The Extreme Staycation

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The advert below came out this week and sent the internet into meltdown. At a time when us artistic folk are feeling a bit taken advantage of and undervalued, this was the cherry on top. The advert was ostensibly to encourage young people to think about applying for jobs in cyber but all it did was to underline the idea that jobs in the arts are frivolous and not "proper" jobs.  This came the week after we were advised by the government to consider re-training. Without the arts, we would all be poorer - culturally, emotionally and as a country, financially.  The arts are what has kept us all going during this unending pandemic and anyone who claims otherwise is a liar.  If you have watched TV, a film, listened to music, read a book, looked at any art - you've enjoyed the fruits of someone's labour, often many years of study and hard work. The arts should never be seen as "not a viable job". I w...

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak September - how is it already September? September was the month when everyone really tried to "go back to normal" Started off the month with a cast screening of Love & Information which we decided to really go for big style - everyone dusted off their black ties and ballgowns and we had a fabulous evening! It was my birthday - celebrated with a family walk and  Papa John's vegan pizza  which was great!  Lockdown birthdays kinda suck but also I feel like people make more of an effort to reach out as the circumstances are so strange. I went back to weekly ballet classes, first since March.  It has been lovely to stretch my muscles and my dance brain. Went to the cinema for the first time - my cinema of choice is the BFI, partly because I'm a member and partly because I like the way they do things.  Saw two excellent films (in a socially distanced cinema where masks were required through...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak So I kind of lost steam with the blog. I'm not sure how but suddenly a day, a month had passed since I'd written anything. The end of August came and went.   Some highlights for me:  Attending a socially distanced vegan supper club (great food, great wine, great company).   I took part in an unrehearsed reading of The Effect by Lucy Prebble which was really fun, very interesting play and one I missed seeing a few years ago, so I was pleased to have the chance to perform it. Decided to "Eat Out to Help Out" and went on a 33,400 step vegan food journey across London which was great fun! Mildred's for breakfast, Eat Chay for lunch, sweet treat cookies from Humbledough and Neat Burger for dinner - good thing we walked as far as we did! Visited Eltham Palace in South East London - one of the English Heritage properties which has re-opened the house and not just the gardens.  Fascinating house...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Certain people have always been a bit disgusting in the way in which they treat their surrounding. The number of surgical masks I see lying on the street every day is quite revolting.  Not only is it an act of pure sloth to just throw it on the floor without a care in the world for your environment, but surely in times when we are being asked repeatedly to wash our hands and use hand sanitiser it's an almost an act of aggression to disgard something potentially infectious in such a disdainful way? A plea therefore - please throw your salived filled masks in the bin, not on the floor.  Astonishing to have to ask really!

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I love the soap "Neighbours" as I have mentioned before in this blog. Well, I think we have now entered into episodes which were filmed with social distancing. By and large you can't really see it, but I did notice that the coffee shop (Harold's) has suddenly got a whole load of new plants (presumably to replace people and make it look less obviously empty) and that the extras have dwindled to single figures. Neighbours was one of the first shows to go back into production around the world.  I believe Emmerdale was the first to resume in the UK. So far, there has been no mention of a global pandemic and I'm wondering whether there will be.  I know they are going to work it in to the storylines for EastEnders.  I guess the others have to work out if they want the soap to continue to occupy the "real world" or whether they decide to keep the likes of Erinsborough, Weatherfield or Hollyoaks in a...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The temperature is still way above average and in London we are praying for some weather - be that wind, rain, something, some relief from the still, hot air. Last year on a day as similarly hot as today I did an improv gig with my group, The Trophy Room. It was in a room which they had tried to air-condition as much as was possible, but still involved everyone getting there by tube so the whole experience was...sticky. Amazingly, there was still a small, but dedicated audience! They weren't going to let a little heat get in the way of some comedy genius...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown It is really, really hot at the moment. In London it hit 36 ° c on Thursday and is set to continue with daily highs of 32 °c -36 °c  for the next week. When I think of recent summers, there have been a few with very hot weeks, usually in July.  I remember two specifically, 2013 and 2018 as both times I was rehearsing for a show which involved a lot of physical movement and rolling around on the floor, which during a heat wave, was hot work.  But these are isolated weeks, the rest of those summers were typically British - mildly warm with showers. We seem to have had pretty hot weather for months.  In many ways this has been a blessing.  With the country in lockdown and then only allowed to meet socially outside, with less clement weather, this whole situation we find ourselves in could have been a lot more unbearable.

