Tag: lockdown

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Progress During the Pandemic

maymargaret

It feels like trying to write about the work pre pandemic would be futile. Mostly because, really, I think of it as behind a mist. Nowadays, when I’m watching TV, I instantly feel like the actors should be socially distanced, even if filmed before it all started. I first noticed while watching a play on YouTube, and its stuck.

I’ve also noticed a distinct lack of progress. The thing about going to work, going on holiday, going to meet friends, is going somewhere, sometimes. Now those things have become digital if they are to exist at all, and my friends and I now do what we call Sanity calls some Sundays. Just to keep in check. Mostly these sessions are spent comparing our varied experiences of the pandemic, and bitching about covidiots.

This sense of being stuck came to a head back in August, and, on the eve of my birthday, I cried. I’m not an emotional person, but I cried like a baby for about 20 minutes. A week later, I was on a coach, on my own, travelling to London on my first ‘holiday’ alone, without my family or my fiance. It was impulsive, safely done and, absolutely necessary.

There’s always something in your life you’re anxious to do, because it makes you anxious. There’s a sort of nervous excitement behind it, and it might be exercising in public or raising your hand in a class, or a meeting, to say something. Anxiety has stopped me from doing these things for most of my life, but my trip to London has taught me these experiences are rewarding in the end. More so if preceded by that initial panic. Sometimes, all it takes is a one second snap.

I think now more than ever, it’s important to maintain an idea of progress. Whether its confronting a fear, creating a research project about anything that may interest you, or just keeping a log of all the things you’re doing, such as new recipes or movies you’ve watched. It’s not pointless, and, while it might not necessarily make you money, or progress you in your careers, it has value. Growth is always valuable.

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Escapism Through Crafts

maymargaret

I’m a serial hobbyist. During this time, I’ve been drawn to things I can do at my desk, to varying degrees of success. I’m a firm believer that creativity is an extremely valuable, both in self worth as well as pouring yourself into something you can be proud of.

Felting- sometimes you just need to stab things with a pin lots (and lots) of times. It may result in some injury, so remember the little leather thimble (does it have a name?) and go to town. It’s rather easy to produce something resembling your idea, whether it be a picture or a pet.

Painting – this is a bit of a cheat, because I’ve been painting for years. But it is relaxing, and depending on your subject matter it can be calming for your thoughts. The best, I find, are landscapes, particularly creating your own. Sihloette paintings like the one below are particularly nice, because essentially its just blocks put together.

Pumpkin carving – so its a little late, but pumpkin, or indeed vegetable carving, can also have similar carthatic qualities to felting. Namely, stabbing and cutting something. Extra satisfaction if its going to be a face. But sadistic tendencies aside, vegetable carving can be very effective visually, and doesn’t have to be wasteful.

Knitting – knitting is practical as well as relaxing, and you can do other things, too. Watch TV, listen to a book, attend a meeting (as long as your camera isn’t on), and so on.

Jewellery making – jewellery making can manifest in ideas out of nothing, and tools can be cost effective. Also, making jewellery can be cost effective, too. You save money on buying by making it yourself, or you can sell it. Win win?

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Escapism Through Activity

maymargaret

If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll probably gather that I like to keep busy. What that says about me im not sure, but sometimes I do wonder whether I’ve been subconsciously preparing for something like this. Hoarding hobbies like toilet rolls, waiting for time to kill.

But I also know how easy it can be to get into a rut, particularly when one suffers from an overactive mind and anxiety. So I’ve decided to compile a list of all the more active things I’ve decided to do (for mind as well as physically) when stuck for inspiration.

Running – running for me is less of a sport to keep fit, and just something to get rid of nervous energy. I used to be self conscious, and I think thats exactly when you should do something. Its a very freeing activity, and there’s a lot of great personal achievements you can work towards to keep you progressing.

Yoga – my lockdown goal was to work towards side splits. I’m very, very nearly there. Otherwise, yoga can be done in bite size sessions to YouTube videos or, as I prefer, making up a routine as I go. Sometimes, just a good morning stretch is all you need.

Writing – recently I got back into creative writing, including short stories and something I thought I’d never do – poetry. There will be critics out there (I haven’t been brave enough to present any original works yet) who think writers should have a certain style, say things in a certain flowery way. But I think writing, like art, should be allowed to be in any style, because that’s your voice. Some of the most enjoyable poetry I’ve read gives me an insight into someone’s experience with raw words, and some of the best stories I’ve read make me hear a real voice.

