COVID DIARY: DAY 41, Insomnia

Insomnia and Ramadan aren’t a good combination, but with the disruption in sleep patterns they do often go hand in hand. I slept about 4hrs before sehri (pre-dawn meal) but struggled to fall back to sleep after the morning prayer. I spent an hour trying to sleep before giving in and went downstairs. Even the […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 40

People I know are seriously ill with COVID 19. How many people now have said that? It really drives the reality of our current situation home. In the UK we marked the passing of front line workers today with a minutes silence and then a round of applause for those who are still working against […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 39, A Typical Day

What does a typical day look like for me at the moment? Well it starts at 3.15am. I wake up first and wake everyone else up. I go down and prep sehri (breakfast). Some days the missus does it, most days its me. After breakfast we brush our teeth and do wudhu (ritual ablution). I […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 38, Rekindling Creativity

Creativity is good but it can be massively distracting. I’ve got a lot going on between work and study. The last thing I need right now is for a full on story to consume my every waking moment. But at the same time I don’t want it to completely dry up either. Normally, what I […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 37

Over 20,000 dead in UK hospitals as a result of Coronavirus. Its hard to comprehend what that number means. Think of it like this; on average we each meet 20,000 across our lifetime. So, to put it into understandable terms, imagine every person that you have ever met and that you may yet mean have […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 36, First Iftar

This year, like every year, we endeavoured to eat simple, light food for iftar (breaking of the fast). As usual the first iftar saw our tablecloth laden with food. We made aloo tikkis and mint chutney at home, with a pineapple crumble and custard for dessert. We also had pilau rice, pakoras and sweet rice […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 35, Ramadan Begins

It is the first night of Ramadan. A month full of blessings and opportunities to accrue virtues. During this month Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. This entails refraining from eating, drinking and cohabitation with one’s spouse. The reason we fast is simply to gain the pleasure of the Lord Almighty. There are many benefits […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 33, 15 Years of Dadhood

Today it seemed that the world was at our door. Knock after knock. Various parcels, gift and food drop offs. Our mums are keeping us well-fed with all the grocery drop offs and the occasional servings of good food. We did the regular things today as well. The workouts, work and school, prayers and family […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 32 Back to Work

No I haven’t broken the lockdown. I’m still working from home. Our Easter holidays are over and we’re back to teaching. Today’s lesson was on resilience. Is it inherent or does it develop over time? Do you have more by passing through adversity or by having a good, stable upbringing? The jury is out on […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 30 and 31

I took a break. Sue me. Its now been a full calendar month in lockdown. The only sun we’ve had is in the backyard. I spent an hour lounging on some cushions, the sun freckling my face as I read Superman: Savage Dawn. My wife and I have been working out with dumbells following HASFit […]