Hi friends,
It’s my favourite day of the week - Sunday.
And thanks to COVID-19, every day is starting to feel like Sunday.
Also, incase you were wondering : dispatch and despatch are the same words, one is American and the other is British. You’re welcome.
Here’s a few things that gave me maximum distraction satisfaction this week:
1. Pretending I live here now
This intimate glimpse into the beautiful home of interior designer Rose Uniacke in Pimlico, London that she modelled on a Venetian palazzo. All I wanted to do after I watched this (six times) was to move to Italy, start smoking and wine-drinking again, find an Italian lover (or 3) and get them working on that villa I keep talking about buying.
*i’ve had the background music in this video on repeat all week. Be warned, it’s a little dramatic!
2. Pretending I work here now
If you haven’t heard of Basecamp, I highly recommend reading up on this rebellious software company out in the US. They’ve rewritten the rules on working practises and given our current remote working situation, an apt book to get stuck into right now. Their book will completely change the way you think about work and the absurd level of corporate bullshit you may have been putting up with in your career.
I’m on my third read now: ‘It doesn’t have to be crazy at work’ and this is by far my favourite read of 2020. I’m also calling out bullshit on the daily in my workplace so will probably be on the dole soon too.
My heart skipped a beat when I read about how they as a company swiftly reacted to news that organisations using their software were trying to pair up with ‘staff surveillance programs’ to keep an eye on employees that are currently working remotely due to the pandemic.
They shut that shit down in this blog post.
Nothing warms my heart like a company with a conscience.
3. On serendipity
Krista Tippett runs one of my favourite podcasts ‘On Being’ which is one of those that make you feel like you’re having a heartfelt conversation with a good friend. She’s an incredible journalist and interviewer of people from all over the world, but in this episode she’s the interviewee.
She speaks so beautifully about how, in her 20’s, her entire career path changed because of a chance trip she took to Deià, Spain. She was on a fast-track to a successful career in politics that bored the bejesus out of her and she wanted more from her life.
SJOE.
This entire 28mins spoke directly to my soul.
4. Travel : for a post COVID world
Jacqui Kenny has agoraphobia which I just learnt is actually a lot more complex than a fear of leaving the house. She’s used Google Street View to fuel her wanderlust and visit countries she would love to see. What an inspirational lady!
5. A poem that gave me goosebumps
Every now and again I read a poem that makes me feel something and with this one I had a little cry too. It may be COVID19 and the lockdown making me slightly emosh, it’s more likely that I’d just had my first run in 5 years and was BROKEN.
‘And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and I thought,
This is the world I want to live in.
The shared world.’