Free things to do for self isolation

We live in challenging times. The Coronavirus pandemic means many of us have to look after ourselves. We also have to look after ourselves to protect others. If you have a continuous cough or a temperature above 37.8°C or 100.4°F and you have a continuous cough, you should probably self isolate to prevent spreading the virus.

Self isolation helps us protect other people from infection. If you have the symptoms above, stay in for 7 days. Your family should also stay in for 14 days. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/

By staying in for 7 or 14 days, you could save lives. What an awesome super power!

If you actually think you are suffering from Coronavirus, this might help... (although this is not official medical advice, which you should obtain from your doctor!)

1. Paracetamol (acetomenophen) helps lower the temperature. Do not exceed the recommended dose, or you will damage your liver, perhaps permanently. 

2. There had been advice to take Ibuprofen (Advil, etc) in between doses, but recently it has been found that it and other anti-inflammatory painkillers can aggravate the virus. So please avoid using such painkillers.

3. Stay hydrated and drink lots of fluids to help your immune system flush out the bad guys.

4. Coronavirus can be fought off, provided your immune system is strong. There's no single "magic bullet" to boost your immune system. Getting enough sleep & exercise, avoiding excessive stress, alcohol and tobacco will all help. Healthy you = healthy immune system.

5. You can improve your immune system with diet. Vitamin C rich foods such as oranges (plus other citrus), kale, broccoli, red peppers and chillis are good. Also Vitamin B6: chicken, salmon, tuna, chickpeas. Vitamin E: nuts, seeds and spinach. Other foods to consider: blueberries, oily fish generally, dark chocolate, sweet potatoes, green tea. Antioxidant rich food will help. 

6. Get plenty of rest. Sleep if you need it. 

7. Don't ask for antibiotics. You have a virus. Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections. Taking antibiotics when you don't need to can help the bacteria become antibiotic resistant. When that happens, the human race is in serious danger. However, if your doctor advises you to take antibiotics, please follow medical advice.

8. If you find it difficult to eat healthy foods and get your nutrients from food, take supplements with vitamin C, B6, and E. Iron supplements will also help.

9. It is thought that Turmeric has anti-viral powers, as does ginger and garlic. Sounds like the perfect excuse for a curry. Chillies reputedly have more vitamin C by weight than oranges, so you can also make it hot, hot, hot!

Please contact your doctor if you have any pre-existing medical conditions, especially cardiovascular conditions, diabetes and respiratory conditions.  

Please don't neglect your mental health. Here are some resources to help you deal with increased anxiety and stress at this very difficult time: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/

A key difficulty of self isolation is being stuck indoors, with not much to do. Daytime TV only takes you so far.... 


So, here are some suggestions of free things you can do to help pass your self isolation time.

Museums, classical music and theatre

An excellent collection of the 75 best virtual museum tours: https://upgradedpoints.com/best-virtual-museum-tours/

Twelve museums with virtual tours, including the British Museum, Van Gogh Museum, Guggenheim, Museé d'Orsay and Uffizi:

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

New York's Metropolitan Opera is offering free shows for a week from 16 March 2020:

https://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/music/metropolitan-opera-offering-free-virtual-shows

Berlin Philharmonic are giving away free streaming for a month of all their concerts. (You need to register and click to redeem the voucher.) https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/home

Seattle Symphony are streaming free live classical music: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/03/12/43130152/seattle-symphony-announces-free-concert-streaming-during-coronavirus-lockdown

From Friday 27 March for one month, The Royal Court theatre will share releasing the filmed version of Cyprus Avenue, available to watch for free on the Royal Court website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/cyprus-avenue-film/

Free TV

6 months free Britbox access for EE customers, for anyone wanting vintage British TV to watch during self isolation. You need to text ‘BRITBOX’ to 150 to activate.

There is a vast quantity of the BBC's output, old and new, available via BBC iPlayer. You will need to sign up. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Channel 4 has its own on-demand free service. Some very good vintage box sets available. You can watch via the website or the All4 app. https://www.channel4.com/

E-books and other resource collections

Looking for free e-books to read on your e-reader or smartphone? 

