We hope you’re social distancing. We’ve got to protect ourselves and each other during this period, and do whatever it takes to overcome the global health pandemic. In these dark times, we hope to add a little lightness with our curated selection of five maps to read while you’ve got the extra time.
When you’re stuck endlessly indoors with flatmates, their habits can suddenly seem a lot more aggravating.
Why don’t they replenish the toilet paper? When did they become so passionate about yodelling? Have they always smelled so strongly of jackfruit?
The real question is: nature or nurture? Is there a chance you can use these solitary months to train it out of them?
Check out our map and decide whether it’s time to start looking for a new place.
What’s the best Harry Potter movie?
With cinemas closing, and your favourite sashimi joint on sabbatical, the soft allure of the sofa supersedes all. Boxsets are the new DJ sets: Who’s with me?
Thanks to streaming, quarantine entertainment is far from limited. How to know what to watch, and where to start?
Revert to a simpler time. A magical time when the boy in the broom cupboard with the zigzag on his face was a national hero. Gain perspective: Corona is bad, but Death Eaters? A shape shifting demon out to kill you from birth? Harry Potter won’t cure the virus, but it might distract you from it.
Take a look at our map and figure out which Harry Potter movie to start with.
What’s in a name? In 1665 The Bubonic Plague spread furiously across London, decimating a tenth of the city’s population. Never one to be deterred from his art, the Bard spent his time in quarantine writing ‘King Lear’. Yet, while Shakespeare’s status as one the writing greats has sustained, mystery over his true identity has only deepened.
Just who was he? Increasingly, scholarship finds evidence in Shakespeare’s work and ‘missing years’ suggesting that the playwright was a very different figure to the one taught for generations. Suggestions include an aristocratic woman, a group of skilled writers, a provincial commoner and Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. Who do you think Shakespeare was? Make up your mind here.
With supermarket queues now taking forever, people will naturally turn to dining options closer to home.
Gammon or grandmother? Fried or friend? Sous vide or Susan? Before you start leaving crouton trails in the local playground, stockpiling gingerbread and preheating your industrial oven, take a look at our map.
What is the best way to lose weight?
Fruity, juicy, crusty, meaty: put down the pasty, and keep the proverbial piehole shut.
Locked away with just the pantry for solace, the temptation for trifle breaks and cauldrons of cassoulet can mount. Eating takes on a new meaning when a ham hock is the closest thing you have to company in close quarters. If you do feel the weight of this virus has led to unwanted personal growth, use our map to decide which method you’ll be using to shed the pounds.
Again, we hope you enjoy the maps. But more importantly, we hope that you’re safe and well, and that we can bring a bit of relief in difficult times.