Increased restrictions are back and the closure of schools for many students seems likely.
As ever, our saviours lie online. Here are a few virtual workshops and watch-alongs to help keep you sane during this gloomy January:
1. Kid-friendly cook-alongs with Claire Thomson
Edible fun for all the family, Claire Thomson’s kid-friendly cook-alongs provide a perfect tonic to school closures, and may help train up your little ones enough for them to be genuinely helpful at mealtimes.
From suppertime staples like lasagne to the more mercurial parsnip, ginger and fig loaf, even the fussiest families should find something to satisfy their tastes.
2. Poetry readings with Hollie McNish
Poet Hollie McNish has been doing live readings of her poems (and others) on Instagram and Facebook, and with a new book out soon her output will surely only grow.
McNish elicits strong opinions from differing parts of the poetic spectrum, but everyone agrees her honest, exploratory verse is impossible to ignore.
3. Art tutorials with the aptly-named My Art Tutorials
Specialising in cartoons and manga (and drawing people in particular), My Art Tutorials posts regular tips and hacks to nearly 400,000 followers to aid artistic composition and technique.
Though sometimes in video form, the tutorials’ most common format is a step-by-step series of swipeable stills, so keep scrolling.
4. Dance parties with Sophie Ellis-Bextor
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Singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor won the hearts of the nation with her “kitchen discos” during previous lockdowns, and if her Christmas number is anything to go by we can expect more of the same.
Loud, joyful, and unapologetically merry, they’re the unbridled one-woman party this lockdown deserves.
5. Life drawing classes with Brixton Life Drawing
All the artistry of life drawing, without the awkwardness of prolonged eye contact with your model, the Brixton Life Drawing classes serve up plenty of virtual fun while teaching you a serious skill at the same time.
6. Joe Wicks is back
Joe Wicks is returning to tide over yet another lockdown, with the feel good fitness classes that delighted millions through much of 2020.
The Body Coach will be debuting a thrice-weekly programme of live shows, designed to be challenging but accessible to people of all ages and stages.