Writing, as research has taught me, is very much based on personal preference. Individual scenes might be best written separately and not necessarily chronologically, but I find the authenticity of the progress, for want of a better word, is best found from the beginning. Just make up a character, perhaps one based on yourself or a personality trait, and go with it. F Scott Fitzgerald and Charlotte Bronte used characters based on themselves, and you can too.

Cooking – up until recently, much of my baking was out of a box, but that’s a one time deal. But now I have quite a collection of essential baking and cooking tools (as well as a search history showing a lot of hits for BBC Food). So far, my projects have included sushi, cinnamon rolls, cheesecake and carrot cake. I did try those fluffy Japanese cheesecakes a couple of times but it has more of an omelette consistency once its cooled.

Tidying – yes, tidying. Organising. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I truly think tidying might be one of the most therapeutic things you can do. Tidying, organising, they give you control over your space and, in some ways, your life. Dramatic maybe, but mentally, I always feel happier in a clean room with fresh bedding and all my washing exactly where I know it should be. I also like to organise my books, not for the fact that they’ll be organised, but for the process of sorting them, into whatever system strikes at the time. Genre, alphabetically, author, authors alphabetically, anything goes. I personally have mine based on read, fiction and nonfiction. The other night, I did sort my gemstone collection too. Just to look at the pretty colours.

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Escapism Through the Screen – TV Shows

maymargaret

If I thought of all the TV shows I’d watched over the years, all the hours I’d spent sat down and switching on to switch off, I probably wouldn’t sound like a very productive person (a matter of perspective maybe). The last couple of months have been a real journey of discovery into (almost exclusively) British comedy shows I’d never seen, or never wanted to commit any time to. Side note…these are all quite short shows, and as of yet accessible for free.

1. Green Wing – Green Wing is one of those off the wall shows with not one serious bone in its body. Despite being set in a hospital, none of its plots are medically related, and it’s characters spend their screen time cartwheeling or playing out romances that feel like caricatures of those in more serious shows, and are just as gripping to watch.

2. Spaced – continuing the channel 4 comedy route, Spaced has been one I’ve watched on repeat for years now, once again during my time at home. It’s constant references to pop culture seem fresh in a modern TV world convoluted with geeky stereotypes who eye roll every time someone says they haven’t watched Star Wars.

3. Black Books – More 4. I know. At this point, you start spotting many of the same actors in each, and there’s a nice kind of familiarity with that. Bernard and Manny are great polar opposites as serial pessimist and serial optimist, while Fran offers the perspective of somewhere in between. Its fast and chaotic at times, exaggerated in its principle setting of a cluttered book shop.

4. The League of Gentlemen – today, some of the characters used in The League of Gentlemen, as well as some of the jokes, do seem quite outdated. But the black humour is niche, and simply reflects the attitudes of the time (some of the characters are meant to be somewhat socially isolated, after all). The characters span between the weirdly mundane to the wacky and offensive, each independent and rarely (if ever) meeting. It is bizarre, and difficult to explain why this kind of humour is so addictive to me, and I think thats part of the charm.

5. Inside No 9 – sticking with Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, Inside no 9 is an anthology…well it’s difficult to define it besides that. Comedy, horror, crime, drama…everything, really. Each as unique as the last. As a fan of older anthologies such as Hammer House of Horror and Tales of the Unexpected, I believe anthologies can never get old.

6. The Mighty Boosh – probably the most outlandish of the lot, it’s humour deviates from relatable and typical to funny words, quite beautiful imagery and total randomness. The characters are all bizarre or exaggerated versions of stereotypes we might be familiar with, but besides that it is a world in and of itself.

Honorable mentions

1. Car Share – I watched this in the space of one evening. I love any TV show or movie that can create something from one principle setting, and rely entirely on dialogue to create what it’s meant to.

2. Psychoville – I think you have to be fan of Shearsmith and Pemberton for this, but that’s just my point of view. Much like The League of Gentlemen, several characters are played by the same actors, and once again the humour comes from the mundane characters who are essentially oddballs. And it is, in places, genuinely creepy. To me, anyway.

3. Ghosts – Unmistakably British I think, with a number of typically English stereotypes such as the stuff upper lip WW2 captain, the sleazy politician, and the anguished poet. It’s jokes are fast paced, and its humour is silly and occasionally essentially adult.

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Escapism in the form of Books

maymargaret

Sometimes you can have too much of the real world, of whats happening, and an overload of stuff can be detrimental. This isn’t new. Even during a pandemic, I feel escapism is a wonderful thing that should be encouraged.

