January ’21 Playlist

A selection of songs I’ve grown quite fond of this month…

Lend your ears to Spotify, and give this playlist a listen @ January ’21 Playlist

Hear me out #9 (“Got the morbs” and other Victorian slang)

The January blues: we all have ’em.

Maybe it’s a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and we’re all craving a bit more sunlight in the hope that it’ll warm the cockles of our hearts and give us some much-craved motivation… Maybe it’s the realisation that the magic of Christmas is over for another year (or at least, the more realistic, nine months!)… Maybe it’s the wall we hit after the drama of New Year and the clean slate and all of the expectations that come along with the midnight fireworks and purchasing of a new 12-month calendar… Maybe it’s all of these things combined… *shakes head in dismay*

The January blues are categorised as “not full-blown depression” but a “melancholy which looms over the entire month of January”.

When you think about it, it’s really no wonder: most people have to wait longer for their pay cheques to come in; it’s darker, colder, rainier and, tbh, there’s not a huge amount to look forward to. AND, to make matters worse, it’s really no surprise that the most depressing day of the year, known as Blue Monday*, falls in January (this year it was the 15th!).

*Nope, not the New Order song. Absolute tune.

This leads many of us to feel down, desolate even– the New Year’s resolutions we made may keep us going for a short time, but more often than not they are lost in the fog of January.

HOWEVER, believe it or not, the concept of Blue Monday (or even just Blue January) is not a new one; historians believe the concept has been around since Victorian times (that’s referring to the Victorian era, so when Queen Vic was on the throne, so 1837-1901).

Traditionally, in literature of the 1830s, Blue Monday referred to “the hungover state of the labour workforce after a weekend spent drinking”, and the association of the colour blue with a depressed state of mind (and, more generally, the working class!). In the 1860s, the term began to be applied, more specifically, to all mondays in the month of January, in which most labourers found themselves at risk of being out of work due to the tightening of pockets of their bosses following the expensive festive period.

If you found yourself in this situation, out of work in January, it wouldn’t be uncommon to say you’ve “got the morbs”.

Topics include, but are not limited to: slang, being jammy, temporary melancholy, and parrots.

January ’20 Playlist

A selection of songs I’ve grown quite fond of this month…

Lend your ears to Spotify, and give this playlist a listen @ January ’20 Playlist

Food for thought #8 (What does your “number” say about you?)

With the return of ITV’s Love Island and Netflix’s Sex Education, the fixation on people’s sexual history is more magnified than ever. In modern dating, it’s not uncommon to be asked the “dreaded” question in the first conversation with a new suitor: How many people have you slept with?

Food for thought #7 (Ghosting someone is weak)

Dating in the 21st century is tough. Long gone are the days when you’d have meet cutes with attractive strangers in the middle of supermarkets, or fall victim to huge romantic gestures while on your lunch break (not that I’ve ever been subject to either but a gal can dream). However, dating at university is even tougher.

Mediated through dating apps, social media, and unavoidably intertwined social circles, it’s quite often you find yourself going out with someone that your best friend’s coursemate’s cousin’s friend went out with back in second year. Everyone knows everyone and it’s pretty rare that you find someone without an Instagram or Tinder profile.

In university, not having a social media presence is like the plague: you’ll be shunned faster than you can say “I used to have MSN”.

Food for thought #6 (Saying you’re “not into politics” is not cool)

In our current political climate, it’s close to impossible to go a day without someone mentioning the T or B words – no, not the cusses your teachers told you off for using when you were younger, but the names of the men who have been voted into two of the biggest chairs in the world.

I know that, in my university at least, political debates have become more commonplace than the typical Is-it-dinner-or-tea? debate that so often infiltrates everyday conversations. And, despite my enjoyment talking about any sort of food, I can’t help but prick my ears when I hear anyone ask the dreaded question: What’s happened today in the world of politics?

Bloody hell, we’re only in the first week of the new year and there’s already been talk of WW3.

In my opinion, there’s absolutely zero excuse for being unaware, or just plain clueless, about simple things like what party are in power in the country you live in and what their general policies are (i.e., do they support those in poverty, in the LGBTQ community, the war?). This is basic information that you should know without having to google it.

Food for thought #5 (How to be single: making the most of being alone, not lonely)

I’ve never been one to have parents that, when back home for an occasional weekend or a holiday break from university, ask me whether I’ve found the person of my dreams. The one. It’s just not a thing that we do; the constant hounding about partners, significant others, “unlucky bachelors/ettes” that I’ve managed to ensnare with my quick wit and awkward ability to trip over flat ground.

My parents and I have an agreement: if there’s anything interesting to tell them, I’ll tell them, and that includes any interesting (read: worth writing home about) people that I meet while living many miles away from home.

January ’19 Playlist

A selection of songs I’ve grown quite fond of this month…

Lend your ears to Spotify, and give this playlist a listen @ January ’19 Playlist