Coronavirus, Couch to 80K, and Cucumbers

Ok, this post isn't really about cucumbers.  I just really like alliteration.  I do like eating them though, when I was a kid I used to walk around eating a cucumber as if it were a banana.  What can I say, I was a weird kid.

So unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know about the current Coronavirus pandemic and how much the world has changed since my last post.  The UK is on lockdown, death tolls continue to rise, and people have been stockpiling like there's no tomorrow.

It strikes me that before all of this happened, the world seemed to be going slightly mad.  People were obsessed with their phones, the news was filled with people bleating about Brexit, and fixated by celebrity news like Megxit.  I truly believe that the world will be changed forever by Covid19.  People's priorities will shift, and the human race will become less selfish as a result.

It's strange, in some ways being in lockdown, the world seems to have shrunk in size.  But with that, the sense of community has grown massively.  People offering to get shopping for others, complete strangers saying hello and smiling from the permitted two metres away on the daily walk.  The online community has helped massively too, I've been learning how to Skype, and been able to speak to my sister and nephew even though we can't speak face to face at the moment.

I've been able to have a group Skype session with my writing group, which made me feel part of something outside of my four walls, and feel connected to others.  Been learning Zoom too, and the connection is definitely better than Skype.  Can't get a Tesco online delivery slot for love nor money though.

I really believe in the history books, the world will be divided into life B.C(Before Coronavirus) and A.C(After Coronavirus.)  I really feel blessed to have my creative writing, an outlet in these uncertain times.  Which brings me onto the next thing keeping me sane at the moment.

A couple of months ago, a member of my writing group told me about  Couch to 80K - the free podcast run by poet Tim Clare.  It's an eight week course where you write for ten minutes a day-which is timed within the podcast-, and by the end of it you should have the skills to write a novel.  I'm just coming to the end of the second week(you write six days a week, with one day off) and am absolutely loving it. The first week was about writing lists(e.g. character names), this week so far has been about free writing.  I just love the feeling of sitting down, not knowing what you are going to write, and ten minutes later you've created a mini masterpiece, a universe of words and expression which you didn't know existed until then. Tim Clare's style is unique; completely off the wall, he is funny, encouraging, and doesn't take himself too seriously.  I would highly recommend it.  Plus ten minutes a day is nothing, it's easy to spend that amount of time mindlessly scrolling through social media, and at least by doing this you've created something.

I've also -intermittently, I won't pretend to be doing it every day-been taking part in P.E with Joe -which is Joe Wicks' online keep-fit sessions. Thirty minute sessions, they are essentially using HIIT interval training, where you do each exercise for thirty seconds, and rest for thirty seconds.  I've been a fan of interval training for a while, I love how, just as you are on the brink of collapse, you get to stop and have a rest!  Joe's style is infectious and it's impossible not to be buoyed up by his enthusiasm and encouragement.  It's well known that exercise produces dopamine and serotonin, so it's an excellent way  to look after your physical and mental health.

What have you been doing to deal with lockdown?  Are you finding it easy or difficult?  I really think technology is a lifeline for all of us at the moment.

It's hard to know how long the current Covid19 situation will continue, but I think as long as we take things one day at a time, develop coping mechanisms/activities we enjoy which give us something positive to focus on, and look out for our community, we will get through this.  To echo the Persian adage, this too will pass.