40: The Pandemic is not a writers' retreat

Nobody is dealing with the virus very well and that's okay. How can you deal with something you can't comprehend? 

I really could do without the constant entrepreneurial Instagram posts about it though. I don't want to make the most of my lockdown. Nobody should feel the need to. We should be resting, staying safe, calling the people we care about and keeping our minds and bodies ticking over. So with that in mind, here is my list of things the Covid-19 pandemic is not:

1. The pandemic is not a writers' retreat.

2. It is not an opportunity to work on my career (nor should I feel guilty for not doing so).

3. It is not a sign that I should be spending more time on self-care.

4. It is not possible to understand what it will mean for the future.

5. It is not glazed with silver linings, neither should I disregard any optimism I might feel.

6. It is not my own personal tragedy or an excuse to feel sorry for myself.

I haven't been on Twitter (except a few weak-moment check-ups) for nearly two weeks because the constant rolling updates were getting to me, but honestly, it's mainly because of the snark. The endless snark. The thing that pushed me over the edge was seeing people taking the piss out of other people using their quarantined time at home to learn how to make bread. I don't know why this was my breaking point, but I truly snapped.Bake your bread. Read your books. Nap your naps. Stay safe, take care and do what you can to stay mentally strong throughout this.Other Stuff

• Bake your bread! This no-knead bread is great if you're feeling exhausted, have limited mobility in your arms/hands/shoulders or you just don't wanna knead.

• Hate bread? Not to worry, Jack Monroe has some amazing, cheap and totally store cupboard-friendly recipes to get you through the isolation period.

• I discovered American-Korean artist Yaeji this week and I can't get enough. Her track "Waking Up Down" is a modern anthem. "I got waking up down/I got cooking down/I got making my list and checking down/I got hydrating down"

• There's a new wine publication in town and it's growing free and wild. Planet Of The Grapes is over on Medium and there are tons of great people writing for it already, including my fellow Trossenwein harvester Valerie Kathawala who directed me towards it. Her piece on "Disrupting German Wine" is a must-read, as is Alicia Kennedy's fascinating look at rosé wine's unpopularity in Spanish wine-drinking Puerto Rico -- spoiler alert, it's because of toxic masculinity. Finally, read this piece "Wine In Strange Times", where wine legends talk about what they're drinking right now. What pairs well with apocalypse?

• Get ready for a ton of art content from The Guardian: 

• First, a sensitive look at the late Kenny Rogers' photography. I wish I'd been aware of his photography while he was alive. It's so atmospheric and dramatic. I love it.

• I'm working on a History of Art A level at the moment -- it's something I've always wanted to do. Maybe I'll talk about it another time. That means I've started reading art and exhibition reviews. This week I was studying mythological and religious painting, so I read this review by Laura Cumming on Titian: Love, Desire, Death.

• The Museum Catherijneconvent in Utrecht is offering would-be visitors to their Miracles exhibition to call instead and hear about -- or share their own -- miracle.

• And some escapism: The best online galleries to visit, and download Smartify, who are making all of their audiotours free for the rest of the year.

• End of Guardian transmission.

• I read this poem and I really liked it. Is there ever a better reason to share a poem?

• I love, love, LOVED this piece by Josh Barrie on Vesta noodle nostalgia. I was excited at the thought of the weekly shop rolling out of bursting carrier bags over the kitchen countertops. Perfect, rose-tinted memories of the best time of the week -- the day the fridge got re-stocked. I needed this comfy, cosy vision of simple domestic contentment, and I'm determined to replicate it in my house.

My Stuff

• I filed a piece last week! And I'm going to do another one this week! 

• I was invited to be a part of Brussels Beer City's Cabin Fever podcast. You can find the episode I'm on here.

• I have been re-reading my Trossen piece a lot because it's giving me serious escapism vibes.

• I'm stuck in a feedback loop of wanting to do more with my time, and seriously struggling to cope once I try to do more with my time. There's no point to this statement, I just wanted you to know that I'm as *anguish noise* as you right now.

• I'm going to try and write more fiction. I keep saying that, but I'm actually going to do it. I'm trying to think of a way to get short stories out to you once I've written a few I'm happy to publish/share. Bear with me on that. (If you have any ideas, let me know!)

"West Coast near San Francisco" -- Kenny Rogers