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Oh it's a bit hot isn't it? I'm not quite sure what my cat is thinking, but she insists on spending most of the day in the hottest part of the house.  I've tried explaining to her that there are cooler areas she could recline in, but no, she will not listen. I appreciate that trying to reason with a cat seems like a pointless activity and to be frank on this occassion, it has proved to be so.

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown London Underground Prior to the lockdown and depending on my week, I would be on the tube pretty regularly. Today I got the tube for the first time since March 13th - that's a long time ago.  I didn't even know if I had any money on my Oyster card (I did). I was quite anxious about it.  I'm a confident traveller - growing up in London and without a family car, I have used public transport extensively throughout my life.  I know the tube map pretty well, I am happy hopping on and off buses, I've been on the DLR, boats, trams, even the cable car in my travels across the capital. Masks are mandatory on all public transport so I was pretty annoyed when the first carriage I got in had three people in it (spaced out) two who had their masks around their necks and one who didn't have one at all.  As more got on, the two with them around their necks put them on and the guy without one produced it as he got o...

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I bought myself a pillow and it may be the best thing I've purchased in sometime. It's called a boomerang pillow and is shaped like... you get it. It comes with it's own special pillow slip and is the MOST COMFORTABLE thing to snuggle into. That folks, is how exciting life is at the moment. Pillows. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1270475?clickSR=slp:term:boomerang%20pillow:5:172:1

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown A staple sleepover film when I was growing up was Clueless . It was and still is a brilliant film.   I re-watched it today - it's a bit like having a catch up with an old friend, I know it so well. Clueless was one of my generation's defining films - everyone coveted Cher's tartan mini-skirt suit and had fluffy topped pens sticking out of their pencil cases.  Clueless was responsible for key phrases such as: "What-ever!" "Ugh, as if!" And these gems: “Do you prefer fashion victim or ensembly challenged?” “She’s my friend because we both know what it’s like to have people be jealous of us.” “She’s a full-on Monet. It’s like a painting, see? From far away, it’s okay. But up close, it’s a big old mess.” And to us over here in the UK, I think we imagined all American secondary schools to be just like the one in this film. If you haven't seen it for a while or (gasp!) have never seen it, find ...

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown In growing news, we have peas!  They were sweet, delicious and again the excitement of growing something I can eat was immense! It wasn't exactly a harvest for Birdseye to worry about in terms of competition but apparently more grow when you pick the first lot... can you tell I still have no idea what I'm doing?! Anyway, peas!

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Ah Edinburgh . This is the time of year when traditionally many thousands of people migrate north for the month of August. I've performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe three times and been as a visitor several more times. Each experience was quite different - all fun, all stressful at some point and all good learning curves. My first time was with a cast of 8, we had a great flat, I drank quite a lot and made friends who I am still in touch with to this day. Second time was with my solo show, " Awake " - nice flat, even further out from the centre than the first time, had an amazing number of supportive friends and family who came up to see the show and enjoy the festival, didn't drink a drop. Third time was with a revolving cast of about 20, slept like sardines for a month, had a hit show, drank a lot of coffee. Edinburgh - I raise a glass to you and to all the people who were intending to be there thi...

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown My church opened a while ago, initially for an hour a day, so that parishioners could visit and pray. Then about a month ago, it opened for daily masses but with social distancing in place.  Track and trace is done at the door, masks are worn and instead of holy water by the door we have... holy hand gel? It's all a bit strange to say the least and I doubt the church has ever been cleaner, but I think it's good that places of worship are able to open.  They are necessary to so many as a place for quiet and time for reflection, as well as operating as the centres of community, of which they are for so many people.

