Dear Reader
Where to start? To be completely honest, I didn’t feel much like doing this newsletter today. One of my dearest friends in the world is in the hospital with Covid-19 symptoms and has been intubated. I woke up to see that he’d sent me a message at 3am with the hospital telephone number and his room number scribbled down on a pic. He is the reason this newsletter exists, for he is the one who suggested I start it. He’s always doing things like that — listening to my dreams and goals and making suggestions and letting me bounce ideas off him. So if you can, please send a prayer of light and love to New York Presbyterian in Lower Manhattan today. I would really be ever so grateful for it.
But let’s keep the light and love going. Strength, positivity and good energy!
Here is Tuesday’s list of entertainment options for your online enjoyment:
1. Everyday People has put together a host of community events, including therapy and wellness talks, culminating in a DJ set on Friday. It all kicks off today with a meditation session at 2pm EST, which is 5pm PST or 8pm, if you’re in Joburg.
2. If you’ve been enjoying thespians like Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Helen Mirren reading us sonnets, then you might enjoy the Facebook Live performance of Cymbeline by the Shakespeare Festival St Louis, happening today 9pm EST, 6pm PST and, if you an insomniac in Africa, 1am CST.
3. It’s not just the Met Opera that is making sure fans are still getting their fix of oratorios and cantatas, The Vienna State Opera has a programme it’s broadcasting too, and today’s lineup features L'elisir d'amore at 1pm and 3pm EST.
4. The fabulous online YouTube music channel Colors is hosting a livestream every day for the next 30 days, with proceeds being split evenly among the artists who’re performing, to try offset losses from cancelled or postponed shows. You can catch the next one at 6pm GMT, 2pm EST.
5. And finally, not entertainment per se, but useful, I think nonetheless, the New York Times’ Smarter Living section is doing an online Q-and-A to deal with this new kind of normal we’re trying to adjust to. But it is a reserved, limited capacity-type event, so you’ll need to jump on it quickly.
Thank you for reading.
Today’s newsletter was brought to you by the soothing voice of Peter Bradley Adams, whose song My Arms Were Always Around You has been an on-loop source of comfort for me.
If you’d like to share songs that are working for you right now, please do. Also, please remember, I’m accepting any and all suggestions for this newsletter. And if you’d like to share it, please do.
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia