slump prep

It seems inconceivable as I sit here in my backyard with the sun warming my face and freshly shaved bonce that the nation is in the grip of the a full-scale, peace time emergency and yet, I can hear people talking, children playing in their gardens, televisions and radios burbling away with the news that Boris Johnson has tested positive for the coronavirus.

I wonder how he is feeling right at this moment as I do with anyone else who has tested positive. Pretty bloody worried would be my first guess I suppose.

What about those on the frontline dealing with the infected and ensuring that those that need help, receive it? How do they feel? How does it feel to do a day’s work in the perpetual grip of terror? How many of us can say that we do or have done that?! 

The 8pm #clapforourcarers last night was a genuinely beautiful moment and incredibly thoughtful gesture, but it is just that: a gesture. I wasn’t aware, but apparently those NHS staffers are still having to pay for their car parking?! Surely, some leeway can be given here to aid those providing aid?

Anyway, I digress…..once again, I was looking to write about music, but have gone off on a tangent! I think music is about to become even more important and personal to us than it was before. The reason for this is that a slump will be coming. We’ve done well so far in our short time in isolation (I’m 2 weeks in myself), we’ve kept our spirits up, looked out for others and generally tried to make the best of a horribly weird situation, but there will come a moment when the mood shifts, boredom and frustration kick in (despite Joe Wicks’ efforts best efforts to keep us fit) and we may find ourselves feeling a little lower. 

Music may prove to be our salvation from ourselves. To my mind, as a largely drug-free person, there is little else to rival the transformative power of music, which is why when I’m not working or waffling, I’m working on a playlist full of stuff that I know will give me a lift when I need it the most. This worked for me last year in the depths of my despair, when repeat listening of a few key songs perked me up when I could feel myself sinking. 

The great thing about doing something like this is that it keeps you busy, you revisit stuff that you may have forgotten about and maybe, just maybe somebody introduces you to something that had previously passed you by - Joni Mitchell was recently put on my radar and my goodness, am I glad that she was, as I clearly have more to learn about her beyond ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ (which is also great).

I’m going to be cracking on with my playlist over the next few days and there will be loads of stuff on there, but one track in particular which really chilled me the eff out last year was ‘Demons’ by Fatboy Slim – again, missed it first time around, but for whatever reason it seemed to work wonders for my state of mind.

I hope that getting your slump prep playlist in does the same for you.

Stay healthy.

“Oh, I wish I had a river to skate away on”