If, like me, you are stuck indoors self-isolating, you may be wondering what you can do to keep yourself as healthy as possible mentally as well as physically. After a while binge-watching Netflix, or playing endless games of online Scrabble (other word games are available) loses its appeal, and you probably shouldn’t allow the children to spend 16 hours a day on their phones/
computers/PlayStations/all three at the same time.
Fortunately there are lots of good ideas out there to help you fill the time and we have started compiling them so that we can share them and help preserve our collective sanity.
Keep the faith
For a start (this is a church blog after all) there are lots of spiritual resources and we are adding to our Faith Online page regularly. We also have a great forum with a mix of spiritual and other resources. Sign up here, then read, listen, watch, and discuss!
Get into the garden
If you have a garden and feel well enough to get out into it when it isn’t raining, gardening is a great way to clear the mind and focus on something other than the current situation. It is also intrinsically positive. You are preparing for the future, planting for a better time ahead. I’ve not yet got the energy to do much but next week maybe… You can order plants and seeds online or ask someone who is out and about to look for some for you. If you need someone to go to a garden centre for you, email me here and I’ll ask someone.
In the meantime I found this article which I thought might be helpful. It’s American but works this side of the Atlantic. Go on – Dig for Victory!
Singing is good for the soul
You probably heard about the singing from the balconies in Italy and Spain. We don’t have as many balconies here but there is still singing. Vic Cracknell, a man who has done more than most to encourage live music in Farnham, has started live streaming music on Facebook. He does a mix of genres and today I heard him performing Elton John, Carole King, Vera Lynn, The Beach Boys, and some of his own compositions. Find him here.
I’ll add some more links to others as I come across them.
Watch a West End Show
Yes, really!
The producers of the West End production of The Wind in the Willows are streaming the show online for free, though ask for a small donation that will be given to theatre charities. Watch and enjoy here.
It’s story time
Remember Little House on the Prairie on the TV? It was based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and tells of the childhood of Laura herself in pioneer America in the late 19th century. If you haven’t read the books, now could be the time. Listen to Ruby2kids reading the first of the series Little House in the Big Woods. She’s reading a chapter a day and it is a delight whatever your age! Find her on YouTube here.
Laura Ingalls Wilder appears on a list compiled by Enchanted Hour Reading. It comprises books to help children make sense of their current circumstances. What is it like to live alone or within one family/ small friendship group while isolated from the world? These are books to enjoy together and some to read alone.
Get the colours out
Colouring is good for your mental health and very satisfying. Jules Middleton has some lovely colouring sheets here which will absorb you for hours. Be soothed.
That’s it for now. More coming soon.
Stella
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 