The Best Things To Do in Lockdown This Week
Having passed the month-and-a-bit mark of lockdown in the Uk, with our fifth housebound weekend approaching, it’s safe to say most of us have watched everything ever made by Netflix ever 🐯, are a bit zoomed-out and are starting to get itchy feet (is anyone else having weird dreams of being a bird?).
Prompted by the realisation I’ve killed ALL of my houseplants (yes, every single one) and even failed to cultivate a simple sourdough starter that doesn’t end up a hazard to human life.. I’ve been on the hunt for fun things to do in lockdown that are good for the soul (and don’t require keeping other things alive).
I’m a heart-eyed fan of The Aesthetics of Joy - ideas and tools for living a more joyful life backed by scientific research, founded by designer Ingrid Fetell Lee (have a look at her “joyful conversation starters” if the banter chez toi is getting bit stale). I’ve also enjoyed the escapism of wholesome podcast The Memory Palace - short, soothing tales of people, places and objects from American history. Nate Di Mayo is a master storyteller and at around 10 minutes each, they are short enough for a quick coffee break. I recommend beginning with Episode 33, Lost Lobsters - but you can listen in any random order. I also follow @goodnews_movement and read uplifting news stories here for a dollop of positivity to go with many a scoop of panic.
Lockdown Disclaimer: I recognise that this is a time of intense stress and overwhelm for most, with our collective centre of gravity having shifted so dramatically. It’s completely acceptable to assume the starfish position, or dedicate longer than average to cutting your toenails and completely reject so much as a soupçon of productivity while you wrap your head around the world feeling upside down. I won’t mind if you shake your fist at this list and curse me for adding to the things you could be doing but can’t even - it’s okay to feel the need to grieve and recalibrate.
But should you feel like trying something different, here are some of the nicest things I’ve found to do at home .. no pressure, I promise xx
Lucky Pineapple Happy Hour
Keep your spirits up (boom ch..) with some magnifique DIY mixology. With all events (ergo, fun) cancelled for the Summer ahead, dreamy roaming bar-on-wheels The Lucky Pineapple are launching their very own Happy Hour! They will share a new cocktail recipe (like this delicious coconut and ginger margarita) each week with a how-to-guide, available to those who sign up to the Lucky Pineapple mailing list. Even better, those who sign up will be automatically entered into a weekly prize draw to win that week's cocktail - including all the ingredients, glassware & garnishes required for them to make at home! Sooo good, right?
Website / FB / Insta / FREE (+ the cost of ingredients, bien sûr)
Urban Writers Writing Retreat
If, like me you are weary of hearing about all of the masterpieces Shakespeare wrote during the plague (while finding yourself writing very little), Urban Writers Retreats are the perfect way to stop procrastinating and get it done. Retreats are held in this Facebook Group, with shorter midweek retreats or a full-day Saturday retreat. Charlie is keeping the retreats free so that as many people can participate as possible, but if you would like to make a donation you can do so via Paypal or Ko-Fi.
Website / Join The Facebook Group / FREE or A Voluntary Donation
Life Drawing With ATYN
Every Monday from 7-9pm, All The Young Nudes host an online life drawing club. Expect lovely poses of varying lengths, a gorgeous playlist to sketch to and tuition for beginners. A chilled, creative way to spend 2 blissful hours, tuning out the craziness of the world right now. All are welcome, with no experience necessary. In their own words: “Some of you might be thinking "But I don't have any art materials?!" Printer paper, the back of a letter, or even a napkin will do!”. Join a drop-in session for a crisp fiver - worth every penny!
Bread Ahead
London based bakery of dreams Bread Ahead are bringing a little joy to our homes via daily live Instagram baking tutorials. With their how-to videos having proved so popular, they’ve gone a step further and created an in-depth online donut making workshop! In their 2-hour virtual baking workshop, you will make our mouthwatering doughnuts, honeycomb and a variety of custard fillings in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Make Pasta With a Nonna
84 year old Nonna Nerina is bringing Italy to you, with virtual live cooking lessons from her home in the Italian countryside, sharing her top secret family recipes (you will be sent a list of ingredients beforehand). Nerina is joined by a growing cohort of virtual Nonnas and Mamas around the country, sharing their finely honed pasta skills. She has a utensil and ingredient store too, if you’re finding it hard to track down an ever elusive bag o’ flour. Each class costs €50 (usually €100) - so ideal for a whole household activity if there are a few of you.
