1THE National Trust has opened its parks and gardens for free during this crisis period. While all cafes and communal spaces are closed, the parks and gardens are open to all. Outdoor space is important so grab your household and head to the outdoors (but stay local), feed the ducks, stop to look at the flowers. Wave cheerily to other walkers, take a flask and a sandwich, but make sure to stay a safe distance from others. Smell that sweet fresh air. Remember this too shall pass. All details at www.nationaltrust.org.uk.
2FROM the comfort of your own settee ... The living room lockdown sessions kick off at 1pm on Saturday, pulled together by Lynn Kelly. All sessions are streamed through Facebook Live and a full line-up will be posted with links to each act. The first session includes Chris Henry, comedian, Sean Kennedy, singer songwriter, and Kelly herself, who is a total sweetheart and a wellbeing coach and meditation expert. Join the session here www.facebook.com/groups/895845957553069/
3THE legend that is Alan Bissett (pictured) has revealed on his Facebook page that he is working on a pay-per-view of The Moira Monologues. No dates or details yet, but he’s hoping to get it done this week. Check his artist Facebook page for details. www.facebook.com/Bissettism/
4FANCY a stroll around the British Museum, the Musee d’Orsay, Paris or the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam? All of these museums are offering free virtual walk-arounds. Google Arts and Culture’s collection includes the British Museum in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Guggenheim in New York City, and literally hundreds more venues where you can gain knowledge about art, history, and science. This collection is especially good for kids who are looking for ways to stay on top of their studies while schools are closed. artsandculture.google.com/partner?hl=en&tab=pop
5YOU may be stuck inside for the next couple of weeks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore the outside world virtually. In the deepest part of the interweb I found the city of Atlanta, Georgia has an aquarium that has live cameras streaming so you can observe the marine life from the comfort and safety of your couch. Georgia Aquarium houses a plethora of unique undersea creatures in over one million cubic feet of water. As the largest aquarium in the world, there is always lots to see and you can catch all the action via webcam from your own computer. www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/ocean-voyager/
6THE wonderful resource that is FutureLearn has literally hundreds of courses from one that lets you explore the architecture of Ancient Rome to learning a new language, to gender representation in the media or meditation. Give it a whirl. www.futurelearn.com/using-futurelearn
7OPERA and Classical music have always seemed the preserve of the rich, where you need fancy clothes, funny wee eyeglasses and the cash to shell out for expensive tickets. Now’s the chance to hear the music without all the folderol ... A day after cancelling upcoming performances due to concerns around the coronavirus, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City announced that it would stream encore presentations from the award-winning Live in HD series of cinema transmissions on the company website for the duration of the closure. www.metopera.org/discover/video/
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