Isolation stories: week two

Week two arrived and it felt like the energy had shifted somewhat… it was slightly less frantic and people seemed to be adapting to life inside and online, apart from those 3,000 people in Brockwell park on Saturday!

Week 2_BrennaDuncan-9904.jpg — it’s totally magical

It was a week of ups and downs for me, from feeling super creative and totally in flow one day to having waves of tiredness and low energy the next. Monday (post birthday) was spent in my PJs hiding under the duvet watching films all day, whereas Thursday I was on a high dancing around my bedroom to Madonna. An absolute rollercoaster ride isn’t it? I’ve started taking time to really slow down (and not feel guilty about it), feel into whatever comes up and focus on one day at a time.

Aside from riding that rollercoaster, I finally got back on my bike after several months and visited a couple of pals for doorstep chats, enjoyed online coffee catch ups in bed, spent hours art directing a photoshoot of us in the garden and shot a self portrait with one of the cats. You know, just regular things!

As a house we brainstormed ideas around our work (we’re all freelancers so times are a bit tricky), attempted to give the puppy a new haircut, started an online tarot course together, did a somewhat scary supermarket sweep all masked up, watched Fantastic Fungi twice (it’s amazing, check it out), lit a bonfire and spent hours looking at the moon and stars. Have you looked up at the night sky lately? It’s so unbelievably clear and pollution free here in London, you can actually see stuff. It’s totally magical!

Scroll across to see week two in pictures. Stay safe and thanks for reading

Isolation stories: week one

Life is on hold, the whole world has stopped and we are in London lockdown.

We can only leave the house to buy essentials, get medical supplies or to exercise once a day. Small businesses (and many big businesses) are struggling, many of my freelance friends are without work and the city is eerily quiet… it’s an unsettling and scary time, but I can’t help sense an underlying feeling of anticipation. What will the world be like after all this?

With the intention of being creative and documenting these strange times, I’ve started capturing daily moments in and around our home and local area. I’m very lucky to be staying with friends in a large house with the cutest puppy, two fluffy felines, a forest of plants and some outside space with a vegetable patch. I feel very grateful to be with these guys and getting through this all together.

Week one felt super high energy, with every man and his dog generously offering free online yoga , meditation, breath work and online courses in literally anything and everything. Musicians played gigs on Instagram live (James Blake blew my mind!) and everyone in our circles were talking about Universal Credit and what self employed people were entitled to from the government.

Community was the theme of the week in our house… we signed up for our local Mutual Aid group and spent a lot of time checking in with family and friends (especially those living alone), talking to strangers and neighbours whilst social distancing. It was also important to try and find some sort of daily routine and make sure we felt safe and comfortable in the house… buying supplies, having a mega spring clean and most importantly having some fun.

We drew rainbows in the sunshine, joined Morning Gloryville for their Earth Day online rave, laughed hysterically at Snapchat filters, dressed up in sequins and ate tasty local pizza on my birthday. I also ended up swapping dance off videos with a guy I’d met on a dating site… still can’t believe I did this/ am doing this! Funny what a lockdown does to you.

A man smoking from his window in Tottenham