Vegetable soup: Batch #2, Day #9
5 things I’ve learned in Lockdown
My estate is a wonderful place to live
The Whittington Estate (on a quieter day)
I live in North London on the Whittington Estate. It’s a Brutalist estate owned by Camden Council, which has received a generous slice of attention over the years as an admirable example of London’s housing developments in the 1970s (check out The Golden Age of Camden Housing, by Fabian Watkinson). The architecture and the history of the estate and the area was what first drew me to it. Since the lockdown, it’s really come into its own; from both a social and a design perspective. Even while adhering to social distancing, I’ve met, smiled at and interacted with so many more of my neighbours in the last two weeks than in the 15 months I’ve lived here. There’s a real sense of a community pulling together and I like it. The low-rise flats and pedestrianised ‘streets’ were designed so that kids could play outside while parents looked on from in the kitchen or living area. The numerous routes around the estate were designed as such so that wherever you lived you could easily and safely access the communal areas. Although the basketball court and garden are, sadly, temporarily out of bounds, there is still ample space for kids and families to safely play outside. Life spills over the sun-warmed, south facing balconies, where conversation flows, meals are enjoyed, music plays out and claps and a few fireworks are faithfully delivered to the Whittington Hospital next door, every Thursday at 8.
2. There are streets in my neighbourhood that I’ve never walked
A rare view of Archway Road completely free of traffic
One walk a day and it must be within your local area. That calls for some imagination.
Luckily I live in an area that I find really interesting and beautiful. I have parks and woods within easy reach, and plenty of interesting architecture to feast my eyes upon. But let’s face it, no matter how lovely the surrounding area is, walking the same couple of routes day after day gets dull quickly. I crave variety and newness - always have. So, I’ve taken to discovering random streets I’ve never walked down and little local businesses that I never new existed. Cool little community gardens and lookout points with views over London that I’ve never before seen. It’s made me fall even deeper in love with my neighbourhood (honestly, I’m obsessed). Also… I’m still trying to figure out where the lone wind turbine is in east London that I saw from the top of Highgate High Street last week… anyone?
3. Everyone’s suddenly a remote work expert
If you want to work remotely from home, experts say cats are less distracting than dogs (duh)
If you’ve engaged with me / my ramblings over the last three years you’ll already know that I am a steadfast advocate of remote working, and have conducted in-depth research into the movement. Pre-COVID-19, the resistance of some to even contemplating a remote working model for their business was something I believed would soften organically with time. Of course, I did not expect that the working world would be forced to transition to remote quite so fast. So now everyone is a remote working expert, it seems? Is it really possible to become an expert in something in a few weeks (of panic and fire-fighting)?
From my perspective it’s a fascinating thing to observe – and more than a little ironic. Last week I presented a webinar on how to use Zoom as a research tool, and one of the keenest participants was the very same person who (has probably forgotten this, but) turned me down for a project three years ago because even though I was, in his words ‘the best person for the job…’ he just didn’t ‘…feel comfortable with me not being in the same room’. Now, although by necessity rather than choice, he has seen the light and is busy selling the advantages of remote research to his clients so that he can maintain his business. So, in my opinion some things are changing for the better and that feels like a good thing. I do believe though, that with all of the tools and none of the rules of how to really embed remote working into company culture, the experience for some will feel somewhat dissatisfying. Luckily there are folks out there like me who can help with that! Look out for more on this soon…!!
4. It’s probably not worth it for a manicure
Last week I popped down to the Nisa Local to pick up a few essential items. OK, and chocolate. Wait… chocolate is an essential item now, right? As I walked passed a very, very small nail salon I glanced in the window and saw someone inside actually having their nails done, face to face, hand to hand, gel to acrylic. Not only that but there were another two inside waiting their turn. Um, HELLO?!! How can it possibly be more important to have perfectly manicured nails IN A LOCKDOWN, than to limit the risk of catching or passing on Coronavirus by observing social distancing? Five minutes later and still baffled, I passed the salon again where not one but two armed response units had surrounded said premises, and were escorting the sheepish offenders out. It was honestly a scene I never imagined I’d see in my life.
Karma says there’s now at least one person walking around looking ridiculous with half a manicure. I secretly hope they got gels.
5. I was wrong about the Nutribullet
Mmmm just look at all that kale
I’m not one for fads. I don’t trust them. They simply don’t align with my values.
When the Nutribullet sky-rocketed onto the scene some years ago I was interested but unconvinced. The idea of making fresh smoothies and juices at home (that you could also take out and about with their nifty lid) sounded great, but also, like a fad. But there it was, suddenly ALL my friends seemed to have one and I sat enthralled, listening to their latest concoctions of beetroot, ginger, coriander and lime and who knows what. It seemed as though everyone had ramped up the nutrition stakes by a few notches and I was trailing behind, still drinking coffee as a morning pick me up. The chatter went on for some time (exactly 6 weeks, yawn)…but then stopped. Just like that. But, why? So I did me some research…
It’s a pain in the bum to clean
You need a constant supply of fresh or frozen mango, kale, oats, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, matcha and flaxseed to put in
The lid thingy broke so now it can only be used at home
It gets expensive buying all those superfoods from Planet Organic
It’s a pain in the bum to clean
I felt a bit smug. I was secretly pleased with myself that I hadn’t jumped on the bandwagon and run out to spend my pennies on this expensive fad. Besides, I already had an ice-cream maker, a mini Kenwood and some kind of electric whisk gathering dust in the spatially-challenged kitchen cupboards. There simply was no room for a sidelined juicer to join the ranks of the unused and unloved.
Then there was lockdown… and my boyfriend…and his Nutribullet. It’s rare for me to say this, so listen carefully. I was wrong. Maybe his is an updated version (easier to clean, more powerful, I dunno), so clearly some good design decisions have been made, but blimey, this thing is bloody amazing! I’m one of those people who prefers to just throw things in and see what happens so there have been a few questionable attempts, but also, I am now enjoying either a mean, lean and very tasty green juice or blueberry and banana smoothie every vitamin-packed morning. And once normal life resumes, it’s the first thing on my list. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes being wrong feels right. :)