Well, things got wild there for a bit. A summary:
? I rapidly realised that working round the clock from home, with abundance of crisps to hand, was going to result in some serious weight gain. So I got on my bike, and rediscovered London a bit. Since April I’ve been aiming to cycle at least 60km a week but, without really meaning to, have ended up travelling about 100km. Hardly Boardman, but I’m enjoying the escape from domesticity and discovering a city I thought I knew, but didn’t. And it seemingly works: fitbit scale says I’ve dropped 6% body fat in a couple of months.
☎️ The internet got an upgrade with a 5G hub from Three to cope with the unrelenting video calls. It’s got unlimited data and 100Mbps of pipe-wang. This is a big improvement as there’s (still) no prospect of fibre in our street. Still only 3Mbps up, though – which is rubbish, and I suspect, being throttled. But it’s £34/month and I’ll take it until something better gets dug into the road.
? The work diary continues to be entirely full, which I’m grateful for, but a break is sorely needed. Hoping for that in July, to keep up with the giant pile of books I’m amassing to help me understand the history of the black community in the UK. I’ve nearly finished listening to Reni Eddo-Lodge‘s book and there are plenty more to come.
? Gardening mate. I’m trying to do ten minutes of looking at flowers for every sixty of looking at zoom. It works!
?️? Should have been at Glastonbury / Pride in London this weekend. Instead of pounding the streets or fields in brightest colours, we installed a new bin under the sink. Literally rubbish. On the plus side, there was rhubarb flavoured cider.
? So much great watching, at the moment. Tunes for Tyrants was a fascinating if slightly anglo-german-obsessed look at musical pomp and (tragic) circumstance; National Theatre at Home has had two towering productions on in two weeks: Small Island, and a v queer version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (til Wednesday); I May Destroy You which is basically required (if painful) viewing for everyone [although not, as we rapidly discovered, suitable for watching with mother]
? Photopea does everything that photoshop does in a browser and it’s great. I am still benefitting from student discount on adobe products but once this runs out I won’t be able to justify the cost, so tools like this are welcome.
? Obviously the backdrop is this little blighter, turning everything upside down. I’m starting to think, without paralysis, of what kinds of world we may have after the crisis, and what that means for life and plans. Nothing firm yet, but allowing the thought process is a start.
And now some pictures from cycles around the city.
