Into video calls, TV, ks & food shopping
Colman in Netflix’s The Crown
Downloading the BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub apps (you’ll need to register but they are free) means you can watch a lot of TV you might have missed.
There are radio shows there too.
For boxset addicts, there is no need to buy DVDs as Netflix offers a choice of
500 TV shows and 2,400 films, including hit series
The Crown.
You can sign up for a 30-day free trial and watch the shows on a smart TV, laptop or tablet.
After the trial, a basic subscription costs £5.99 a month – so if you only want the free trial, remember to cancel before the first payment is taken.
If you enjoy classic TV shows, the
ITV/BBC streaming service BritBox has a huge array of shows including Fawlty Towers, Happy Valley and hit comedy Gavin & Stacey.
Subscribers pay £5.99 a month and, again, you can try it for free for 30 days.
If there’s something specific you’d like to see, such as video how-to guides for crafting or DIY, concerts or interviews from your favourite musical stars, explore YouTube by typing relevant words into the search bar. The Morecambe and Wise breakfast sketch or an easy guide to repotting house plants can be on your screen in seconds.
And catch up on the news with the Mirror app or at mirror.co.uk.
Morecambe & Wise and Gavin & Stacey
Messaging and video-calling are the most vital tools in combating isolation. Using websites on computers or mobile apps such as WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype or Facebook Messenger – see our apps guide on the next page – you can chat to loved ones around the world.
You’ll need to enter basic contact details, including email addresses and phone numbers, and allow the app to access your contacts, photos and your camera – so friends can see you.
Miles says: “It won’t cost you anything if you are using your wi-fi but you don’t want to be calling a relative for long periods and using your phone data – as both you and they will end up paying.
“So make sure you can always see the wi-fi symbol at the top of the screen.”
Social media will help you stay connected, too. If you’re on Facebook, just type the name of your village, town or city into the search box at the top of the page and click on the Groups button. Then find “open” groups in the list you want to join. Many have been set up especially to help older people through this crisis.
Actress Miriam Margolyes
In worrying times, listening to stories helps us feel more relaxed and less alone.
You can hear top actors and authors read books, for hours, from any smartphone, tablet or an eReader such as Amazon’s Kindle or Rakuten’s Kobo.
Pause them and they’ll start where you left off. And while reading a book is a bit of an anti-social, solo experience, an audio book means you can share the experience with anyone else in your home.
The soft Irish tones of Marian Keyes inject her hilarious novels with sparkling life. Philip Pullman narrates the His Dark Materials trilogy wonderfully.
Miriam Margolyes reads Dickens, Rosamund Pike reads Austen and Anna Massey reads Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca with incredible emotion and nuance.
Other audio books available include Hilary Mantel’s The
Mirror And The Light, and the
Sherlock Holmes collection, read by Stephen Fry.
An Amazon app called
Audible allows you to download one or two audible books each month for a subscription of
£7.99 a month.
Once you have downloaded the book, it’s yours to keep even if you later cancel your direct debit.
There’s a 30-day free trial.