Life In Lockdown - Things I Miss

Let’s get the obvious stuff covered - girlfriend, family, friends and the pub; that all goes without saying (also sitting in one of my three usual spots in the darkened main screening room of the BFI is clearly sa given). We’ve all got the big obvious things that we miss but here are some things that surprised me on the “Oh Yeah, They Were A Thing Before We All Retreated Into The Womb-Like Safety Of Our Homes” list.

Commuting Time
Not commuting. No, no, no, don’t get me wrong here. I’ve made it fairly clear on here the general misery and rage that the average commute provokes in me. Squeezing myself onto packed trains or standing in the cold and rain watching The Creeping Delay That Never Arrives - those are not things that I miss. I do miss that split between the time of day that is mine and the time that belongs to work. A chance to listen to podcasts and music and a chance to lose myself in a book. I’m managing at last to do a bit of reading but my listening has dropped down to virtually nothing. I’m looking forward to strolling around outside with my headphones and listening to comedians talking toot again.

Aircon
OK, yes, this has only become an additional in the last week or so but it is hot as balls in the bedroom/office. Admittedly, the aircon in the office was a hotly contested issue - for everyone who found it just right, there were those who wrongly and stupidly thought it was too cold (idiots). Still, it would be most welcome now - the fan just doesn’t really cut the mustard and, given that a majority of my day is largely video call based now, sitting around in my pants isn’t (yet) an option.

Browsing
Popping into a bookshop and just having a look to see what’s out. Reading the descriptions. Maybe flicking through the first few pages to see if it’s any good. Yes, there is always a danger of purchasing but the outcome of that is owning a new book so it’s a pretty good danger.

The Monthly BFI Booklet
I know that the BFI already got a shout out at the top of this post but it struck me the other day that I really look forward to the upcoming month’s programme dropping through the doorstep and planning out which events I’m going to frantically trying to get tickets for (Spaced and Inside No. 9 sold out in minutes to members so it’s definitely a race!). It’s the anticipation - of not knowing what’s coming up then of getting the tickets then of waiting for the event. I guess that applies to everything, not just the BFI.

I’d like to say that, when things do go back to some semblance of the way they were before (maintaining my optimism on that), I’ll appreciate all these little things more. The reality is, though, that this will likely become a distant memory. You know what? If it means getting these things back, I’m fine with that.