The Extreme Staycation

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Well I made the submission deadline - by 6 minutes.  Ridiculous. However, I then felt all jacked up and excitable about my story and couldn't sleep and in amongst my thoughts remembered that I hadn't spell checked the document... argh! There is no real excuse for this other than I forgot and I'm really pretty annoyed at myself.  My one consoling thought is that I sent it in PDF so at least any spelling errors won't be underlined in red...? Apparently my subscribers have not been receiving my blog via email for a couple of weeks and have suddenly received a backlog email of all of my musings.  That's a lot of ramblings to read and I thank you dear reader for sticking with me through the madness of lockdown and of my jumble of thoughts.

Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Deadlines. I am a person who needs a deadline.  Or my Virgo tendencies like a deadline. And a list. And a schedule. I digress. I have always wanted to be a person who finishes things ahead of a deadline.  But I'm not.  At school, I was always a last-minute Larry with homework. This was partly poor time management on my behalf and partly because I didn't  have  a lot of time as I spent most evenings doing something along the lines of ballet, drama, rehearsals for am-dram etc and my homework was a much less enticing prospect.  I did however always get it done.  This is where I got good at late nights. At university I got a bit better, I think the size of the essays was quite daunting.  But I definitely had several late nights finishing things in time.  This time my excuse was all drink related - I was either out drinking or I was working in a bar serving drinks to other...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I wrote a short play which I submitted to a competition last year and it was selected by the lovely people at Get Over It Productions to be performed at their new writing event in January 2020. I was really chuffed that it was chosen.  I think I got the email from them on the same day I received a rejection from another competition so it was a welcome boost to my confidence as a writer. It was quite a surreal experience as I had no input into casting or direction - I handed it over and then turned up at the theatre to see it for the first time along with everyone else and I was really happy with their choices. The play has been recorded during lockdown and released as a podcast.  This is such a lovely gift - I am now able to invite to world to listen and can share my little play with an infinite number of friends and family who would never have made it to the theatre to see it. So big THANK YOU to Get Over It Produ...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Learning Lines part 1 This is an occupational hazard for actors and one that people not in "the biz" often ask about - "How did you learn all those lines?" they marvel. And honestly sometimes I don't know. If something is well written, it is definitely easier to learn.  Believe it or not, Shakespeare is relatively easy to commit to memory for this very reason - it flows. The biggest thing I've ever had to learn was something I wrote myself.  In 2017 I took my solo show "Awake" to the Edinburgh and Sydney Fringe festivals.  It was 45 solid minutes of me talking.  That's a lot of lines.  And it was particuarly irritating when I got any lines wrong because I'd written them! If you'd like to read about my adventures, I wrote a couple of blogs about them:  Awake: Part 1 - The Road to Edinburgh   Awake: Part 2 - The North and the South

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Day 101 101 as a number seems to have a number of well known associations. Room 101 Originated in "1984" by George Orwell - it was a torture room and not a place you wanted to end up. There is now of course the BBC TV show by the same name where celebrities get to rid the world of something they find irritating. 101 An Americanism widely used to mean a basic understanding of something e.g. Knowing the names of the strings of a guitar is guitar playing 101. 101   Is a prime number 101 The number of Dalmatians in the book by Dodie Smith and several films by Disney Today it hit 31°c - what a scorcher!

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown We haven't yet had the chance to mourn what we have lost. I heard someone say that on one of my regular podcasts I listen to the other day and it really struck me, because I think it's true. For most people we have been in a kind of bubble for the past 7 weeks and it's only been a bit of a theory about what has changed.  But as we dip our toes trepidatiously back into the real world, I think it will become far clearer what it is we have lost. Everything happened at such speed that there was no time to prepare for it - which is why people went crazy with the panic buying - but also no chance to steady ourselves mentally.  Every element of our daily lives was altered - shopping, socialising, exercise, entertainment, holidays.  We didn't have time to process these small and great loses of freedom and choice. Life changed in an afternoon. So I think that now we will enter into a second p...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown A short & silly play, written to a rule, in 26 lines Brian: Actually Graham, I think you’ll find I was here first Graham: Brian, c’mon man, I’ve never seen one in real life Brian:   Can’t see why that’s my problem.   You should have got up earlier Graham:  Don’t start with that again Brian:   Exactly a year ago I think it was… Graham:  For fuck’s sake… Brian:   Got up, drove to you, waited for 45 minutes until you finally appeared Graham:  Here we go… Brian:   I had coffee, warm toasted bagels- Graham:  Just trying to make me feel worse aren’t you? Brian:   Kronuts, those half doughnut half croissant things Graham:  Look I said I was sorry Brian:   Maybe I don’t believe you Graham:  No?   Why? Brian:   Oh I don’t know, because when we finally got there you told everyone I drove slowly and that's why we wer...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The Streets - a poem The streets The streets they are different. Where once people jostled Now they avoid. Discarded coffee cups replaced by surgical masks Rainbows in chalk, Chairs at ends of paths, A shouted conversation. On Thursdays at 8 people emerge with a roar A moment of union before isolation again. Families walk together New exercises are run Courtesies extended where once they were absent Selfishness ignited in defiance or ignorance. The streets, the streets are still busy But the hubbub is ordered and queued The streets mill with the people still working, Once maligned, now key. The streets will be the same again. We will bump, shove and excuse a touch once more. But for now the streets are quiet As people listen and stay indoors.

