THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Image: James He (Year 10)
OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
LOCKDOWN LIFESTYLE
Home has become the arena for a plethora of pastimes, old and new. Abel Banfield (Year 10) and Leo Sterz (Year 11) discuss their own adventures in self-distraction
I have been looking through all the overambitious birthday and Christmas presents of recent years, and trying to work out how to use them. Take my unicycle, which was given to me four years ago. I dug this yellow contraption out of the loft, took to it with a bicycle pump, and proceeded into the garden. Four years ago, I realise, I couldn’t even ride my bicycle with no hands. Although able to do that easily now, I wasn’t convinced I could get up onto the saddle of the unicycle. I was wrong, and after only 20 minutes of practising, I could go 10 metres along my lawn. Then, to my disappointment, I found that one of the pedals had come loose and snapped off, putting me out of action for a day, before we could find a new one in my dad’s stash. I’ve also had a hobby which has consumed my interest since long before the lockdown. In my view, hobbies have been swallowed up, and completely and utterly removed from the lives of most young people, and have been replaced by hours of mindless computer games which provide transient pleasure. My hobby is model-building, also known as Airfix (which is in fact just a brand: Italeri is far superior), from the UH-1, to the F-4J Phantom, to 50 GI’s in their US Army gear, or a more docile Chinook. I urge you to pick up the paintbrush and the exacto knife, the spray paints and miniature landscapes. Although you may think it is pointless, I would argue it is far more fulfilling and rewarding than computer games, and you end up having made something beautiful.
s I see it, there are several different approaches to escaping Covid 19-inflicted boredom. The first is the more methodical, involving the careful planning and preparation of a timetable in order to stay sane, and more importantly, get some work done. Though this approach is terrifyingly tedious, it gives you far more hope of avoiding losing your mind within a month. The second has more freedom and romance about it: it involves doing whatever takes your fancy at that particular time, whether that’s perfecting your somersault technique, attempting to consume record-breaking amounts of chocolate, or simply binge- watching yourself into a vegetative state, only to emerge when the panic has subsided and you are forced to trudge back into work mode with a head full of regret and dull, Netflix- saturated fuzz. Though allowing yourself to become pickled in TV series is not the safest thing to do, it is most likely that the overwhelming majority of us will choose the second route, which we will call experimental overconsumption, for it does have a mild whiff of scientific method to it. Whatever you or your family have attempted throughout the beginning of this period I offer you my greatest encouragement in your quest. Whether your aim is still to be sane by the time we are let out of our homes, to have read Don Quixote , or to have formed a protective layer of sugar around your tooth enamel, I give you my full, unwavering support. A
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING THROUGH ALL THE OVERAMBITIOUS BIRTHDAY AND CHRISTMAS PRESENTS OF RECENT YEARS, AND TRYING TO WORK OUT HOW TO USE THEM
Abel Banfield
Leo Sterz
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