For a free alternative, Pasta Grannies is a project by writer Vicky Bennison, who has travelled the length and breadth of Italy finding and filming women who still make pasta by hand.
Go To The Theatre
Make some delicious popcorn and spend a decadent night at the theatre without leaving your living room. The National Theatre are releasing a play every Thursday (available for the following 7 days). You can watch the livestream on Youtube and productions so far have included One Man, Two Guvnors starring James Corden, Jane Eyre, Treasure Island and Twelfth Night.
Thespians among you will enjoy The Show Must Go Online, weekly readings of Shakespeare plays by a global cast of actors, (in the order in which they were believed to have been written).
Soho’s Theatre Café is hosting a series of events titled Leave a Light On, featuring the West End’s most talented performers (tickets £7.50).
Flow With Glow Yoga
I feel very lucky to be a part of Glow Yoga’s weekly yoga classes here in Glasgow (with the friendliest bunch of yogis around), and am so grateful to still be able to get together virtually to flow, stretch and sidestep reality for a little while on my matt. Glow Yoga are offering classes most days via zoom and a dreamy free meditation on insta live every Monday evening that will leave you a levitating marshmallow!
To join a class, DM Amy on Insta / £4 for an individual class or £3.50 for class passes of 5 or 10.
Sweat It Out With F45
The fastest growing fitness craze of the year, F45 involves group HIIT workouts like no other! Group being the operative word - F45 is famous for building friendly communities - the antithesis to lonely treadmills. Luckily, F45 Glasgow have devised an ingenious way to keep their motto team training, life changing more relevant than ever in these socially distant times, with motivating live home workouts via Zoom. The coaches have worked really hard to pivot and create a system that replicates IRL training as much as possible, with live coaching and different workouts every day! With 2 coaches per session to correct your form and motivate you, it’s impossible to simple play the workout while sitting cross legged eating a biscuit (I’m not saying I’ve done this.. but not saying I haven’t).
Sign up here / Website / FB / Insta / £14.99 a week
Mindful Painting
Master Peace are all about painting for mindfulness. Order one of their art kits for everything you need to recreate one of their professional paintings and tap into a state of creative flow at home. Each kit ties in with a live virtual class for step-by-step tuition alongside other artists from around the world. You can also donate a kit to someone in need. Master Peace works with a mental health and suicide prevention charity to distribute donated boxes to people who would benefit from art therapy.
Already fully equipped with art supplies? You can join a virtual class any time for £7. Alternatively, all 403 episodes of the Joy of Painting are live on YouTube, so you can make happy accidents of your own to the dulcet tones’ of Bob Ross.
Movie Night With Secret Sofa
Champions of immersive cinema experiences, Secret Cinema are bringing their creative film nights and famously good eye for detail to your living room with Secret Sofa! Weekly Tuesday emails reveal the upcoming film to be screened each Friday, featuring a thoughtful toolkit of everything needed to build your own themed cinema world at home, from recipes and costume suggestions to playlists, decor ideas and tasks.
You still need to find your own way to stream the film (the premise being that at 7.30pm on Friday, everyone presses play at the same time to watch some of the most iconic films together (apart). Week 1 featured the decadent escapism of The Grand Budapest Hotel, complete with a live stream introduction from an increasingly inebriated concierge and gramophone DJ after party! Week 2 is the worryingly relevant Groundhog Day.
Website / FB / Insta / FREE (plus the cost of renting the film + accoutrements)..it looks like they might be introducing a paid after party too.
Top Tip: The bigger you go, the more you will enjoy the experience - it’s as fun as you make it!
