How to stay healthy, happy and positive in London right now

Finding it hard to make the weekends feel special at the moment? Yeah, same. One way to guarantee that a weekend feels, er,  weekendy? Order a future present to yourself from Sunday Goodies. It’s a baked good delivery service that you can book to drop you off a batch of fresh-cooked treats for you to enjoy on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. The line-up changes weekly but you can expect blondies, cookies, macaroons and more, with prices starting at £13ish.

It’s probably been quite a while since you sat around a dining table with your most ignorant relatives, but why not us the next few weeks to prep yourself for when the terrible time comes?Interactive online school AimHi is launching a new course focused on teaching you everything you need to know about climate change. It consists of four live lessons, covering everything from the science of global heating to the psychology behind why it’s hard for humans to comprehend.

You know what’s nice? Writing things. Whether it’s scrawling horrible stuff about your annoying neighbours in your diary or penning a 45-minute spoken word poem about your pet hamster – doing some writing will always make you feel a bit better.That’s why we’re excited to hear about the Creative Writing Breakfast Club run by London-based poet and performer Laurie Bolger. They’ve worked with everyone from Glastonbury to the Royal Albert Hall to Sky before, as well as running workshops for wannabe writers too. Now they’ve brought them online.

Meditation: it’s our second favourite form of sleeping while awake. (The top spot goes to daydreaming, which is a lot less effortful and more luxurious, despite being arguably worse for you.)

Back in normal times, Captain Baby founder Felicity Hearn worked on big shot immersive experiences like You Me Bum Bum Train and Secret Cinema. So, it’s no surprise that now we’re locked down she’s keen to help people immerse themselves once more. This time: virtually.

Make time in your packed schedule of ‘pretending to read your book but actually scrolling through your phone’ and ‘spending ages deciding on a recipe to cook and then just making beans on toast’ for something NEW this weekend.

People had suggested the running app Couch to 5K to me in the past, but I’d just nod and think ‘a MACHINE telling me HOW and WHEN to run? No thank you sir, I have seen ‘I Robot’, I know how that ends.’ I figured those apps were exclusively for people who wanted to post their running distance on Instagram while they ‘trained for the marathon’, and I wanted no part of that noise. Then, March 2020 arrived.

If you smashed your Dry January KPIs, you might fancy cheersing yourself at home. But after a month of sobriety, maybe you quite like some of the noticeable plus sides from cutting down on the drink (hello, good sleep!). Here’s a halfway house for you, then: hard seltzer. The ‘spiked’ sparkling water is totally on trend – and it’s low in alcohol, too.

It’s the UK’s number one cocktail, the pinnacle party drink (served with a shot of prosecco on the side) and the first thing ordered at the bar on any given episode of ‘First Dates’. But despite those very impressive vital statistics, it’s likely your Pornstar Martini intake has plummeted since the doors to bars were shut. Since it’s exactly the kind of drink to put a smile on your face, maybe it’s time to mix it for yourself. For rookies at making the passionfruit bevvy, what better way to school yourself than with a kit conceived by the same brilliant London mind that created the cocktail in the first place?

The Tate Modern had to close shortly after its Bruce Nauman exhibition  opened last year. The gallery was supposed to be a bustling hub of contemporary video art and contemporary video art fans right now. But, no. We are all locked down instead. That doesn’t mean we can’t stay connected to Brucie boy though.

The Royal Academy of Dance is London’s elite marine corp of quick-stepping jive daddies. They are, quite simply, the best at boogying. This year they want to help you. They’ve seen you ‘dancing’, thrashing around like a terrified chimpanzee in a coal mine. And they’ve said: ‘enough’. It's time to teach you how to get down.

The real world is challenging enough right now. You don't needing a bleepy-bloopy screen to fill your teary eyes with any more drama than is absolutely necessary. That's why this might just be the perfect time to discover a few relaxing, ambient-style puzzle games. Attain actual inner peace (or at least get to sleep at night) with these genuinely good and not-at-all stressful games for your trusty phone. To make the experience even more zen-like, you'll be happy to know they're all absolutely free to download.

Here’s a deal you won’t see in Iceland: buy two meditation sessions, get one free. For £16 you can bag three virtual gong baths from east London studio Gong. It’s the perfect way to dip your toe into the trippy world of sound meditation before mayyyyybe attending a real life sesh when things open up again.

It’s been cold, wet and truly miserable these past few weeks. If that’s got you thinking about how hard things must be for Londoners living on the street right now, there’s now an easy way to do something about it.

The vibe is hand-moulding. There’s no potter’s wheel, you just use different methods of massaging clay to create plates, bowls, cups, vases.

We've come up with a powerful playlist of tunes so motivational, so upbeat, so toe-tappingly, head-boppingly fun that you'll remember this as the greatest day of your entire life. Or, you'll just feel a little bit better. We'd be satisfied with that too.

London might not have the vast countryside fields that you’ll find in the home counties, but the city does have a surprising amount of green space. In fact, 47 percent of the capital is green space.

The latest crop of plaques pay tribute both to the properly famous and unsung heroes – and you can see them on your daily exercise.

Starting a new hobby can take away the looming sense that you’re staring into the meaningless void. Especially if you pick a soothing pastime like life drawing. 

You can access a treasure trove of mind-expanding productions on the NT’s subscription streaming platform.

Sydenham Hill Wood in south-east London is one of the last swathes of the ancient Great North Wood that used to stretch all the way from Croydon to the Thames.

The Spring is a one-stop-shop of ethical, sustainable beauty products that puts Black women first.

East London fitness instructor Maiken Skoie Brustad has been posting really brilliant workouts since the start of lockdown.

Founded by Hackney-based pals Anshu Ahuja and Renee Williams, the premise is this: delicious vegan curries in eco-packaging, delivered by bike.