THE YEAR IN REHASH: APRIL - I've Decided To Read Aloud All of Daniel Defoe's "A Journal Of The Plague Year" On Youtube.

 Another day, another three of my favourite, or at least more conspicuous posts from the last twelve months: April saw us head indoors and online and I'd never felt so grateful in my life to be living alone. I could still see my friends because everyone was now making stuff – it turns out it hadn't been the internet keeping everyone listless, it had been pubs. Carrie was Nincompooping now, and Arthur Shappey was learning the piano while the canon of his facial hair slowly aligned with John's, so I thought I'd joined in, and it staggers me to think that April saw me not only embark upon this project but complete it and move onto The Complete Works of Shakespeare before the month was over. That's how much time was slowing down. Plague Year's still a very pertinent read by the way; there was no way this was going to be over by the Summer. This is from April the 2nd...

 

London in 1665 (source)

 A couple of days ago I started reading Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year" which I just happened to have in the flat, and I found it so interesting I've decided to start reading it aloud on youtube for anyone else who might to enjoy these insights into 1665 (dressed for some reason in "It Only Hurts When I Laugh" pyjamas.) It's a novel rather than a journal, a work of well researched fiction, as Defoe was actually five when the plague hit, and I haven't finished the book yet so there might be all kinds of horrors in store. Be warned, it starts, as much apocalyptic fiction does, with a dry list of the initial death tallies, so if you want to jump right into the human interest stuff with the narrator debating whether or not to leave the city or stay and look after his business (plus some laughs) skip to 12:52, and if you just want to skip my opening waffle go to 1:40. Here then are the first twelve pages.

 I should be able to post one of these a day if you fancy subscribing. Or if you're interested but don't want to have to put up with me reading it, the full "journal" is available to read for yourself online here. And that's a hundred straight posts in a hundred days! I do find it odd that I started this before, as it were, I needed to. I think I've been subconsciously self-isolating since the election, basically. Posting happy thoughts only though. Happy thoughts and the plague. I hope everyone's doing superbly! Big love.