#GDLifeinLockdown Part 3
Life in Lockdown is a blog series initiated by Greenwich Dance which features community and professional arists close to the organisation sharing how they are staying creative during these isolating times.
Monday 18th Jan 2021
Today is the day before we premiere a short film (A Very bR*TISH Museum) that me and my awesome collaborators have been working on. However, things are not well in our world of editing. We have had computers breaking, internet crashing, weeks of work disappearing into the ether like some sort of AI is trying to torment us. My co-director and editor of the film, Julien Kottukapally, hasn’t slept in days. Things are not pretty but we are determined to get something out there by tomorrow night. We’ve had a huge amount of love and support coming our way, which is amazing given how disconnected I feel at the moment and everything being done remotely and feeling like we are at the mercy of a decent internet connection.
I’ve run out of food and have had to resort to getting a takeaway to get me through the next couple of days. It’s not pretty, showering and other basic activities have had to be put on hold, but we are super excited if not somewhat sleep deprived and cannot wait to get this work out to the world. It will be the only thing I’ve actually created since the lockdown began… a strange feeling in itself.
Here’s the poster!
Tuesday 19th Jan 2021
IT’S PREMIERE DAY!!!!
Yes, we are still working and looks like it will be down to the wire. With the grand unveiling at 7pm we just got there in the nick of time (6pm) to upload, check and recheck everything was working. Just enough time for me to throw some food (yup the never ending takeaway from yesterday) down my throat, shower (much needed) and yes, even a spot of makeup. We had a great panel lined up consisting of the core creative team (Julien Kottukapally, Isaac Ouro Gnao, Andy Craven Griffiths and of course yours truly), as well as the awesome Alice Procter and brilliant journalist Bidisha Mamata.
The chat was really interesting and can’t wait to do more…. but for now I’d say a little toast was in order…. and a very long sleep. I have missed the sweet slumber that follows an intense period of creation and then putting work out into the world (however stressful that might be). Oh and I finally got some groceries delivered so no longer have to eat the never ending takeaway.
A pic from the post screening Q and A:
Wednesday 20th Jan 2021
Still in ‘rest’ mode recovering from the film premiere and the high of sharing work to an appreciative audience. Have been getting lots of nice messages since yesterday. I’m going to be domestic today and make some garlic chilli paste (an absolute must in any household). My mum normally makes it for me but I’ve had to learn myself due to COVID (but this is no bad thing… learning to make the paste i mean …. COVID is TERRIBLE).
My house was smelly but oh so very delicious!
Steps 1 – 4:
Oh and let’s not forget…. TRUMP HAS BEEN DUMPED!!!! That was a cause for celebration, which I did by watching the inauguration in my PJs. Life is good (today).
Thursday 21st Jan 2021
Today is my late father’s birthday. He died in June 2011 and is missed everyday. My sister and I would normally do something nice like have a meet up and a nice dinner and a drink to celebrate, but this year, we couldn’t meet up so we cheers’d over a zoom. I had a takeaway (yes this will be my second one this week but don’t judge, it’s been a tough one, and I’m back on the salad now), and she made cupcakes (and ate most of them).
I found this old pic of my mum and dad and decided to share it to Facebook (I don’t normally post personal stuff on Facebook but I guess the reminiscing got to me) – yup – my mum was a stunner and my dad was totally besotted.
Friday 22nd Jan 2021
The end of the week has lost all meaning at the moment. I’m still in rest and recovery mode… yes – I feel stress in a heightened way at the moment… I mean, it is like being in the Twilight Zone. Today I’m working on my giant hand made quilt project and some gentle paint by numbers to see the week out.
That’s a week in my life… but who knows what next week will hold!