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown O ne of my favourite shows growing up was The X-Files.  I was delighted when they filmed two new seasons in 2016 and 2018 after a 15 year interlude. What I have always loved about it is how the show has a sense of humour about itself.  Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are both brilliant actors, easily flitting between the serious and lighter moments. In news that would excite those who believe "we are not alone" t he US Department of Defense has released three declassified videos of "unexplained aerial phenomena". I mean, I don't know what it is we're looking at in the footage, but the last thing that is "rotating" is certainly not a plane... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52457805

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Creativity If you're feeling creative right now, great!  Be creative! If you are coping brilliantly working from home, that's amazing and I'm genuinely pleased for you. If you're feeling like you'd prefer to hole up with a bottle of wine and Netflix and that the outside world can do one - that's also fine. I have to keep reminding myself of this because of the seemingly constant pressures to be doing something.  I'm my own worst critic at the best of times and now is no different. We all have our good days and bad days, these just seem to be amplified at the moment because our surroundings are more monotonous and less inspiring. Here are some people who have been fantastically creative - I imagine they did wonder if they had slightly lost the plot at some stage though! https://www.boredpanda.com/quarantine-gerbil-art-gallery/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_c...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown What are the small things that you miss? For me, it's a simple one.  I miss going to a coffee shop, getting a big, extra hot coffee and going for a walk. I have many coffee shop apps on my phone that have gone untouched for the past 35 days which is UNHEARD OF for me. I love walking.  I enjoy being outside, the exercise, the time to listen to a podcast, walk with a friend or call one for a catch up  or just to ruminate. I think it's the small rituals - getting your breakfast or lunch from somewhere each day, the reading time on the commute, being able to pop into a supermarket without having to put a couple of hours aside that in some ways are the hardest adjustments to make. Nice thing: The 1990s were pretty seminal in my development and Fearne Cotton is now broadcasting a Sounds of the 90s show weekly on the BBC.  Highly recommend to any fellow 90s sufferers! https://www.bbc.co.uk...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown There are some slightly more unusual things that have been made available online now.  Soon we won't ever need to leave our homes. Art The J Paul Getty Los Angeles, The Vatican,  MASP, São Paulo, Brazil and  many of London's galleries and museums are among some who are opening their virtual doors - links in this article:  https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/mar/23/10-of-the-worlds-best-virtual-museum-and-art-gallery-tours Zoos and farms Our own Chester Zoo are doing Virtual Zoo Days:  https://www.chesterzoo.org/virtual-zoo/ San Diego, California has live cam on a range of animals:  https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams And this place is a sanctuary for rescued farms animals in upstate New York which is lovely:  https://explore.org/livecams/farm-sanctuary/wisconsin-pasture-farm-sanctuary

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown People are being really quite creative during lockdown.  I've just been handed a new challenge  - to re-create a famous art work such as the below which the Getty museum have been doing: https://fstoppers.com/contests/getty-museum-photo-challenge-can-you-recreate-masterpiece-during-lockdown-473398 Challenge accepted - I will update when I have something! I think that this is such a great idea - a fun and creative thing to do that costs nothing, just a bit of imagination and the ability to see household items in a new light!

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Heard some lovely stories about how animal shelters have been emptied - animal adoptions have skyrocketed since the lockdown began. This is such wonderful news - just remember, a pet is for life, not just for lockdown. This is my rescue cat and she's the best - adopting her was one of the best decisions ever: London https://www.timeout.com/london/news/battersea-dogs-cats-home-sees-a-surge-in-adoptions-032720 New York https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/animal-shelter-coronavirus-dogs-cats-adopted-foster-empty-riverside-county-animal-services-a9460876.html Colorado https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-pandemic-animal-shelters-clear-out-dog-cats-rescue-colorado-a9432076.html

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Today is usually the first part of a busy Easter time for me.  I sing with my church choir and so normally spend many hours in my church over the next three days. I think overall, I have adjusted quickly and well to lockdown.  In many ways, it's not much different to normal for me - I often work from home (applying for work, audition prep, writing) and of late, I haven't had an office based job so my "work" has taken me all over the place. So Easter is the first big annual event that is markedly different for me. Churches and other places of worship provide community, continuity and a safe and sacred space and I imagine I am not the only person to be missing this. However, thanks to the power of the internet masses are being streamed online from all over the world.  I know from other friends and family that synagogues and temples are doing similar. This is a lovely story of a very dedicated...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Motivation I think everyone struggles to be motivated on occasion. During this weird time we now find ourselves in, I think that people will be experiencing conflicting feelings. Firstly, a feeling of abundance.  As a creative, you've almost been gifted time.  Time is the thing we all wish we had more of.  Time to write, time to work on those monologues, practice tap, perfect your guitar chords.  And now it's all we have. Secondly, pressure.  I've got time, I have to use it.  Why aren't I using this time better?  What else can I do? Thirdly, being overwhelmed.  There are almost too many options.  I have a calendar full of activities - calls, quizzes, writing and acting groups.  And what am I missing out on?  So many things to watch on tv, theatre being streamed, free books to read or listen to, free exercise classes... And then it becomes too much an...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown As of Monday night we, the UK, are on lockdown. Like a lot of people, I was relieved that this was finally being enforced.  It seems that this is the only way to beat this thing, so let's start now so we can get past it. I've been heartened by many people's responses - Adam Garcia giving beginners tap classes on Instagram , Davina McCall making her website free for 30 days, Audible giving 30 days free access to children's books and many more. I have three predictions: 1. There will be a baby boom in December 2. There will be a large number of divorce petitions by June 3. Home burglary rates will dramatically decrease (probably the opposite for businesses sadly) For my part, I'm going to follow the government's advise, I think it is the socially responsible thing to do.