QUARANTINE BULLETIN (Patreon)

Morning all! Hope you're doing okay. Who else is sick of this - 'scuse my French - fucking pandemic? 

It's not even the lockdown, or the pandemic itself, but I'm just growing weary of the news cycle, the batshit conspiracy theories that end up having to be debated or dismissed in the media, the not seeing my kids, the people who seem determined to push against the rules for their own selfish ends while the rest of us try to do our bit, Trump, the same old social media bollocks which seems so utterly irrelevant against this backdrop that I want to scream, not having anything to look forward to this year, like a holiday, or... anything. I mean, I could go on.

There's a feeling in the air that people have had enough, and I get it. But reading up on this, as I do, it's not going away within the foreseeable future. I had to give my dad a slight lecture yesterday - I saw him, because I seem to have become the social-distanced carer/personal shopper/delivery driver for every older person in my family - because he and my high-risk mum were planning to go and visit my sister over in Chalfont. 

Thankfully, it did the trick, and they cancelled the trip. Unfortunately, not everyone in my family is being so reasonable... which is in itself infuriating. 

As I say though... I get it. The novelty of being forced to stay home has well and truly worn off, and even I'm having moments where I question the long-term impact of quarantine on mental health, but it is what it is. There are times when I wonder how people coped during the Blitz. I don't think we've changed that much have we? There must've been those who couldn't handle it, and those who went about their lives regardless of the risk...

As some of you will be aware, we've moved Digitiser Live to next year. It's gutting, because we would have been well into the planning of it by now. My daughter's wedding had been scheduled for this end of this month, and then I was intending to go straight into full-on preparations. 

Originally we were planning to move the show to summer 2021, but I honestly think it's optimistic we'll be back to normal by then. Let's say they do find a vaccine by next January... how long is it going to be before it's rolled out to everyone? 

Provisionally, we're now looking at early autumn next year, but even then I dunno if we'll be forced to move it again, but... people have bought tickets, and I want them to have something to look forward to. So, I'm trying to remain hopeful that there'll be some sort of breakthrough between now and this time next year. 

For all that, I still appreciate some of what has come out of this situation. I enjoy that many of my favourite creators and artists are feeling inspired to make things. I kind of feel a touch guilty - but not too guilty - that I keep going down the Lost/Found Footage rabbit hole, which leaves little time to focus on a schedule of quantity over quality, and keep you all furnished with lots of stuff,. but... it's where I'm at right now. It's how I'm passing my days when I'm not working; making something I can feel proud of, even if it's not the thing the majority would like me to be doing. I guess I'm putting what I need first, because that's what we should all be doing right now.

Heck, I'm even doing editing when I am working, sometimes. Yesterday I was writing a script, and the only way through it was to alternate between finishing a scene, and then rewarding myself by editing Lost Footage for ten minutes.

This week's Digi video will likely be Sanja and I going through my old school books and reports. They're mental, frankly, and it's a video I've wanted to make for a long time. We've not shot it yet. so I apologise if the video isn't up until the weekend, but we'll try and make it worth the wait. We do have the lolly tasting episode we filmed last week, but - frankly - we're both a bit bored of taste test videos, and I think that comes across in it. Also, my hair is shocking in it, and I look even more homeless than usual, and I can't be arsed with the inevitable comments right now. Vanity rules!

Stay safe, stay well, stay in touch.

Paul