Okay. I am ridiculously doing some kind of #ConfinedCookalong this afternoon but the only thing I'm making that really counts as cooking is a very basic yoghurt cake, so, uh, I probably won't start till 4ish.
Well tbf I'm making cake *and* jelly. Yes. I am absolutely catering the kind of party food you would make for a bunch of 4 year olds in about 1980. I don't care. I have done a lot of fancy and fine cooking this year, and I very much feel like browsing on mini Cheddars and cocktail sausages, and having increasingly stale leftovers for lunch for days afterwards.
Please feel free to join me on twitter with the hashtag. Possibly
earlier, possibly cooking something a little more adult and dignified
and like you've just spent a year fending for yourselves amidst a global
disaster. It's been a hell of a thing. Some of us have had terrible
losses. All of us have at least had some loneliness and disappointment.
Let's do something cheering to mark the passing of a year none of us
would ever have predicted, and the mutual support propping that has kept us staggering on.
And at 7pm, even more, I will be up for cocktail hour. Full of processed additives and ready to party. (Or crash and listen to a story.) One year of Saturday evening drinks has expanded my booze collection and palate no end, and genuinely been the most marvellously joyful part of lockdown.
I haven't done any stickers or postcards for a while, so if you're hanging around cocktail hour on twitter rather than launching into storytime, I'd love some memories of #JacobinDay, #UnconfinedWalks or any #Confined activity that would make a one year set. Heidi's firm last week tweet "Just settling down to some gin now" has definite potential. Anne-Marie's herons and her amazing sparkly walking trainers. Andrew's heresy pasta. Katie's knitwear, Kate's nails, Mari's roses... What else has stuck in your mind?
But I did also want to bring together some ideas for how we might mark a year in other ways. It's been much rougher for some than for those of us who can cocktail freely, and we had some brilliant nominations for charities in need of support. If you have cash, time and brain space, and you've got something out of the Confined Kitchen, this would be a great time to give something. Thanks to Katy, Katie, Kate, Heidi and Stef for the nominations.
- Trussell Trust for those who don't have enough in the kitchen
- The Unicef vaccination campaign for those who can't just turn up when the NHS calls
- Homeless charities like St Mungo's for those who haven't just been able to close the door on the big scary world this year
- Domestic violence charities like Refuge for those who have been stuck inside with the danger
- Reclaim these Streets for those who don't want to be confined after lockdown
- Charities for learning disabled people who have had some of the worst outcomes from the pandemic
- Charities like Smartworks, helping people without work to get back into it
- Charities like Digital Access West Yorkshire and Catbytes, helping people who've faced this last year without twitter, blogs, zoom or anything else that's been keeping us halfway connected [both these take old devices]
- Plus: all the museums, all the theatres, all the concert venues... everywhere that's worked so hard to do something digital this year but that can't do what they love entirely
It's overwhelming, isn't it? No wonder we feel tired. But all the more reason to give if you can, to any of these.
And then have some fun. Thank you all for your company, and I look forward to a little more this afternoon and evening.
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