The Extreme Staycation

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Magic and Mystery Part 1 - doors Some things will always have a sense of mystery and magic about them. Saw this door (below) on a walk today, down an alley way I'd never been down before and it just screamed childhood adventure book at me - The Secret Garden, Narnia, Harry Potter... What is it about a locked door?  Or a hidden door for that matter.  We want to be the person to discover what's hidden behind it, whether that be a beautiful garden, a hidden basement (Parasite) or some moonshine brewing on an inustrial scale (Boadwalk Empire)... Even Chandler in Friends got obsessed when he couldn't open a door to a cupboard in Monika's apartment when he moved in.

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I love to walk as I've mentioned before and to accompany my walk, I enjoy a good podcast.  But I've also taken to listening while I cook or clean. My regular ones include: Make Me Smart  - Usually weekly, now daily, American.  Looks at news, economy and tech, really interesting and fun. The Chickpeeps  - This is a podcast about all elements of veganism.  It's much more accessible and fun than it sounds and will answer any questions as they have loads of experts as guests. Serial  - the first series was a huge talking point worldwide, featuring the case of Adnan Syed.  I would also recommend the following series, very interesting. The Teachers Pet  - about the disappearance of Lynnette Dawson in Sydney, Australia in 1982.  Fascinating and quite frankly, horrifying. Slow Burn  - series 1 is all about Watergate which I am currently listening to....

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I've mentioned before how much I love a good walk. Well, I've just discovered ON MY DOORSTEP the most beautiful walk.  I'm ashamed that I didn't know of it's existence in all this time. In one of my weekly online calls / actor jams we were talking about this and the existence of places which have been turned into walks which were originally something else.  Old railway tracks etc. Two which I have enjoyed in the last few years were in Valencia and New York. The much vaunted HIGH LINE in New York is great.  A wonderful use of old freight rail line, it winds down a 20 block stretch of the west side of Manhattan giving a sneaky peak into some incredible apartment buildings (including one designed by Zaha Hadid) ending up at the brilliant Whitney Museum. The other is the Turia Riverbed Park in Valencia.  The river caused a huge flood back in 1957 and officials decided to divert the river ...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Should have been flying to the USA today. I was finally going to be able to explore LA (I went once when I was 10 but the only exploring on that occassion was of Disneyland) and also do some research for something I'm writing.  But that will all have to wait for now. More sadly, I was also going for a wedding.  That wedding, like many thousands of others has now been postponed or cancelled entirely. My heart breaks for those couples and families who are now not able to celebrate their love for one another in the way or at the time they chose. It also got me thinking about people who are having birthdays at the moment.  If you are self-isolating and really on your own, this must be pretty pants.  On a "Government Sanctioned" walk I saw a man standing on the street, shouting to his friend who was in his doorway holding a pint glass.  He told me it was his birthday and his friend had p...