A St Albans mum and nursery manager have collaborated to produce a song about the good times children will remember amid the COVID-19 shutdown.

Local pre-school mum Liz Binks originally wrote ‘Can we do it all again, Mum?’ as a poem to celebrate the precious time she spent in lockdown with her toddler and new baby.

But then her friend Janet Charles, pre-school leader at Old London Road Pre-School, turned it into a song with her son Tobias, raising money for the pre-school and other St Albans charities who have missed out on important fundraising opportunities due to COVID-19.

Liz and Janet decided to put the finished piece out there to the general public to reassure parents that their efforts at this strange and uncomfortable time will be remembered.

Liz said: “I shared my poem on a couple of family Facebook pages and was astounded by the response – hundreds of parents said it really resonated with them and brought them strength at a time when they were really struggling.

“I was delighted when Janet and Tobias turned it into a song and hope it reminds families of this uniquely precious time.”

Janet and Tobias sing ‘Can we do it all again, Mum?’ in harmony on a video that they have put together with the help of Janet’s nephew Scott Readman.

Janet said: “It was such a special time recording this with my own son, who is now a grown-up, and went to the pre-school in 1999. The video features many of the children from our pre-school. We hope you enjoy it and are incredibly grateful for any donations you may wish to make.”

The traditional pre-school on Old London Road has been praised immensely by Ofsted for its songs, which Janet creates around issues relevant to the young children and what they are learning about.

‘Jimmy Germ’, for example, is popular among OLR families past and present. Janet made up the catchy tune years ago and the words are all about keeping clean and not spreading germs, a message which is as relevant now as ever.

To make a charity donation visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/olrps