Remember when Lockdown started, a zillion years ago, and everybody was like 'oh, I'm going to be SO productive' - myself included?
I had visions of boxes first taped up 10 years ago and which stayed that way for 3 moves (2 of them international) finally being unearthed and disposed of. Then, the garden was going to look lovely. I thought maybe I might bake some bread. And of course I was going to get back to The Great Work - the one that's been sitting in a folder since last July, temporarily shelved due to, in no particular order; school holidays, renovations, recalcitrant children, travel, sickness and the interference of every-day life.
Well. The garden does look rather lovely, but that's because it's spring rather than anything I've done to it. As for the rest? Not so much. My creativity and productivity appear to have fallen off the edge of a cliff, lost in a fog of homeschooling, constant low-level worry about what the future holds (on a macro and micro scale), menu-planning, and debating when it's acceptable to have the first quarantini of the day...
But there are others out there who seem less affected than me and who - luckily for the rest of us - have embraced the creative opportunities this situation presents. I thought I would list a few of them here, in case you're interested.
https://www.ancientmarinerbigread.com/readings : The Ancient Mariner, split into sections and read by such luminaries as Jeremy Irons, Jeanette Winterson, Hilary Mantel, Willem Dafoe - the list goes on. What a way to breathe life and relevance into this extraordinary poem.
Isolation Stories on ITV from 4th May on. Read this Guardian piece to see how a series can be conceived and filmed in lockdown - completely looking forward to this one.
Then, this wondrous piece from the dancers at L'Opera de Paris will lift your heart
And finally, this. Because, dancing cockatoos.
You're welcome.
I had visions of boxes first taped up 10 years ago and which stayed that way for 3 moves (2 of them international) finally being unearthed and disposed of. Then, the garden was going to look lovely. I thought maybe I might bake some bread. And of course I was going to get back to The Great Work - the one that's been sitting in a folder since last July, temporarily shelved due to, in no particular order; school holidays, renovations, recalcitrant children, travel, sickness and the interference of every-day life.
Well. The garden does look rather lovely, but that's because it's spring rather than anything I've done to it. As for the rest? Not so much. My creativity and productivity appear to have fallen off the edge of a cliff, lost in a fog of homeschooling, constant low-level worry about what the future holds (on a macro and micro scale), menu-planning, and debating when it's acceptable to have the first quarantini of the day...
But there are others out there who seem less affected than me and who - luckily for the rest of us - have embraced the creative opportunities this situation presents. I thought I would list a few of them here, in case you're interested.
https://www.ancientmarinerbigread.com/readings : The Ancient Mariner, split into sections and read by such luminaries as Jeremy Irons, Jeanette Winterson, Hilary Mantel, Willem Dafoe - the list goes on. What a way to breathe life and relevance into this extraordinary poem.
Isolation Stories on ITV from 4th May on. Read this Guardian piece to see how a series can be conceived and filmed in lockdown - completely looking forward to this one.
Then, this wondrous piece from the dancers at L'Opera de Paris will lift your heart
And finally, this. Because, dancing cockatoos.
You're welcome.
Don't worry, I think most of us had big ideas for the lockdown. Its day 40 lockdown in Malaysia and I am still plodding along. At least I resuscitated my blog. Just like you I started my blog to share the hilarious moments of my Girl growing up, She is 24 now. Looking forward to some pics of your garden. Visit me at jom colour me in google.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kestrel. Just checked out your blog and learned something: who knew watermelons had genders? (I suspect that in the UK they don't, as our supermarkets very boringly insist on homogenous fruit and veg). But in any case, that's a Lockdown Learning that will stay with me - thankyou!
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