Volume 18
Welcome back to the Isolation Diaries, our weekly round-up of the things that bring us joy, keep us creatively motivated and help us unwind. What have you been up to?
The Dictionary of Lost Words is a new work of historical fiction, the first novel by author Pip Williams. Set in Oxford over a hundred years ago, this thought-provoking story is one worth picking up. We’re also making our own iconic Sci-Fi wishlist, based on this one by Wired which has quite a few familiar titles. And on other days, we’re continuing our historical theme but looking into fragrance: learning all about the trailblazers in the industry of perfume, and the psychology and science of scent.
Aardman is an animation studio famous for the likes of little-known titles like Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. They’ve teamed with Engine Creative for this Creature Discomforts short about the lockdown, drawing on real interviews. Howl’s Moving Castle—a favourite—is a beautiful fantasy story from Studio Ghibli. And we can’t deny a moving castle would be pretty nice. Check in with NASA and SpaceX: you can watch the landing and splash down here, which is pretty amazing. Welcome back!
We’re still trying out new bake dishes, like this spinach ricotta cannelloni. Or this spanish baked chicken by the Hairy Bikers, just a couple of big-hearted cooks from North West England. With all this palava going on, we were considering making some tin foil hats to at least protect ourselves from the alien overlords, however we’ve since reconsidered this decision due to their effectiveness coming into question. We recommend making these chocolate chip cookies as a special treat instead.
With all the seriousness in the air, we’ve been in need of some light entertainment… And we mean light. How Did This Get Made? is a podcast series by comedians Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael (plus guests), where they tear bad movies apart. Highlight episodes for us include Face/Off and Look Who’s Talking Now (sorry, John Travolta). Design Better is a podcast that discusses some interesting considerations in the world of design. And for some experimental sounds, here’s our new playlist.