Best for… Desk workers

1

Put your arms behind you, straighten them and interlock your fingers.

2

Ensure you stand up tall and push your chest out. Slowly move your arms away from your back, then lower them again. Repeat a few times.

3

Now lean forward slowly and move your arms, still interlocked, away from your body towards the ceiling. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat from the beginning.

Neti pots, which look similar to teapots, are used to clear nasal congestion. Here’s how they work. You place the spout inside one of your nostrils then tilt your head and pour a warm saline solution through your nasal passages to clear out mucus and allergens. Don’t use tap water.

And in case you were wondering, the WHO says rinsing your nose with saline solution doesn’t prevent you from catching coronavirus.

“Morning, Emily. Number One Granny reporting for homeschooling duty.

“You can’t hear me? Sorry. There, I’ve unmuted my microphone. I’m not allowed to have it on when I’m doing my online tai chi so I’ve got into the habit of leaving it off. Is that better? Have I really turned off the camera? How did that happen?

“There – that’s us in sound and vision. This Zoom business is really a bit beyond my skills – it just sounds too fast for someone my age.

“Have you done your PE with Joe Wicks this morning? Let me see? Oh yes, that’s most impressive, but no, I’ll pass on star jumps and bunny hops if you don’t mind. My knees aren’t what they used to be.

“Is daddy still up in the attic? Sorry, I keep forgetting it’s now his home office. He sent me a picture of it last week complete with a selection of ‘good’ books, two family

This light-hearted fictional piece about a media-challenged granny trying to help her granddaughter is by poet and monologue writer Lynda Mackenzie from Clackmannan, Scotland, and will no doubt resonate with many readers…

photographs and the obligatory random artistic object.

“I suppose mummy is looking after the twins? Well, I’m sure she knows best but I do feel they’re a bit young for meditation and mindfulness – they can barely sit still long enough to eat their breakfast let alone sit cross-legged on the floor staring at a pot plant for half an hour, particularly if the plant is a weeping fig – not the most inspirational of foliage.

“What subject are we supposed to be doing this week? I do hope it’s something straightforward – last week’s nuclear physics for primary schools was just the teensiest bit beyond me.

“Well look for your worksheet now. Really, Emily, we’re already half-way through our free session time allowance and haven’t even

started. I’ll pop off and make a cuppa while you get organised.

“Perhaps my brain will work better once it’s caffeine charged. No guarantee, of course, but this new Covid-brain affliction gives me ever such a good excuse for forgetting things.

“Right then, literature, that’s within my educational scope. What’s the book? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Excellent. I remember your daddy liked it when he was your age. Off you go then. Read me a chapter while I have my cuppa. “You did that very well, Emily. Well done. That’s our time up now but tomorrow we’ll discuss your opinion that it’s wrong to go into a wardrobe that isn’t yours and that fur coats have no place in modern society. Bye, Emily, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.”