Be a Bit more Newfoundlander
I'm sure you all know about the musical set in Newfoundland. If not, have you been living under a rock (pun intended)? Come From Away is a musical written by David Hein and Irene Sankoff that
premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in May 2015, before moving to Broadway in February 2017.
it opened in London in February 2019, after a run at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
I won't be including any major plot spoilers, so don't worry, but if you don't know the basic plot then what you do need to know is:
it opened in London in February 2019, after a run at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
I won't be including any major plot spoilers, so don't worry, but if you don't know the basic plot then what you do need to know is:
- After 9/11 happened the American airspace closed and thousands of passengers on their way to American, had to make an emergency landing in Canada.
- 7000 people landed in Gander, Newfoundland.
- The people of Gander, and other surrounding towns showed extreme kindness to the 'plane people', by feeding them, allowing them to stay in their homes, and providing them with clothes.
Although, what the world is going through right now if very different to what happened on 11th September 2001, I think that are a lot of parallels can be drawn in the way that we should be treating each other. I would like to share some things with you that you could do to help out those around you.
Help your neighbours
This could be done in a whole host of ways. If you have elderly neighbours that cannot leave their house then please, offer to do their shopping. You won't need to make any extra trips, you could simply pick them up a few things when you go and do your shopping, or add their shopping to your online shop. If your neighbour is a key worker, or works in the NHS then why not make them a care package that could be put on their doorstep for them. You might not even have to buy things, if you
have some of these items lying around:
- A packet face mask
- Deodorant
- Lip balm and handcream
- Some sweet treats
- A magazine
- Some non perishable food
- Tea bags/instant coffee
If you want your neighbours to know that you are there for them then write a note and pop it through their letterbox and let them know that you are here to help if they need someone. Maybe also include your phone number so that they can get in touch. This could be useful for people who live alone, as they might want to just call you for a chat if they get lonely.
Volunteer
I'm sure there are things going on in your local area that you can get involved in but there are also some nationwide things that have been set up the government and NHS. You can volunteer through the NHS to help people in you area by delivering their medicines, driving patients to appointments, bringing them home from hospital or simply, making phone calls to make sure that people who are isolating are okay. Originally, the NHS wanted 250'000 volunteers however, this is has been well and truly surpassed. This does not mean that you shouldn't sign up. The NHS needs all the help it can get, and the more pressure taken off the NHS then the number of people who lose their lives to Covid-19 will decrease. If you are interested in volunteering for the NHS then please click here
Staying Entertained
Although we are all preoccupied with the fact that there is global pandemic going on, this doesn't mean that we have to stop or should stop having fun. You might have extended family that are not living with you but you still want to be able to socialise with. The other night, our family had a pop
music quiz on whatsapp. I'm sure that there quizzed that you could get online but my aunt used emojis to represent the songs and we then had to guess the song and artist! And guess what, I won!!! The one in the family who only listens to musicals, won a pop music quiz!!!
There are apps that you can download to play games with your friends and family. My friends and I have been playing Psych! I have also seen a family friendly game of cards against humanity that you can download and print off. I think this is a brilliant idea, because who really wants to play the original Cards Against Humanity with their Dad?! There's also pub quizzes happening on Facebook
that you can play along with. Staying entertained is so important for your mental health, so rally your friends together and have some fun.
Check in with your friends
Yes, it is important to stay entertained and play games with your friends, but also make sure that they're really doing okay. This is a horrible situation for everyone to be in, but some people are going to find being isolated harder than others. But that's okay! Just be there for your friends and tell them they you're there! Maybe each day, send a different friend a message to let them know you're there for
them. They may never need you, but it's always good for them to know that they have someone. Maybe make plans for when this is all over. Even though we don't know when this will be over but we do know that eventually, this will end. So say to your friends that when this is over you will go for cocktails or go to the cinema or theatre. Having things to look forward to will help you and your friends.
These are all things that you can do to look after other people, but what can you do to look after you?
