Hobbies and Interests you've picked up in Lockdown

[Tommygilf]

As we in the UK look with the vaccination programme to be at least provisionally on the way out of the Covid crisis, what hobbies and interests have you picked up over the past year and a half or so?

Have you returned to an old hobby you left behind years ago? Picked up something from childhood again? Rediscovered an interest with all the time on our hands?

[Tommygilf]

Personally I've had a fair few.

Through YouTube I've been able to explore so much - travel/transport reviews, new simulator games, Formula 1. I watched a video of a fellow northern bloke mending a broken model train the other day and it was great - connecting with both something I enjoyed as a child and reconnecting with my practical skills that I've not had much chance to have an outlet for.

Likewise through podcasts. History has been a great help through the past year or so. My love and interest of pretty much any historical time period and setting has meant I've been able to enjoy so much content. Football podcasts about my team have also enabled me to feel part of a community whilst stuck at home.

[Number 16]

Got myself an allotment, and I wish I'd got one years ago. I'm absolutely loving it. I know next to nothing about horticulture but I'm learning FAST! When I took it on in March it was totally covered in 6ft brambles. I cleared them and dug and dug to extract the roots. It was backbreaking, yet hugely rewarding. Frustratingly, the boogers still come through so I need to stay on top of it. 

As for planting and crops, I've had some successes: spuds, sweetcorn, courgettes, strawberries, shallots, carrots and garlic. I brew beer so I've planted three hops - Centennial, Chinook and Galena - and they're going great. I have two grape varieties, Pinot and Boskoop, that are coming along well. Also, I inherited an apple tree, which is laden, so I may give cider a try. Finally, I have a damson tree, so a winter damson porter is screaming to me.

Not so good are my tomatoes and aubergines, but hey ho! Next year. 

Next week I'm building a DIY greenhouse from pallets and UV sheets I 'found'. 

Lovin' it and highly recommend it.

[Bleep1673]

53 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Have you returned to an old hobby you left behind years ago?

Yes, but for legal reasons I can't explain.

[Tommygilf]

16 minutes ago, Number 16 said:

Got myself an allotment, and I wish I'd got one years ago. I'm absolutely loving it. I know next to nothing about horticulture but I'm learning FAST! When I took it on in March it was totally covered in 6ft brambles. I cleared them and dug and dug to extract the roots. It was backbreaking, yet hugely rewarding. Frustratingly, the boogers still come through so I need to stay on top of it. 

As for planting and crops, I've had some successes: spuds, sweetcorn, courgettes, strawberries, shallots, carrots and garlic. I brew beer so I've planted three hops - Centennial, Chinook and Galena - and they're going great. I have two grape varieties, Pinot and Boskoop, that are coming along well. Also, I inherited an apple tree, which is laden, so I may give cider a try. Finally, I have a damson tree, so a winter damson porter is screaming to me.

Not so good are my tomatoes and aubergines, but hey ho! Next year. 

Next week I'm building a DIY greenhouse from pallets and UV sheets I 'found'. 

Lovin' it and highly recommend it.

I've got a mate I was at uni with who has done similar, as have my parents in our back garden.

Must be great to have your own produce!

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I've managed to get back on track with reading again. I've always been an avid reader but for a few years pre-pandemic the amount of reading I was doing had really dropped off due to working really unorthodox shifts and never being able to get any peace and quiet for the little time I wasn't working. It had got to the point where I was genuinely reading maybe 3 books a year at most. 

Well I left that job in December 2019 and then with the pandemic and my inability to find work for 18 months I was really able to catch back up with reading. Getting back to reading was a way of escaping from all the stress and anxiety that came with being unemployed for the first time since I was 16 and I think last year I ended up reading about 25 books. So far this year I think I've read about 10 and keeping in mind that I am a slow reader (I read approximately 30 pages an hour) this is good going!

I'm never happier than when I'm reading and as I touched on, it really does help with stress and anxiety and the general worries we've all had over the past year and a half. I'm probably happier these days than I've been in years and certainly my books are a big factor in that.

[graveyard johnny]

18 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

 

I'm never happier than when I'm reading and as I touched on, it really does help with stress and anxiety and the general worries we've all had over the past year and a half. I'm probably happier these days than I've been in years and certainly my books are a big factor in that.

i have a few books that help when i need to get rid of some stress and anxiety

[Maximus Decimus]

I mentioned on a couple of other threads that I got into darts towards the end of lockdown.

Working from home, I was finding it hard sitting at a computer all day. Anything I was doing to wind down was either more time at a screen (TV, gaming, family tree) or self-improvement based (Duolingo, running, DIY). I needed something away from a screen that didn't require real effort or thought.

Darts was perfect. You can play all sorts of different games, solo, with someone else or against a computer and apps have really helped this.

I am still playing, and I might be brave enough to eventually venture out and play real people but I suspect it'll be something I go through phases of playing a lot and a little. 

[graveyard johnny]

1 minute ago, Maximus Decimus said:

I mentioned on a couple of other threads that I got into darts towards the end of lockdown.

Working from home, I was finding it hard sitting at a computer all day. Anything I was doing to wind down was either more time at a screen (TV, gaming, family tree) or self-improvement based (Duolingo, running, DIY). I needed something away from a screen that didn't require real effort or thought.

