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Bang a Gong – It’s Thursday

02nd

Apr

2020

02.04.20 – Darrell Priestley

The Netflix fantasy has yet to happen at our house. You may be more fortunate. Incarcerated chez nous ten days and counting, we have so far seen less than five hours of non Covid-19 TV. By the time I sit in a chair to wind down after a long day at the computer, I am already nodding off to sleep. The TV goes on mostly at meal times, when we catch up on news develpoments from around the world, though under current circumstances I think it’s good to limit that kind of thing; then it’s back to work, which is somewhat better.

Eileen and I are missing our grandchildren, of course. While isolation feels safe, we are all missing out on family, and get-togethers that would recently have seemed routine are just not happening. Fortunately, this is the age of the videolink, and our three year old grandson is far from camera shy, while his six month old sister has a winning smile that lights up the small screen. They are totally isolating at present, but can come out to shop again in less than a week, perhaps something of a mixed blessing since lately every shopping expedition feels like running the gauntlet. Meanwhile, we make goo goo eyes at the children and do funny poses (at least, they think they are funny) through the window when we drop off the shopping at their front door.

Today being Thursday, there is an 8.00pm call to assemble at the front of the house with pots and pans, wooden spoons, and anything else that can make a din, and applaud our wonderful NHS and care staff, who bravely put in long shifts on the front line. But it’s a long front line, and it extends into the food shops and pharmacies, care homes and social care, and to the people who keep our public trasnsport moving. So when you cheer tonight and bang that gong, shout loud and shout wide, because as we are starting to realise, there are a lot of brave and selfless people helping to hold our world together right now.


Build A Playlist, to help You Through the Day

01st

Apr

2020

01.04.20 – Darrell Priestley

Most things, I find, can be dealt with if accompanied by the right play list. Music – it’s something that’s always worked for me. There’s music for almost every mood, every situation, the trick of course being picking the right tunes for the moment. Don’t overlook instrumentals, which generally provide undemanding background listening for many a chore, with no mental struggles trying to work out wierd and frequently inane lyrics. Since it’s getting tougher all the time to find a radio station that plays a selection of music you actually like, you might as well put your own lists together, but positive aspects are i) it will fill up some time you unexpectedly found you had, and ii) it’s genuinely fun to do.

Your playlist should have a name, to suit the mood you want to use it for. But once you’ve made one, you will probably want to make more, so don’t try to put all your favourite tunes on the same list, as you will rarely find a tune that fits all situations. Curiously, I have a particular favourite tune I like to play while cleaning my teeth, though only at bedtime – how odd!

My go to streaming service is Spotify, which is incredibly easy to use and offers a free version, but there are a number of other services you could use. For these present times, you will no doubt want to put a good few uplifting tunes on your playlists, special favourites to take you away from the now. We have built up hundreds of playlists over the years, which may sound a bit indulgent but since this music powers us through our long days, often eleven or twelve hours, I think it is justified. Another thing about Spotify that I love is how is easy it is to explore music you might never hear on the radio, making it easy to discover some new favourites.

We get a lot of compliments on the music we play (when we are open!), but our tastes are quite eclectic, so it’s hard to make suggestions for you. However, you will already have a good idea what you like, so an idea might be to choose a favourite tune as a starting point and then build to a theme, eg ‘Tuneful Tranquillity’, ‘In Line Online’ (aka ‘Waiting for a Website’ – a kind of hold music of the pandemic, I suppose), or perhaps at the opposite end of the spectrum, ‘Demonic Dusting’. By now, we have a playlist for nearly every occasion, the longest of which has maybe a thousand songs, and we come up with around two new list for Christmas alone every year. So, to help you get started, the advice would simply be this: start to build a playlist, it should soon be enough to help you get you through the day.


Urgent – Email Updates

31st

Mar

2020

31.03.20 – Darrell Priestley

Have you been receiving email updates from us recently? We are sending out important messages to all current students. If you have not received yours, please check your spam filters, otherwise simply email to let us know so that we can quickly bring you up to speed.


The Lockdown Diaries

31st

Mar

2020

31.03.2020 – Darrell Priestley

So Tuesday, so happy. Well, I think it’s Tuesday, though who amongst us really knows? At least we got through Monday, which is a good thing, I think. Yesterday was a day of many hours spent at the kitchen table, planning, preparing, and video conferencing with teachers. Productive too, although each day, which I begin by typing away and gazing hopefully at the computer screen, starts off filled with such promise, it’s always a bit sad when reality bites and some tasks remain not quite complete.

Yesterday also involved a trip out. How very brave. Well, we needed to shop, which at present we are doing for three households, which means a fair bit of planning. Shopping can make me nervous at the best of times, I will confess, but there is a little extra trepidation nowadays when we are about to venture out amongst others. Fortunately, shopping etiquette is coming along splendidly. Who knew queueing could be so much fun? Great systems are appearing at most shops, and distancing is doing very well, but my word it’s strange seeing a queue for Boots in Pontefract stretching down Market Place toward the Town Hall.

Just like you, and everyone else, we would rather like our shopping delivered. No such luck. Six nights in a row last week I arose between 3.15am and 4.15am thinking this might help access the supermarket websites – who ever thought there would be queue to shop online? At one point, there was what passed for nocturnal excitement as I saw there were only 192,524 people in front of me, and it was quite a dilemma, should I stay up and shuffle slowly forward, or should I go back to bed and hope to awake just in time to take my place at the head of the queue? I’d like to say I made it to the front, but Zzzzz. You have probably been there yourself.

Speaking of shopping online, there are some funny tales. Did you hear of the lady who, ordering Brussells Sprouts (x1), received just one sprout, singular! Still, at least she got a delivery slot. Perhaps you have some funny, interesting, or heartwarming experience of your own that you would like to share. If you do, please send it to [email protected], and I’ll see what I can do. Uplifting stories would fit the moment particularly well.

One good point to emerge from Monday was our new Guidance for online lessons. Jessica put this together for us, and did a great job. It simply outlines a sensible approach for all to take, so that lessons remain professional, friendly and safe. Please take a moment to read the guidance through when you receive a copy, as it is important and intended to be helpful for everyone, and especially parents.