COVID DIARY: DAY 21

The lockdown continues. The UK government has decided that it is still too soon to ease up on the lockdown and risk another spike in infections. Three weeks so far in isolation. It’s been a fairly boring day. I spent an hour working out. Yoga with Adriene and then Tai Chi with Jet Li (yes, […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 20

How do you make a scene more sad? A question my daughter asked me today. There’s three ways of going about it. The first is to create a sombre situation. Boring! Next is creating an atmosphere that amplifies what is happening in the scene. Overcast skies, maybe a little rain. Wind blowing mournfully through the […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 19

19 days in self-isolation. I once again dreamt that I had long hair, but of course I don’t because I started to go bold when I was in my late 20s. Is losing your hair like losing a limb? Is my dream hair a ghost limb? I made breakfast as usual (pictured), Curried Okra Omelette […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 18

Yes. They look yummy. They did for a whole five minutes before we demolished them. We didn’t even wait for them to cool. I was thinking of doing some work, but then decided to watch TV instead. I was going to work out, but decided to play PlayStation instead. However, what I didn’t do is […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 17

Thus ends the week of the potato. It started with curried aloo matar. Then came the jacket potatoes and battered cod. Next was the day of roast chicken with potato wedges. Finally, the week has come to a close with Hassleback Potatoes served with tuna mayo, sweetcorn and chopped cucumbers. Hopefully, we’re back to plain […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 16

I almost forgot to post today. It’s been a lazy day. Got up at 7.50am and made some hot chocolate for the kids. A few hours later (11ish) I made pancakes from a mixture my missus made the night before. I served them up with a strawberry compote. After afternoon prayers I jumped on Division […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 15

I count David Farland as one of my teachers. I’ve never met the man in person, nor spoken to him on the phone or via video call. I have corresponded with him by email though. I even helped with a little research for one of his books, which I later test read too. However, the […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 14

Two weeks have passed in lockdown. At some point tonight the death toll will exceed 3000. Amongst their number was a retired doctor, Alfa Saadu, of Nigerian descent who had come back to help with COVID 19. The end of this nightmare is nowhere in sight. And yet people persist in flaunting the lockdown orders, […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 13

So, as the picture suggests, we made scones (pronounced scoooones). We made two batches, traditional and cheese scones. The recipes came from Mary Berry’s Fast Cakes (2018). The book is packed full of delicious recipes, with clear instructions and short cook times. Other than helping the missus do a little baking, I spoke to my […]

COVID DIARY: DAY 12

A lot of good things happened today. I did some work, including recording a lecture on Islam. I did 20 minutes of exercise using dumbells and a finished with 10 minutes of yoga exercise. I watched some episodes of Spider-Man (from the 90s) with my son. I had some pakoras which my sister-in-law sent for […]