As An Taoiseach announced on Thursday, in light of the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, people are advised to avoid public gatherings and to work from home as much as possible. As events around the country are getting cancelled, we have compiled our top 5 recommendations for things to do when having to stay home.
1. Pick up a good book
Whether you’re into romance, thrillers or adventure, our top 3 best-selling books should have something for everyone.
American Dirt, Jeanine Cummins
amazon.co.uk
Yesterday, Lydia had a bookshop. Yesterday, Lydia was married to a journalist. Yesterday, she was with everyone she loved most in the world. Today, her eight-year-old son Luca is all she has left. For him, she will carry a machete strapped to her leg. For him, she will leap onto the roof of a high speed train. For him, she will find the strength to keep running.
Normal People, Sally Rooney
amazon.co.uk
In Normal People, Rooney follows Marianne and Connell, whose tragi-romantic pas de deux starts when they are still in high school and spins into increasingly complicated configurations over the course of their university years at Trinity College Dublin. The son of the woman who cleans Marianne’s house, Connell is self-possessed and popular at the book’s outset, while Marianne is timid and troubled, with a face “like a small white flower.” The novel touches on class, politics, and power dynamics and brims with the sparky, witty conversation that Rooney’s fans will recognize. This is a darker and more devastating work than Rooney’s breakthrough, Conversations with Friends.
Before The Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold. . .
2. Catch up on your favourite shows and films
If you too spend more time trying to pick out a show or a film than you actually spend watching that show or film, these recommendations might help you in your decision-making process.
Stateless (series)
imbd.com
Stateless is an urgent and compelling drama about four people caught up in an immigration system that profoundly affects their lives. Each character deals with the contradictions of protection and border control from a unique perspective, offering relevant and timely insight into issues that countries are grappling with around the world.
First Reformed (film)
amazon.co.uk
A pastor of a small church in upstate New York starts to spiral out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife.
Blockers (film)
When three parents discover their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal.
3. Get into DIY
All the more relevant in times like these, DIY is the way to go to avoid going to the shops to purchase manufactured goods and make them just as good from home!
DIY Citrus+Vinegar Spray
Our choice of DIY seemed quite relevant to this week’s main news topic.
‘Tis the season to turn the house inside out and have it ready for the new season and wipe the slate clean for the months to come.
Organisation is key. Break down all the housework to make the amount of cleaning easier to fathom.
And don’t procrastinate!
You may also want to get ready to take part in a bigger spring clean to clean-up the environment by joining the National Spring Clean. More info here!
5. Batch cook
Citrus and Candy on flickr.com
As an ever-increasing number of Irish people adopt a vegan lifestyle, many more are striving for less radical ways to reduce their intake of animal products. One way is to experiment more in the kitchen. Try this delicious, warming recipe from Sorcha Molloy at Glenville Nutrition Clinic for a well-balanced veggie meal.
Butternut Squash, Chickpea and Spinach curry (Serves 4-6)
Cooking time 30 mins
Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
1 thumb-sized piece ginger
2 tbsp curry paste e.g. Pataks (check it is dairy-free)
2 tsp turmeric
1 small butternut squash, cut into chunks
5 tomatoes, quartered
2 large handfuls spinach, roughly chopped
200ml low salt vegetable stock or coconut milk
1 can chickpeas, drained
Directions:
Cook the onion and ginger in a little olive oil for 5 mins until softened.
Add the paste and turmeric and cook for 3 – 4 mins.
Next add the squash, tomatoes and vegetable stock/coconut milk, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until squash
