Games

Scrabble

If you like playing scrabble why not sign up to the Internet Scrabble Club and join with players across the world to play online.  The graphics are like something from an 80’s computer lesson, but the game works well and you can even join up with other people you know to play against friends (2 player maximum).

https://www.isc.ro/

Crosswords

If you like crosswords why not take a look at these sites that allow online play for free.

http://www.onlinecrosswords.net/play.php

http://freedailycrosswords.com

Fancy testing your grey matter?

Try out these online quizzes for free.

http://www.quiz.org.uk

Board Games

Board Game arena – Play board games online free

Crafts

Craft projects – Sew, Knit, Crotchet, quilt

Free Sewing patterns

Free Knitting Patterns

New Skills

Learn to touch-type

Teach yourself to dance – Tap dance

Colouring stuff

Medieval dolls to cut and colour

Free colouring book from the Public Domain Review

Downloadable colouring books from 113 different museums

Free colouring in activity book

Distraction

Draw your own nebula  

Weave Silk 

Play with liquid particles – coloured patterns follow your cursor 

Colour play  – Soothing & distracting colours

Places to visit (virtually)

Visit the British Museum using Google Street View, allowing you to see over 60 different galleries.

Take a tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History –  https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/vt3/NMNH/

Museums from around the world – Virtual, online tours

Access to 500 Museums & Art Galleries – Free, online

Nine virtual garden tours – https://www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/gardens-to-visit/virtual-garden-tours-best/

Buckingham Palace – https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/step-inside-the-exhibition-in-the-buckingham-palace-state-rooms/mwIiCOcgzC0dIQ?hl=en

Edinburgh Castle – https://artsandculture.google.com/story/VAWxcB3PgVhOvw

See Mars, with images recorded by NASA’s Curiosity rover – https://accessmars.withgoogle.com

For those who use Spotify, the Harris Distillery have put together a playlist of island-inspired tunes.  Listen to it here.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1XAYK4ykKq3ZUY4NAYV0Oo?si=xt8IG_3jSHyxSJZb7AXfHg

Podcasts

The Infinite Monkey Cage – A witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists’ eyes, with Brian Cox and Robin Ince.   

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w/episodes/downloads

In Our Time – Become an expert in something one podcast at a time. From Agincourt to Zoroastrianism, Melvyn Bragg and his panel of incredibly learned guests illuminate their chosen corner of the knowledge universe. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/598SVYJ2smP8qJlpH29y7Vj

People Fixing the World – The perfect antidote to much of the doom and gloom we read and hear in the news. The team explores clever or big ideas, trying to solve the problems of the world – and investigate whether they actually work. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04grdbc/episodes/downloads

Background Noises

If you’re finding things a little too quiet why not introduce some background noises to your environment: 

https://coffitivity.com/ – background sound of being in a coffee shop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxP8kxUn5bc – birdsong from the woods

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSilentWatcherCom/videos – more natural world background noises

https://purrli.com/ – customizable purring cat for your home

Audio Books

Audible – Free for this period – Available in 6 languages

 For those of you with library membership, you can now access books around the clock, and from wherever you are in the world, using the new digital service, BorrowBox.

Theatre

The National Theatre are streaming free full-length plays every Thursday on their youtube channel.  The play will then be available on demand on the same channel for a week. Take a look here.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDq1XzCY0NIOYVJvEMQjqw

Andrew Lloyd Webber will be releasing a full-length smash-hit musical each week on his new youtube channel.  A new one will be available every Friday evening, and for 48 hours after, for free.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdmPjhKMaXNNeCr1FjuMvag/featured

Slow TV

If you’re into “slow tv” why not try watching some of these videos found on youtube:

Train Journey to the Norwegian Arctic Circle in Winter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rDjPLvOShM

Narrowboat journey on the Kennet and Avon Canal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fElraViW08

A bus trip through the Yorkshire Dales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy5kIp0lFt4

Gondola ride from Zermatt to Klein Matterhorn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaVZZnx70M0

For those more interested in films of life closer to home, have a look at these:

The Western Isles 1941 British Council Film Collection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1d7ykKL7AI

St Kilda 1908

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX77F2l3GyI

And of course, these incredible films by our very own talented film-maker Zoe Paterson Macinnes

https://vimeo.com/user24204999

Webcams

As featured in the Daily News on 4th April, this website brings you live video feeds from across the world.  Watch Gorillas in the Congo, Elephants in South Africa, and even puppies in California.

NASA Live:  – Watch the earth from space

Arctic Travel Experts created ‘virtual lights over Lapland’ tour

Live Safari

For those of you with library membership, you can now access books around the clock, and from wherever you are in the world, using the new digital service, BorrowBox.

Your lockdown library with Cne.siar https://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/yourlockdownlibrary

Mindful poetry moments 

Kindle Unlimited – 2 months free access 

Gutenburg – Download free books

Solomon Kingsnorth – Books in PDF, Word and audiobook format – Alice in Wonderland / Wind in the Willows / The Railway Children / The Jungle Book / Peter Pan / Black Beauty

Read great literature online – Free Ebooks, poetry, classic literature

Read Free Literature – also includes study guides

50,000 free ebooks – arranged by genre

Open Library Access – Free

The Open University offers a wide range of free online courses.  

http://www.open.ac.uk/scotland/study/free-online-learning

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses

Duolingo – Learn a new language, free

Open Culture – 1,500 free courses from top Universities

Open Culture – learn 48 different languages online – FREE

Future Learn – Free, online courses including languages, health, coding, wellbeing, creative arts, etc. 

BBC languages – Learn languages online free

FrenchTeacher.Net – Free French study packs

A range of short, free online courses 

Cambridge University Press – ALL 700 textbooks are currently available FREE in HTML format 

Royal institute – Christmas lectures. A series of lectures presenting scientific subjects to a general audience in an entertaining manner.

We understand that this time can affect people in a variety of ways.  Make sure you look after your mental health as best you can and reach out if and when you need to.

Here are a few things that might help you cope at this time.

Take a look at some of these organisations that might be able to help, and have great advice on dealing with difficult times:

https://www.mind.org.uk

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

https://www.cruse.org.uk

http://www.penumbra.org.uk

WeMeditate – Live streamed, guided meditation sessions

MIND coronavirus and your wellbeing

Advice for parents during Coronavirus ( click image to expand)

Listening books.org – For people with Parkinson’s Disease, visual impairment, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, mental health difficulty or learning difficulty such as Dyslexia, which impacts the ability to read or hold a book

Fun, accessible, activity and game Apps for people with disabilities