Join a Book Club
Stalwart of new year’s resolutions lists everywhere, the humble book club has seen a tremendous uptick during lockdown as the perfect way to connect over a shared experience, from afar. 📚Edinburgh-based Rare Birds Book Club is a wonderful wee subscription based book club, with a lot of heart. Every month they carefully choose the best recently published paperback fiction (giving you a choice with the help of two secret blurbs), and send you a new gem for your bookshelf in the post. Members meet online at the end of each month to discuss key themes and plot points.
I also love best-selling author Emma Gannon’s Hyphen-Book Club & am a member of our very own lil book club via @inthecollective. Alternatively, set up your very own with friends and family using the BookClubz website and app - a super handy online platform with everything you need to organise your own.
Learn First Aid
I’m positive I’m not the only one haunted by the image of Dwight Schrute every time I picture a first aid course. But on a serious note, many thousands of lives could be saved each year if more of us knew basic first aid techniques.
FutureLearn are giving people free access to this 2-week course, developed in partnership with the University of Glasgow. Covering all of the basics to give you confidence in a scary situation, no medical experience is required.
Website / FREE
A Boozy Masterclass
While we may not be able to head to the nearest bar for a dram with kith and kin, Master of Malt are hosting a series of live tastings to accompany their cool (letterbox-sized) tasting kits. Sharing their favourite tipples via Instagram Live, simply order yourself a tasting set, drams or bottle, and play along. With experts in Whisky, Rum, Gin and more, this is great way to spend an evening with friends.
Website / Insta / Photo by Edward Howell
Learn Modern Calligraphy
If you’ve always admired beautiful modern calligraphy but have yet to dip your nib, these beginners kits by Wild Sea Calligraphy have everything you need to learn. Each kit comes with an online workshop and you can also join their dedicated Facebook Group to share your work and ask for extra support.
Virtual Wine Tasting
Emerging Vines are building an English wine appreciation community, with monthly live wine tastings. They send two specially curated bottles of English-made in the post and guide you through a tasting from the comfort of your own home via Instagram live (with plenty of time for questions and interaction).
Pull The Cork are also hosting virtual wine tastings of their own biodynamic, sustainable isolation wines (from suppliers further afield).
Host a Murder Mystery Party
Organise a Murder Mystery soirée on Zoom with one of these flexible, downloadable kits. They are not originally designed for zoom but can be really easily adapted (for example, IRL the murderer would be chosen by picking an X out of a hat, but I sent all of the participants phone numbers to a friend anonymously, to pick one and let them know they are the murderer).
Master Terrazo
Katie Gillies has taken her super popular terrazzo workshops and transformed them into beautiful kits with corresponding online workshops for coaster and tray-making at home. Katie’s method uses environmentally friendly Jesmonite material and with different colour options, every piece is unique. The kits are in high demand, so keep an eye out for each drop via her Insta and get in quickly.
Website / Kits from £45
The Art of Kintsugi
Begin by smashing a plate or two (if you haven’t already - the cabin fever is real) and embark upon the soothing Japanese art of Kintsugi - embracing imperfections. Repair cracked china using beautiful resin mixed with real gold, thus highlighting the cracks and recognising fragility as a thing of beauty. Sigh!
Website /£32 for the kit (including vintage plate) and online tutorial
*I’m all too aware that it’s a tremendous privilege to have a safe space in which to stay home, to be healthy and to be in a position to feel bored or in search of something fun to do. I have been following the absolutely amazing work of charities such as Refuweegee and Women’s Aid helping extremely vulnerable people at the moment.
I urge you to do whatever you are able in your local area to support organisations supporting those who need it the most. One of the easiest places to start is with the #ViralKindness campaign, who have created these great downloadable postcards to offer help to neighbours. ❤️
Read more from my Life-in-Lockdown series with my guide to The Best Local Businesses Offering Food & Drink Deliveries.
My articles will always stay free and accessible, but if my words, ideas & tips have been useful and you would like to support my work, you can buy me a cup of coffee via Ko-Fi (a fantastic, secure platform to help you support writers and artists online). You are wonderful and it’s much appreciated. xx