アイルランド（Ireland 🇮🇪）： keep you entertained during lockdown

２０２０年４月３日（Fri.）　今日のこの地方（愛知県尾張東部）は晴れ、風も穏やかで散歩日和でした。なので、近くで人の居ない場所にある桜を見に行って来ました。凡そ８部咲きでした。

さて、外出の自粛が続いていますが、アイルランドでも、そうした場合の過ごし方アイデアが紹介されています。（ニュースソース：　RTE  ３月２９日発　）

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Fun ideas to keep you entertained during lockdown

Strict lockdown rules imposed during the coronavirus outbreak have led to families across Ireland spending more time together than usual.

Finding ways to be distracted and entertained will help fill those long days in isolation.

Instead of being glued to screens all evening, here are a few of the more traditional ways families can have fun together:

1. Charades（ジェスチャーゲーム）
An all-time classic. Flex those miming skills by getting family members to guess what - or who - you are acting out.
Whether it's a film, book or famous celebrity - you'll have a few laughs together trying to figure out the answer.

2. Use a pencil and paper
Simply picking up a pencil and paper opens up a world of options to keep yourself entertained.
Hangman, noughts and crosses and Pictionary are quick and easy games that require this most basic of equipment.

You could also try out consequences, where you take it in turns to contribute sentences to a story, or categories, which involves thinking up things beginning with a certain letter under a variety of subjects.

3. Card games
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of variants of card games out there.
Beggar my neighbour, 25, rummy, bridge, poker - there are plenty of options to choose from.
And if you are have to spend time alone at home, then there is always patience.

4. Monopoly（不動産売買のボードゲーム）
A board game that perhaps should come with a health warning.
Snapping up properties, making money and getting out of jail can be great fun, but may also lead to a little family tension at times.
If Monopoly does prove too much, you can pick another classic game instead, such as snakes and ladders, ludo, chess or backgammon.

5. Baking and cooking
Life under lockdown provides a great opportunity to hone those cooking skills in the kitchen and collectively whip up a tasty meal.
For children, weighing ingredients and following a recipe can also help develop their numeracy skills.
We all deserve a treat or two in the current uncertain times, so now could be the time to find your inner Bake Off skills.

6. Reading
Getting lost in a good book need not be a solitary experience.
Reading a bedtime story to children or sharing a tale with the wider family can be a calming way to spend time together.
Perhaps you can even make up your own adventure?

7. Have a singalong（歌う）
Music has the power to be uplifting, and singing or playing together may help raise spirits under lockdown.
Hopefully someone at home can knock out some tunes on the guitar or piano for everyone to sing along to.
Failing that, you can go for an a cappella recital or find one of several karaoke videos on YouTube.

8. I spy
Granted, you may run out of things to spot after a while, but I spy is another classic game for everyone to take part in.
It is as simple as saying the first letter of the object you are thinking of and getting those around you to guess what it is.

9. Put on a play
Up the drama in your home by taking on the challenge of staging your own play.
Devising a plot, making costumes and creating a stage to perform on will keep children (and adults!) busy for hours.
Let's hope the family critics are kind to your show.

10. Jigsaws
The higher the number of pieces in a jigsaw, the better to fill those lockdown hours.
A favourite pastime of many, getting lost in a jigsaw is absorbing and mentally challenging.

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これらは屋内を中心としたゲーム的なものですが、先日当ブログでも紹介した屋外でのテディベアー探し（カウント）等も気晴らしになるのではないでしょうか。もっとも、日本の住宅事情やテディベアーの保有レベルは知りませんので、この試みはカウント＝ゼロで終わるかも知れませんね。でも、仮にお宅にテディベアーの“ぬいぐるみ”があるのであれば、外から見える窓枠等に置いて見てはどうでしょうか（我が家でもやってみます）。

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さて、話題を切り替えます。本日の夕方、愛知県知事がTVニュース番組に出ていました。COVID19の感染情報が少な過ぎるとの質問指摘に対し、“東京でもそうでしょう”との意味合いの言葉を返していました。これを聞いて実に呆れたのです。本来、情報開示が少なければ、無用な不安を煽ることになるし、逆に無用心な行動を誘発することにも繋がることがわかっていないようです、知事でありながら。しかも、自己による主体的判断ではなく、東京もそうでしょうと他人の判断に委ねるなど持っての他です。こんな思考では県知事の資格も資質も無いと断言します。

一方で、都知事の定例会見を見ていても、同じようにPMに責任を転嫁するかのような発言を繰り返すばかりで、実に無責任で自己保身ばかり優先しているとしか感じられませんでした。それに比べると、かなり早めに英断した道知事は応援したくなります。

＊＊＊　下の写真は、記事内容とは関係ありません。

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