Darts was perfect. You can play all sorts of different games, solo, with someone else or against a computer and apps have really helped this.

I am still playing, and I might be brave enough to eventually venture out and play real people but I suspect it'll be something I go through phases of playing a lot and a little. 

you can play darts against a computer?????????????

[Maximus Decimus]

51 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

you can play darts against a computer?????????????

Haha, you can play games where you input your score against a computer's score.

For some perspective, I often play cricket darts against level 5 or 6 out of 20 levels. I'm not quite ready to turn pro just yet...

[redjonn]

Picked up chess again - all be it against computer.

oh also... talking loudly to the wall... on the hope I'll get more sense out of it than I do myself

[hindle xiii]

Podcasts.

Off Menu podcast was the best thing about last year for me.

I used to think podcasts were like iTunes/Apple music, requiring a log in and episodes are purchased. But obviously not.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

2 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

i have a few books that help when i need to get rid of some stress and anxiety

Didn't they still that genre in paper form 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

16 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Didn't know they still did that genre in paper form

Have you missed a few words out of that sentence? Don't worry, I've put them in for you! Were you a bit excited with this information you've just obtained to write coherently??

[graveyard johnny]

34 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Didn't they still that genre in paper form 

magazines can last for years with a gentle wipe clean every now and again

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

3 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Have you missed a few words out of that sentence? Don't worry, I've put them in for you! Were you a bit excited with this information you've just obtained to write coherently??

Difficult typing one handed 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

5 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Difficult typing one handed 

You don't need to tell me about it! Should probably switch hands occasionally though, I'm a bit out of whack with one skinny wing and particularly muscular one... 

[Futtocks]

Crosswords. Never thought I'd be interested in anything but the occasional General Knowledge one, but when we were in offices, there was a crossword club who did the Metro crosswords.

They'd sometimes call me over to take a look at the more off-beat, language-based stuff, just for a different viewpoint, but I wasn't a full-time member 'til lockdown. Now, the company's tame Australian gets the paper every lunchtime, takes a photo of the cryptic crossword and uploads it to our MS Teams group. Mostly, we communicate with the chat function, but sometimes have a team call and talk it through.

It's mainly a social thing with people I haven't sat down with in over a year, but a decent mental workout too.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

44 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Crosswords. Never thought I'd be interested in anything but the occasional General Knowledge one, but when we were in offices, there was a crossword club who did the Metro crosswords.

They'd sometimes call me over to take a look at the more off-beat, language-based stuff, just for a different viewpoint, but I wasn't a full-time member 'til lockdown. Now, the company's tame Australian gets the paper every lunchtime, takes a photo of the cryptic crossword and uploads it to our MS Teams group. Mostly, we communicate with the chat function, but sometimes have a team call and talk it through.

It's mainly a social thing with people I haven't sat down with in over a year, but a decent mental workout too.

Yeah I work my way through cryptics in holiday time too.... Great way to spend an hour or two

[Vambo]

Music and reading.

I've converted a potting shed lean-to into a nice outdoor drinking area which we've nicknamed 'The Pit'. I spend many hours out there listening to music and reading.

My music consumption in particular  is back to the levels it used to be in my younger days.  

 

[Phil]

Got back to writing my historical/vampire/detective series of stories after a couple of years away 

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

I've gone back to bread-making on a fairly regular basis, though not sure whether lockdown has been the motivation for this.

I do it about once every ten to fourteen days, and buy commercially produced bread in between.

I have settled on a mix of three flour types - stoneground wholemeal, strong white bread and seeded - in equal proportions.

[LEEDSLADGONE SOUTH]

I discovered an amazing Piri piri chicken takeaway on Deliveroo 

[RidingPie]

I’ve learned to play the ukulele! I wouldn’t say I’m brilliant but as we had a cub camp the other week and I’m good enough to strum out some camp fire songs. 

[bobbruce]

On 02/08/2021 at 21:58, Number 16 said:

Got myself an allotment, and I wish I'd got one years ago. I'm absolutely loving it. I know next to nothing about horticulture but I'm learning FAST! When I took it on in March it was totally covered in 6ft brambles. I cleared them and dug and dug to extract the roots. It was backbreaking, yet hugely rewarding. Frustratingly, the boogers still come through so I need to stay on top of it. 

As for planting and crops, I've had some successes: spuds, sweetcorn, courgettes, strawberries, shallots, carrots and garlic. I brew beer so I've planted three hops - Centennial, Chinook and Galena - and they're going great. I have two grape varieties, Pinot and Boskoop, that are coming along well. Also, I inherited an apple tree, which is laden, so I may give cider a try. Finally, I have a damson tree, so a winter damson porter is screaming to me.

Not so good are my tomatoes and aubergines, but hey ho! Next year. 

Next week I'm building a DIY greenhouse from pallets and UV sheets I 'found'. 

Lovin' it and highly recommend it.

We’ve done very similar to you took the plot on around the same time. Was a mess as the previous person had left it a while ago but due to COVID the council couldn’t pass it on. Very pleased with we’re we are upto now I’ve done most of the turning over and building work and the mrs mainly does the planting. A few weeks ago I finished of the chicken coup and run we have six but they are still young (20 weeks) so only a couple have started laying in the last week or so. As you say time permitting it’s very enjoyable.