My phone regularly chimes in with helpful reminders from my diary: load in day at the Ambassadors Theatre, Mamma Mia get out Nottingham, travel up to Liverpool. It is taunting me. I suppose I should delete everything until (insert your own unknown date here) but for some reason I cannot bring myself to do it…
Like so many (or should that be all) of my fellow
freelancers working in theatre, I currently have no work (despite what my diary
may claim). I had begun the year looking forward to a bumper 12 months ahead
but slowly the various productions succumbed. The imminent shows went first,
but one by one, even the more advanced bookings were cancelled or postponed.
Although it may be six weeks since I last went to work, the
one fortunate thing is that I am not bored. I think I have always been quite
good at keeping myself occupied and I have no trouble passing the hours each
day.
In the early days of unemployment, I watched the daily-televised
Coronavirus updates but have now largely lost interest. I waited with bated
breath for the chancellor’s financial aid packages but rapidly realised I had
fallen through all the cracks and working as a ‘sole trader’ there was nothing
there for me. I know I am far from alone in this.
I try and count my blessings (not something that necessarily
comes easily to me). I have the financial means to survive and am lucky enough
to have a back garden I can enjoy. I know there are a lot of people who are
less fortunate than I.
I am lucky enough that I still have one major production
later in the year which is still (at least for the moment) scheduled to go
ahead as planned. I have been doing bits and pieces of pre-production paper
work for that, but I find the work drags and expands to fill the excessive time
available; to the point where things that would normally take a matter of
minutes to do in busier times can now be expanded to fill an entire day. I hope
I can get quicker again when I need to!
I have always been a bit of ‘a tinkerer’ and enjoy computer
coding and lighting orientated electronics projects. I have a drawer full of
half-completed projects and maybe some of them might even now make it to two
thirds finished.
In the spirit of self-improvement, I have been taking a few
online training courses and attended a couple of training webinars. Many
companies are providing these for free during this time which is great. I am
most proud of my ETC ‘Eos Essentials (v2.9)’ for which I now have a certificate!
So yes, I am now officially a programmer. Ok, maybe not.
I will openly admit the last lighting desk I really ‘knew’
was a Strand Galaxy and I have been amazed to discover programming effects no
longer involves sticking little yellow pins into to pin patch!
Joking aside, I would highly recommended visiting the ETC website
as they have a range of free courses available: https://courses.etcconnect.com/.
Next on my ‘to get a better understanding of’ list is
prospective fault currents in relation to MCB types and lighting multicore
lengths and size. I should probably get out more…
I am also using this spare time to… (wait for it) my
2019/2020 accounts. This is normally unheard of and I am seriously concerned I will
not know what to do next January. The one thing the government has done for me
is delay my next tax bill until next year, but as it will have to be paid
eventually, I am not sure if that is of any great real benefit.
For the past few winter months, I had taken up swimming but
the closure of my local swimming pool was the nudge I needed to get back on my
bicycle (that and the improving weather). I was very happy when Boris announced
cycling as one of his three approved means of exercise. Richmond Park was my
go-to cycle route of choice but that has recently been closed to cyclists due
to other cyclists believing if you pedalled fast enough you could ignore social
distancing. So now, most days I head down to the river and cycle to Hampton
Court (note to self – add ‘adjust rear brakes’ to the to-do list).
As I now cycle for an hour every day, by rights I should be
fitter and healthier than I ever have been. Unfortunately, this has been
tempered by my increased red wine consumption in the evening, and the fact I
have strayed back to nibbling cheese. Consequently, I am now heavier than I
have been for many months! I understand I am not alone in my increased food and
alcohol consumption and that weight gain is normal lockdown behaviour.
I hope that is of some interest and reassuring that we are
all in the same boat. For me, it is a case of keeping busy and learning new
skills in the process. Which reminds me – I must go and research DIY
haircutting…
Martin Chisnall.
The post “My phone is my new worst best friend”… A Lockdown Blog by our Friend Martin Chisnall appeared first on White Light.