We’re a couple of days late with our A-List recommendations, but there’s very little difference between week-days and the weekend at the moment! So here’s our weekly cultural round-up of what to watch, read, listen to and eat while we’re living in this temporary state of “lock-in”.
Over the past week, we’ve been:
Watching:
- Dublin Zoo’s livestreams of the elephants, giraffes, rhinos, ostriches, zebras and penguins who live there.
- The Abbey Theatre’s online production of ‘Cyprus Avenue’.
- ‘The Morning Show’ on Apple TV – one of the best TV shows in years, according to Martina.
- ‘Mystic Pizza’, ‘Happy Valley’, ‘Tiger King’, ‘Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker’ and the latest series of ‘Ozark’ on Netflix.
- Daily live gardening advice from Diarmuid Gavin and Paul Smyth. According to Elaine, you can ask them anything (gardening-related obviously!) and, if they don’t answer it live, they come back to you the following day. It’s live on Diarmuid Gavin’s Instagram from 7pm to 8pm every weekday, and 11am to 12pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
- ‘Empire Records’ on Amazon Prime – for some super 90s nostalgia.
Reading:
- Lena Dunham is holed up in London during the Covid-19 crisis, she has been writing a serial novel for Vogue.com to pass the time. ‘Verified Strangers’ is easy-reading escapism and good fun – with a new chapter published each weekday here.
- ‘The Unwinding: Thirty Years of American Decline’ by George Packer.
Cooking:
- A selection of recipes from the latest Happy Pear
- Delicious and easy Bombay potatoes – with thanks to The Wanderlust Kitchen for the recipe.
Escaping To:
- Imagine, Belfast’s festival of ideas and politics – which was rebooted as Belfast’s first virtual festival this year.
- The world’s most famous landmarks – via virtual tours, as recommended by The Guardian!
Keeping the Kids Occupied With:
- The live online dance classes from ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star Oti Mabuse – they air every day on her Facebook page.
Those are our recommendations for the week ahead. Stay safe, everyone, and enjoy the lock-in as best you can!