CECILE’S LOCKDOWN SURVIVAL KIT
Image Cecile Paul
I’m not referring to your impressive stockpile of toilet paper, handy flash light or wisteria hand sanitizer here. Neither am I alluding to your impressive supply of castor oil, long life milk and amassed canned tuna…
Granted I can’t speak for the cat, but this bunch of eclectic nice-to-haves below has done more than just get me through these dire times, they’ve sprinkled stardust and glitter on what feels like endless lockdown days.
STARTING THE DAY WITH TERBODORE COFFEE
This family-run coffee roaster is one of the finest in South Africa. With their cheerfully colourful packaging featuring their (now aging) Great Dane that inspired the brand, a cup of Terbodore brew is more than just an instant boost. With so many different flavours and origins to choose from – This is Africa, The Great Dane, Unwind, Revival, Italian Hazelnut, French Vanilla, to name but a few – there’s always ample reason for a perk-me-up moment. Or, alternatively I may just indulge in a Crème Brulee Iced Popsicle or Lemonade Flavoured Sparkling Cold Brew.
Image Terbodore Coffee
FITNESS WALKING WITH LESLEY SANSONE
There is an extraordinary feel-good factor in doing these simplistic, low-impact fitness exercises that almost anyone can do in one’s own home. Having realized that we’re not all built for strenuous aerobics exercise, Lesley Sansone has long been a household name in keeping nations fit by walking on the spot. Moving the furniture around and exploring the corners of my living room with these fabulously fit (and by now familiar) faces have never made more sense than under lockdown restrictions.
Image Walkathome.com
SIPPING TEA BY YSWARA
Acclaimed by Michelin stars globally, Yswara is arguably the best tea you’ll ever taste. Made with African ingredients like penja pepper, rooibos, honeybush, buchu, kola nut and wild yams, each exquisitely packaged dusty pink vessel with their exotic medico-spiritual infusions celebrates traditional African harvesting methods. Glamorous founder Swaady Martin vouches each leaf has been patiently handpicked, hand-rolled and sun-dried. My current favourite is Omoluabi, a pungent rooibos with hints of chocolate, coconut and whiskey to banish lockdown bloatedness.
Image Yswara
ADDING TO MY COLLECTION OF FASHIONABLE FACE MASKS
Initially we bemoaned the notion of wearing these, but us seasoned lockdowners now feel naked without one! As lockdowns drag on, try to find joy in matching your face mask to your outfit (which inevitably implies one needs a sizeable ensemble of face masks in your arsenal)! I’m convinced the queen of face coverings, Holly Golightly, will have tipped her feather hat to my hand-picked selection of interesting face coverings. Just as well I’m not limited to sporting just one!
www.facebook.com/threadBARE-299415544843
Top: Maxhosa MASK NO 6
Image Maxhosa.africa
Middle: Threadbare MASKINI x 4
Image Cécile Paul
Bottom: METRO = DENIM FACEMASK x 2
Image Alexandra Hojer
COUCH SURFING AND WATCHING DOCUMENTARIES
What better way to spend evenings in curfew curled up on the sofa dipping in and out of someone else’s reality? The one documentary that stood out for me during lockdown is curiously one shot on my doorstep – so to speak: the multi-award-winning My Octopus Teacher. Unpretentious and raw, stupendously honest, thought-provoking and oddly beautiful, this uplifting tale of the relationship between a local filmmaker (Craig Foster) and an octopus he encounters off a Cape Town coast has undoubtedly been one of the most heart-warming experiences of lockdown.
Image https://www.facebook.com/MyOctopusTeacher
KEEPING TRACK OF THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON OF DANCE CHALLENGE JERUSALEMA
During a rollercoaster of a year South Africans have managed to come out dancing, and energized the rest of the world to join in. It’s with exuberance people have been embracing this online dance challenge, each putting their own spin on it. From priests in Vatican City to nurses, flash mobs in Bucharest, lawyers and school pupils from Iceland to Thailand have staged their very own versions of this global hit that speaks of hope. This mood-boosting source of brightness became a motivational and galvanizing force, and one that I, like many, have followed throughout 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCpfmcVp-5c&ab_channel=DanceInspire
Image Global Citizen.org
POURING OVER MY FAVOURITE MAGAZINES
There are many things of beauty in this world, and Visi is undoubtedly right at the top of that list. Each page printed on luxurious matt-to-the-touch paper, this gem of a monthly mag is full to the brim with the best of South African décor, design, furniture, textiles and architecture ideas. The most wonderful companion to have by one’s side, sitting by the pool, relaxing in the garden or reclining in a hammock, Visi never fails to inspire and lets one dream of exotic places on your doorstep. Or just give you the urge to give your peeling kitchen cupboards a face lift.
Image Visi
