During the lockdown, and the forthcoming Trinity term, the Exec and all of us at Regents are here to make your time easier, and to remind you that you are loved!
Below, you will find welfare links, study from home tips, resources people have found useful, and the Regent’s collaborative playlist for lockdown (big red button below), and pictures of our pets! We’ve got this!
What Execs are doing…
NICKY CROMPTON (OUR Pres.)
Book: Where I can, I try to separate my recreational reading from academic reading to help me switch off from work. I find reading cookbooks works really well for this and currently I’m a big fan of Ottolenghi: Simple.
Games with family: It has to be Articulate! What a game that is.
Exercising: Obviously exercise is so important and we need to be creative about how we do it at the moment. There are a number of really good online programmes for things you can do at home, which I’m enjoying.
ROSIE WALSH (Sec.)
Book: Book: When I’m not reading for my course, I really enjoy fiction novels, and I find reading something purely for enjoyment is something I don’t always get time for during term. At the moment I’m reading John Grisham’s ‘The Partner’, which is a legal thriller.
Games with family: I have a seven year old sister who loves playing games, which board games are great for. If you don’t have these though, there are lots of other games such as Charades, Hide and Seek or even Scavenger Hunts which need no equipment and are great for younger siblings!
Exercising: I find exercise is really helpful for improving mental health, and lots can be done from your front room. I enjoy the Les Mills online classes, which can be found on their YouTube Channel, or if you’d like the get outside, the Couch to 5K app is really good – and a great way to start running if you are a beginner.
Ginny Gough (Social Sec.)
Book: One of my favourite things about this enforced break from socialising has been the time to read again. So I am trying to read a book every 4 days, I finished one yesterday called ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ which was just incredible and I would recommend 110%. Other than that my favourite book of all time has got to be Brideshead Revisited, which is very definitely on my big pile to read over the coming weeks.
Games with family: Scrabble is a family favourite for sure!
Exercising: As I am sure you are all aware as I make it very obvious, I play rugby which is a tricky sport to recreate by yourself. However, I have taken to throwing a ball around with my brother and practicing accuracy but repeatedly throwing a ball at a point on a tree (its a thrilling time to be an athlete). I have also made a fairly strict fitness program (which I am always happy to share with anyone that wants!), it involves a lot of lifting heavy backpacks and jumping around my garden. I would recommend having a plan for your exercise, it helps to stick to it if you’ve promised to yourself early on in the week what you are going to do and when.
Press big red button for Spotify!
Useful resources!
- Mental well-being
- Mind: Coronavirus and your wellbeing
- NHS Every Mind Matters: Mental wellbeing while staying at home
- Ten Percent Happier: They stream a live 5 minute meditation every weekday at 3pm
- Free mindfulness/meditation audio
- DON’T FORGET ZEN WITH BEN EVERY WEDNESDAY 20:30 PM!
- Headspace/ Calm/ Aura all offer some free resources on their apps.
- Staying active
- Blogilates is a YouTube channel which posts short and motivational pilates workout videos you can do from home
- Yoga by Adriene is a YouTube channel which posts 20-40 minute yoga practices!
- Down Dog is a yoga app which is free until May 1 due to the lockdown. You can choose the length of your prcactive and the guiding voice!
- The Body Coach TV: Joe Wicks streams a free 30 min PE class at 9am every weekday but his channel has tons of other videos too which can all be done at home
- Things to pass the time
- FREE Virtual Museum Tours!: Google Maps Street View allows you to go round some of these galleries and others offer free tours on their websites!
- List of arthouse film streaming services
- Writing:
- Cherwell are still looking for submissions!
- The Oxford Blue are creating a ‘Creativity in Crisis’ writing collective
- Babbel are giving students a free month of language learning
- They’re streaming loads of free dance classes on fb and insta
- FREE streaming of theatre shows
- Schaubühne: A v cool Berlin theatre (most shows have English subtitles!)
- RSC on the BBC: 6 RSC plays will be broadcast between now and September
- You can use free trials to many streaming services
- Sadler’s Wells: dance performances and workshops
- MET Opera: streaming a free show every night!
- Here’s the fb group which has TONS of stuff on it
- Additional bits and bobs you might like
- If you want to help and are in good health, the NHS are looking for volunteers!
- Oxford students Jack and Julia have created an app to tell you the availability of food in supermarkets!
- Ohne is an organic and women led period company which delivers organic period products, to fit your needs, to your door. They also sending peaceful an motivyiavyional emails throughout lockown, organsing exercise events and meditation events for women.