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Another one bites the dust - Cameron Mackintosh has announced that Phantom of the Opera, which has run uninterrupted in the West End for 34 years will not return in 2021. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/phantom-of-the-opera-west-end-tour-closed-cancelled-ticket-refund-cameron-mackintosh-a9643116.html One in two people in the UK go to the theatre every year.  And more people see live theatre every year than go to a football match and yet football seems to have been fast tracked to starting again.  I'm not having a go at football (especially as Arsenal are in the FA cup final) but when are the government going to make a decision about theatres?  Without dates, plans can't be made.  The deadline for decisions about pantomimes, which often provide regional theatres' with the majority of their funding for the year, is fast approaching. Oh yes it it.

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Meanwhile, in Australia, there are two fairly huge environmental issues which need to be known about by the wider world. Most people are of course aware of the devastating bush fires which swept Australia late last years and for the first quarter of this year.  Bush fires are a naturally occurring thing down under, but this scale was unprecedented. Now some time has passed and authorities are beginning to get an idea of just how big the damage to the animal and wildlife populations these fires was - they estimate that  3 billion  animals were hurt or killed.  Koalas, one of Australia’s indigenous and iconic animals will be extinct by 2050 if serious intervention doesn't take place now.  It's a shocking and very upsetting thought. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-53549936 Elsewhere in Australia, water is the problem, with coastal erosion causing millions of dollars of damage to ...

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Today we finished watching Chernobyl, the mini-series produced by Sky/HBO. It has rightly been nominated for over a hundred accolades and won 64 so far. I thought this was an incredible series, very well written and paced with excellent performances throughout. Not a binge watch though - you need 24hrs at least between episodes in my opinion! The whole tragic, avoidable incident of the explosion at Chernobyl is quite extraordinary and I still find it hard to believe how recent it was. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.  Not only do these stories and truth need to be better known, but it proves beyond doubt that cover-ups and lies lead ultimately to tragedy. There is also an excellent podcast which accompanies the series called "The Chernobyl Podcast" which provided some further insight into the filming of the series, but also countless other stories and facts that they didn't have time to fit i...

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The government have now suggested only essential travel to Spain including the Balearic islands so a whole new swathe of people have had their dreams of a holiday dashed. I am sure the government are acting in our best interest on this, but I really feel for all those people and many thousands of others who aren't going on holiday any time soon. It's funny, a holiday seems like a bit of a luxury sometimes but when you work hard all year, a bit of travel, adventure and relaxation seem well deserved. This has been such a weird year.  For some people, I imagine that not having to look at their same four walls for a week is a desperately needed break.  Mentally, physically.  Folk with families who have been home schooling during all this must be doubly exhausted. Staycations have become the obvious option but accommodation is now in short supply and prices are rising.  Tent in the garden it is then....

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Today I think it rained pretty much all day. Yep, that's July in the UK for you. Today for dinner I made a (vegan) lasagne.  I've pretty much nailed this recipe during lockdown and I'm quite pleased with it.  All of the taste, none of the animal products. My (vague, not written down) recipe is onions, garlic, some veg (generally courgette, mushrooms, peppers, carrots) sauteed.  I then add in a tin of tomatoes and some soya mince from Holland & Barrett (inexpensive and versatile). Next, make a bechemel sauce (soya milk works best and I used Sainsbury's baking block) layer it up, chuck it in the oven for 30 mins, bingo.  Delicious.

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I don't like wearing a mask.  I'm a little claustrahpobic but I put up with the discomfort because I think that they help. I don't think it's that hard to wear a mask - for most of us, it's only when we are in shops or on public transport that it is actually mandatory.  You don't have to wear one in a restaurant, a pub, in the street or the gym so generally it will be a limited amount of time. So why aren't people doing it?  Is it arrogance?  Do they believe that Covid-19 is a hoax? Do they not think it will help? A Delta airlines flight recently turned around mid-air and returned to Detroit because two travellers refused to follow the air stewards requests to wear their masks.  I applaud the pilot - a zero tolerence approach seems to be the only way to get some entitled people to follow the rules.   In the UK, you can receive an on the spot fine of £100 for not wearing your mask on pu...