that someone who was loved by so many is no longer here. He deserved to live his life and make memories with the people he loved.
“He will never be forgotten. His smile, his kindness and the memories we shared with him will stay in our hearts forever. We love you, and we will miss you every single day.”
Zherko Rasul Osman suffered serious stab wounds on Chapel Street in Levenshulme at around 7.06pm on Saturday 15 August.
A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, and he remains in custody for questioning. A 27-year-old man who had also been arrested on suspicion of murder remains on bail pending further enquiries.
Officers continue to make progress as the investigation continues. It is believed this was an isolated incident with no wider threat to the public.
Police are urging anyone who may have information to please report it through the dedicated online portal HERE.
Anyone in the Chapel Street area around the time of this incident, or who has mobile phone, CCTV, Ring doorbell or dashcam footage can contact police on 0161 856 9008 quoting the log number 2983 of 15/08/2026.
Alternatively contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Government launches £442m drive to get rough sleepers off streets before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a £442m drive to get rough sleepers off the streets before Christmas.
Learning from ‘innovative’ approaches put into place during the pandemic, the Government has announced that new accommodation will be rolled out across England this winter, as well as offering practical help with housing, health, and other needs to support people to build a more stable life for themselves in the future.
The new commitment to offer everyone a route off the streets this Christmas, along with boosted funding, reflect the Andy Burnham‘s national drive to make ‘real change’ and get everyone playing their part in ending rough sleeping.
Not only will these plans change the lives of rough sleepers, but it’s also said they will have huge benefits for the country as a whole.
Research from homelessness charity Crisis suggests that by preventing 40,000 people from becoming homeless for a year, taxpayers could save around £370 million.
The Government has launched a £442m drive to get rough sleepers off the streets before Christmas / Credit: Number 10 Press Office | Jon Tyson (via Unsplash)
As well provisions to get people off the streets, and the intensive ‘wraparound’ support, the newly allocated funding will also help local areas deliver more than 1,000 ‘settled’ homes over the next three years, it has been confirmed.
Areas facing the greatest pressures will receive the largest share of support.
Working alongside councils, Mayors will play a leading role in driving local action to end rough sleeping, and will be tasked with making decisions that are right for their communities to deliver help where it’s needed most.
The Prime Minister says he ‘won’t accept’ rough sleeping any longer. He commented: “No one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station, but we’ve seen it for so long that it feels like Westminster has started to accept it.
“That’s why my first instruction as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping, and it’s why today we’re getting started with a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas. We did it in the pandemic, we can do it again. But it needs all of us.
Emily Sergeant -
17th March 2022 
