Blapril, Come She Will

It's that time of year again!

Wait, what...?

Goes out. Comes in again.

So, Belghast, creator and patron saint of Blaugust, the annual let's get to it for bloggers, would-bes and once-weres, had this great idea. Here we all are, he thought, sitting at home, staring into space, wondering how to fill the idle hours until the world turns right side up....

... Well, not all of us, maybe. For some, working from home means working harder.

For most of us, though, probably not so much. Also, social contact. Some people are going to miss that. Okay, maybe not as many in this crowd as in others. Still, we all like a chat, right?

So, Bel thought, why not let's have Blaugust in April! What better to keep everyone busy and positive and motivated and cheerful? Also a little bit stressed because every year someone finds posting more than usual a little bit more difficult than they expected but that's the good kind of stress, right?

I have to wonder at the fortuitousness of the timing here. I mean, there are only two months of the year that begin with the letter "A". You can pretty much only have Blaugust and Blapril. Bljune or Blfebruary just don't cut it.

Bloctober, now... that would work. In fact, make it Blogtober and it's actually the best. And omg! Guess what? Blogtober is a thing! Did everyone know that but me? (Actually, I imagine I did know but I forgot. I get that a lot these days).

Getting back to the point (now there's a novelty) Bel has put together a whole raft of conversation starters to give the thing some structure. There's a media kit here that has all the links.

 The sign-up form is here.

Let's take a break. I was going to put a picture of a kitten here because, kittens! Then I thought of this. So appropriate in so many ways.

Just me? Oh well...

This time I decided not to register as a mentor. I was in two minds about it because I really liked the Discord mentor channel last time but it seems like a bit of a con to claim mentor priveliges just to get into the clubhouse. I didn't feel like I contributed much as a mentor last year - or indeed any other year - other than the advice posts I put up here, so I'm just going to participate this time. If I change my mind later maybe Bel will print me up a new nametag if I ask nicely.

April is interesting timing for reasons other than nomenclature. The current situation is that I'm now officially "furloughed", the bizarre etymology chosen for being paid by the government not to go to work. My employer has guaranteed full pay until the end of April (the government is funding to 80% indefinitely) but the situation nationally is due to be reviewed after three weeks anyway so, in theory, we could be back at work around April 12th.

Sure - in fairyland!. I would guess we might be hitting the first of the series of peaks around then with more to come throughout the year. I'd be surprised if we come off lockdown much before the beginning of May and we'll almost certainly have to go back on it at least once. We may all end up back here doing Blaugust under the same conditions.

That's all speculation and fearmongering, though. Lot of that about.

What matters right now is Blapril! If you're reading this and you've never blogged, what are you waiting for? If you used to and you stopped, this is the perfect time to give it another go. And if you're already at it then maybe you'd enjoy stepping up a gear, cranking out a few extra posts, sharing your experiences and generally making your and our world a happier place.

Probably a good time for that.