Read
There are literally millions of books out there that you haven't read so get reading. It's a great way to
relax and unwind. You don't need to be contributing to the work load of the Royal Mail or other couriers by buying the books online. You can download them on your phone via ibooks or the kindle app. You and
your friends could read the same book and then discuss it. If you find reading boring then you could always listen to an audiobook. I have been watching Rebecca Lock (Heathers, Mary Poppins) read a chapter of Anne of Green Gables each day on her Instagram account (@beingbeckylock). This is a great way to hear a story and also come together with others at this horrible time. If you're missing theatre then maybe get some books about theatre. Alice Fearn read a lovely poem from a theatre poetry book the other day. There's also lots of different books about shows that you can read including Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton!
Exercise
You are only outside to exercise once day so go for a walk or a jog. But if this isn't enough for you then there are loads of online workouts you can do. There's also lots of people doing live Instagram workouts that you can follow along with. There is a page called Lockdown Live where West End stars are doing live workouts you can do. Exercise is so important for our physical and mental health!
I hope that this post has been useful to you in someway, and given you some ideas about what you can do in this time.
Thank you for reading
xxx
Volunteer
I'm sure there are things going on in your local area that you can get involved in but there are also some nationwide things that have been set up the government and NHS. You can volunteer through the NHS to help people in you area by delivering their medicines, driving patients to appointments, bringing them home from hospital or simply, making phone calls to make sure that people who are isolating are okay. Originally, the NHS wanted 250'000 volunteers however, this is has been well and truly surpassed. This does not mean that you shouldn't sign up. The NHS needs all the help it can get, and the more pressure taken off the NHS then the number of people who lose their lives to Covid-19 will decrease. If you are interested in volunteering for the NHS then please click here
Staying Entertained
Although we are all preoccupied with the fact that there is global pandemic going on, this doesn't mean that we have to stop or should stop having fun. You might have extended family that are not living with you but you still want to be able to socialise with. The other night, our family had a pop music quiz on whatsapp. I'm sure that there quizzed that you could get online but my aunt used emojis to represent the songs and we then had to guess the song and artist! And guess what, I won!!! The one in the family who only listens to musicals, won a pop music quiz!!!There are apps that you can download to play games with your friends and family. My friends and I have been playing Psych! I have also seen a family friendly game of cards against humanity that you can download and print off. I think this is a brilliant idea, because who really wants to play the original Cards Against Humanity with their Dad?! There's also pub quizzes happening on Facebook
that you can play along with. Staying entertained is so important for your mental health, so rally your friends together and have some fun.
Check in with your friends
Yes, it is important to stay entertained and play games with your friends, but also make sure that they're really doing okay. This is a horrible situation for everyone to be in, but some people are going to find being isolated harder than others. But that's okay! Just be there for your friends and tell them they you're there! Maybe each day, send a different friend a message to let them know you're there for them. They may never need you, but it's always good for them to know that they have someone. Maybe make plans for when this is all over. Even though we don't know when this will be over but we do know that eventually, this will end. So say to your friends that when this is over you will go for cocktails or go to the cinema or theatre. Having things to look forward to will help you and your friends.
These are all things that you can do to look after other people, but what can you do to look after you?
Read
There are literally millions of books out there that you haven't read so get reading. It's a great way to
relax and unwind. You don't need to be contributing to the work load of the Royal Mail or other couriers by buying the books online. You can download them on your phone via ibooks or the kindle app. You and your friends could read the same book and then discuss it. If you find reading boring then you could always listen to an audiobook. I have been watching Rebecca Lock (Heathers, Mary Poppins) read a chapter of Anne of Green Gables each day on her Instagram account (@beingbeckylock). This is a great way to hear a story and also come together with others at this horrible time. If you're missing theatre then maybe get some books about theatre. Alice Fearn read a lovely poem from a theatre poetry book the other day. There's also lots of different books about shows that you can read including Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton!
Exercise
You are only outside to exercise once day so go for a walk or a jog. But if this isn't enough for you then there are loads of online workouts you can do. There's also lots of people doing live Instagram workouts that you can follow along with. There is a page called Lockdown Live where West End stars are doing live workouts you can do. Exercise is so important for our physical and mental health!
I hope that this post has been useful to you in someway, and given you some ideas about what you can do in this time.
Thank you for reading
xxx
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