Distancing: Day 79

I've stayed away from the news as much as I can, and escaped through books and films from the past, where people can hug and punch and travel however they like. This has led to a form of inner peace, a bubble of me and mine and now, where I can concentrate on my writing,...

Distancing: Day 71

The political scandal has people from left, right and centre agreeing all over Twitter. I have a week off from the day job. I was meant to go to Hungary but instead I have a private writing retreat at home. The to do list is made, and is a mix of writing related and life...

Distancing: Day 49

Today I got an email at work congratulating us all for having successfully kept the business running from our homes for six weeks. At the weekend we did the most lockdowny thing of lockdown: one of my housemates cut all our hair. It was very successful; we all look the same but different and the...

Distancing: Day 37

"To write truly is to speak from the depths of the maternal womb." Elena Ferrante, The Days of Abandonment (2002)   A writer in her thirties is left by her husband, and descends into a kind of reality and identity shifting madness, where she accidentally locks herself, her children and their dog into their Turin...

Distancing: Day 36

Conversations and imaginings of how the lockdown will end have started floated around. How does it end, for it not to end in a new beginning of a new wave? Germany, Norway and Denmark, even parts of Spain, have started easing the rules. Parts of East Asia are returning to normal, while Singapore have had...

Distancing: Day 35

Someone killed Benny the Bunny. The culprit is still at large, but I can assure his sacrifice was not for nothing.   Today has been a social day. I've spoken to a friend on furlough who is struggling with routine, sleep, purpose, and weight. I advise her to find something to do, and at the...

Distancing: Day 30

It's been a month. No wonder it's starting to feel normal. Writing about sea travel, looking at nautical charts of the North Sea, measuring distances and avoiding shallows. Sleeping better at night. I think I will find it hard to go back to the old normal when this is over.   In world news, Trump...

Distancing: Day 28

April is the cruellest month, forcing us out of the warm forgetful snow of winter. Of course it hurts when buds are breaking, into life and its uncertainty and unfairness. The PM is out of hospital. The NHS don't have enough protective equipment. Wuhan has ended its lockdown. The statistics are still rising, but starting...

Distancing: Day 26

Last year, for my 31st birthday, a friend gave me a book of 30 essays on travelling, called Hot to Travel. With the book ha gave me the challenge of writing the 31st essay myself, for the corresponding birthday. I finished the book, and wrote my own essay on it, the day before my 32nd...