Welcome to our monthly guide of the best websites, apps, podcasts, workouts, You Tube videos and other recommendations to help you unwind and escape from the madness for a while. 

Fitness: Pure Gym
Pure Gym is now offering a variety of classes on You Tube; everything from fast abs and cycle classes to full body and celebrity inspired fitness regimes. These online home style workouts are perfect for keeping you in shape during the second national lockdown.

Podcast: Table Manners with Jessie Ware
Singer Jessie Ware hosts a podcast about food, family, and the beautiful art of having a chat, direct from her very own dinner table. With a little bit of help from her chef extraordinaire mum Lennie, each week guests from the worlds of music, culture and politics drop by for a bite and a bit of a natter. 

Listen: Camelphat – Dark Matter
The Grammy-nominated Liverpudlian production duo call upon Noel Gallagher, Jake Bugg, Florence Welch and Foals’ Yannis Philippakis for their 21 track debut album. Dark Matter is the culmination of over a decade of contributions to the music industry, from both Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, who have proven beyond doubt that they are two of the UK’s most gifted electronic musicians.

Podcast: Locked Together
Audible’s new series eavesdrops on comedy double-acts and writing partners to hear how they were coping with being apart during the lockdown. That means updates from famous mates including Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and Spaced pals Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Catastrophe’s Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, Tez Ilyas and Sindhu Vee, Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield, Jimmy Carr and Katherine Ryan and the Kurupt FM boys. It’s free too – you just need an Amazon or Audible account.

App: Calm
Calm is a great mindfulness app where you’ll immediately be greeted with the gentle sound of the outdoors to set you on the path to relaxation (if you don’t like the outdoors, you can change it to rolling waves, pouring rain, crackling firewood or crickets). As well as guided Daily Calm sessions, which help you unwind and refocus your attention, there are also programmes for intermediate and advanced users.

Help and Support: The HR Team
As we continue to deal with the effects of the ongoing pandemic, it is more important than ever that we take care of ourselves and each other.

The COVID-19 outbreak is an enormous change to all our lives and our sense of certainty, so it’s perfectly natural to go through a wide range of emotions and there is no right way to feel. The health and wellbeing of our teams will always be a priority and we are here to support one another. With that in mind, if you are struggling or feel you need to talk, please email the HR team ([email protected]) and someone will give you a call back.

As a reminder, the below helpline is also available to all staff, working or furloughed. The helpline offers telephone counselling, health advice covering a wide range of medical and wellbeing issues, personal legal and financial information with an online portal system loaded with further information and templates for your use.

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME
Call 0800 107 6147 or visit the online portal  www.colleaguesupport.co.uk (enter code 72135 as your username and password)