WELL FEAR NOT, TEAM! We’ve asked around and here are some of the odd things you can do from the safety and comfort of your own homes! You won’t even need to get up from your laptops! It’ll be just like work!
Go to a gig!
But stay in your house! There are a huge amount of streaming sessions on over the lockdown period; and many of them involve contributing to charities at the coalface of fighting the pandemic. If you’re reading this on Friday, congratulations! You’ve already missed The Boss, Hayley Williams and Questlove, but you’ve got the DIYsolation Festival to watch throughout the weekend.
More details at TicketMaster.
Become a spy!
The Spy Museum, based in Washington, D.C. has a full calendar of online events. This weekend starts with a ‘Spy School 101’ – It might be written for Grades 3-6 but you’ve got to start somewhere. If you’re going to make your own invisible ink, please wash your hands for at least 20 seconds before and after.
Colleagues are encouraged not to become interested in industrial espionage.
The full catalogue of events are here
Become cultured!
From painting studies to home science; via historical monuments and Motown, Google’s Arts & Culture site contains a ton of quick, accessible and incredibly informed stories, case studies and virtual tours.
Don your monocle, ready your ‘new words that I have learned’ notebook, and prepare to become as cultured as an old yogurt.
Tour a Champagne vinyard!
Want to know how champagne is made? Or do you just want a glimpse of beautiful countryside? You can tour the Champagne region of France with this Unesco video. Best enjoyed with a glass from the Bar-gain and OwnBránde regions from your own collection.
Become one with nature!
David Attenborough may be the second-best thing to come out of the UK after the T20 Wireless, and you can catch him on a number of streaming services. But zoo webcams from around the world don’t have the benefit of an editor and a rousing score, so you can watch some animals engage in the delicious slapstick that nature intended.
Our neighbours in Edinburgh have pandas, penguins, tigers and koalas on camera, available here.
Actually use the guitar that’s been in your flat since you moved in
According to the good people of Social Media, now is the time to really work on yourself. Well good news! Several outlets have reduced the price of online guitar courses. No more will you have to guiltily mumble ‘mm, yeah, I used to play, but, eh, just can’t find the time, um’ when people ask questions about the guitar you gaudily mounted on your wall.
Guitar giants Gibson and Fender are both offering the first three months free on their guitar courses. Hopefully you won’t need that long. Sincerely, your neighbours.
Host a dinner party!
Cooking a roast on Sunday? Coordinate with friends and family and you can cook and eat together over video chat. Remote hosting also cuts down on angst over the perfect way to cook potatoes – and if you keep your wine glass out of shot, nobody can judge your pour size. NB: when sharing this experience with people in other countries, remember to account for time zone differences.
We’ve curated a playlist optimised to sound great when reproduced at the other end of a video chat link.
Disclaimer
RHA is affiliated with none of the companies mentioned above. Please don’t become interested in industrial espionage.