At the beginning of the year, I purchased a poster. I used to have my bedroom adorned in posters of my favourite bands, but this one was books to read before you die. As many readers may know, one can become routine in their reading choices of books, while many wonderful ones outside of that scope can be lost. My slump followed the completion of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, so clearly after such a chore one needs a pallet cleanser. With this poster, and a number of other means of discovery, the following books fell under my radar.

  1. Small Island by Andrea Levy – I watched the play of Small Island as part of National Theatre Live’s free streaming of past productions on YouTube, and instantly brought the book afterwards. While I knew the plot from the play, maintaining all the important parts key to the plot, the novel offers a glimpse into another time from four perspectives instead of the play’s principle three – Hortense, Gilbert and Queenie. The novel also includes Bernard’s rather reserved perspective, a foil to his wife’s outgoing and accepting attitudes, particularly in relation to race. As the character’s interact, it feels as though each is a characterisation of ideas and attitudes of the time; idealisation of England and bitterness towards a country once dreamed to be so full of hope in Hortense and Gilbert, and the two sides of racism during the time; Queenie, a open hearted and kind character at heart, makes errors in her interactions with her Jamaican lodgers, but each is innocent and well meaning. In contrast, Bernard presents the deep seated racism of the time, with little room for acceptance left. This story presents a real world view of ‘the grass isn’t always greener’ (my interpretation), and while the subject matter may deal with heavy and very relavent issues of today, it is nonetheless a story of perseverance, and making the best of what you have.
  2. The Inimitable Jeeves by P G Woodhouse – there’s something delightful about these stories – the jaunty language, the sitcom type plots that always turn out alright in the end thanks to the genius that is Jeeves. Bertie is the perfect foil for the butler, who’s naive and well mannered way of speaking makes him the typical idle gentleman, who’s time is spent helping his friends out of sticky situations, and occasionally upsetting Jeeves by growing a moustache.
  3. Les Miserable by Victor Hugo – this is probably not a very popular book to suggest, given the absolute chore this book is. I haven’t finished reading it myself yet, but I am speaking to the readers who have a bit of a bucket list, or who want to read something for the simple pleasure of bragging that they have read it. I get it. But really, this is probably the best time to tackle it. I’m personally listening to it on Audible (Unabridged, so it does count) and I listen to it during work, taking the dog a walk and while I’m knitting (I love Audible). It’s subject matter can be grim and depressing, because that is the book. If you’ve seen the play or the movies (or the TV adaptions) then you know the basics. There’s a lot of babbling and philosophising, in Usual Victor Hugo fashion, but at least you can come out and say you’ve read it.

Honorable mentions

  1. Matilda by Roald Dahl – a wonderful short read with that distinctive Dahl humour.
  2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – a story of a very different culture, informative as it is immersive with its rich descriptions.
  3. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe – One of the few books to make me tear up. The acts of kindness contrast against the acts of cruelty, portraying slavery in its multifaceted reality, from the absolute inhuman treatment to those who saw the men and women they brought as part of their family, knowing that a worse fate awaited elsewhere.
  4. Shakespeare comedies – I never disliked Shakespeare, but English at school and English Literature at college developed in me a bit of reluctance to read him in my own time. Once again, National Theatre Live came into play (pun not intended but a happy accident nonetheless), and I began reading the plays a couple of days before showing to get acquainted. It’s a case of (sometimes), the more you read, the more used to the language you get.

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First Ever

maymargaret

Here I go. Into the blogging world. What do I write about? Lord knows. But there’s going to be something, isn’t there, that brings me here right now.

Today is the first day of another lock down in the UK. My opinions about that are not important, though I think we probably wouldn’t be here if people just stopped blaming the government for their own actions. If you don’t think it’s safe, don’t do it. Simple.

Aaaaanyway, as with a lot of people during this pandemic, I have been remote working. It was great at first. Loved it. Set up my own desk, took time during meetings to complete painting commissions and what not. My work space doubled up as a gym, too. Yoga during downtime and a jog at lunch. Fabulous.

And then the doubts began. I’d been at this company for several months, and during this remote working I realised that I’d been remote working for longer that I’d actually worked in the office with my colleagues. That was alright with me, but it got me thinking. Take away the commute, the colleagues and the planning of your outfit for the following day, what have you got? In my case, an unfulfilling job, which stripped back actually shows a bunch of people with a disproportionate belief of it’s importance during this, I’m going to say it, unprecedented time.

I know, I’m fortunate to have a job that has gone otherwise totally uninterrupted. By comparison to many, my experience of the pandemic has been a privileged one. But as someone with a keen interest in mental health currently studying for a masters in Mental Health Science, does that privilege mean that those in similar positions must look around as their days cover less physical ground with the extra pressure of feeling that their mental health is less important?