Project Gutenberg has many available for free. https://www.gutenberg.org/

Planet e-books has many free titles. https://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/

Where to find classic literature and poetry for free online: https://readgreatliterature.com/how-to-find-great-literature-online-for-free/

If you love comic books, then 2000AD Comics will send you 480 pages of free comics if you sign up to their Thrill Mail: https://2000ad.com/newsletter/

Free audiobooks via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRbqi6Uy5OLyssE4Q0ePufYYw1SvOY3Z5 

Sherlock Holmes Audiobooks on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDaXZCPj6W-Oo_DqkhCECVw

 

Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites.

https://archive.org/

Treasures from the University of Vienna. Open access collections, Ebooks on demand. https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/

The Smithsonian Institute image library: https://library.si.edu/image-gallery

The National Library of Scotland Maps online - historical mapping of all of the UK. https://maps.nls.uk/

More free access maps; this is a mainly London-based map site, using more varied sources than OS ones. With very good quality scans. http://mapco.net/london.htm

Learning

Open Culture is a great way of finding free audiobooks, courses, MOOCs, and other educational and cultural material. http://www.openculture.com/

Free courses are available here, via Future Learn. A great resource for personal and professional development.

https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects

Want to learn a language for free whilst you are self-isolating? Duolingo offers free courses. https://www.duolingo.com/

If you have always wanted to make music, now is your chance. The Korg Kaossilator music making app is free on Android and iOS for a limited time. You only need the app, and one finger. No musical knowledge required!

https://www.korg.com/us/news/2020/0313/

Have you always wished you learned to play the guitar? If you are self isolating, then Justin Sandercoe's YouTube and website contains hundreds of free guitar lessons. 

YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/JustinSandercoe

W: https://www.justinguitar.com/

Free music

BBC Radio 6 Music held its music festival during weekend of 6-8 March. You can watch highlights or full sets for free here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e2hp8g

KCRW feature selected live performances and whole sets on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/kcrw

NPR also feature many live performances, including their very unique "tiny desk concerts": https://www.youtube.com/user/nprmusic

Artists are turning to livestreaming to stay in touch with their fans. Neil Young, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, and John Legend are streaming intimate concerts: http://www.openculture.com/2020/03/live-performers-now-streaming-shows-from-their-homes-to-yours.html

More live music from your sofa by top artists: https://www.jambase.com/collection/couch-tour-alert

Food/Cooking

If you are looking for cooking inspiration, there are so many free recipes available.

BBC Food: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes

BBC Good Food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/

Good Housekeeping (all triple tested): https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/

For money saving, thrifty recipes, see Jack Monroe's site: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/

Mamta's kitchen is a treasure trove of Indian food recipes: https://www.mamtaskitchen.com/

London chefs share their simple self-isolation recipes: https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/restaurants/coronavirus-self-isolation-recipes-london-chefs-a4390406.html

Puzzles, quizzes, colouring in 


Can't leave the house because you are self isolating? Don't worry, you can travel the world virtually via these quizzes and games, from Geoguessr. https://www.geoguessr.com/

Free printable word searches: https://thewordsearch.com/printable/

Science based word searches for children, free and printable: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/quizzes/wordsearches.html 

Free printable crosswords [Quick, Cryptic, Prize, Quiptic and Genius]:  https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords

Make your own crossword puzzle generator: https://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net/make-your-own/crossword/

Sudokus including simplified 4x4 ones for children, free and printable: http://www.mathsphere.co.uk/resources/MathSphereFreeResourcesSudoku.html 

Adult and teenager colouring in pages, free, printable: https://www.justcolor.net/ 

Crayola's collection of free colouring pages: https://www.crayola.com/featured/free-coloring-pages/ 

More free printable colouring in designs for self-isolation: http://www.janeheinrichs.net/studiofriends

Please note: all of these items have been selected by me simply because I think they might be useful to help during self isolation. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.