Lockdown Reading: Take 2

Well, the inevitable has happened and we've seen a spike in COVID-19 cases. That means a return to lockdown until... who knows. We thought a month last time; it turned out to be 4. This time, specific areas- including my hometown of Oldham- have received orders to stay at home, not the whole country. Plus, the gym appears to still be open.

Between March and July, I read a splurge of books. I still have this pile to read, which has been in existence in one shape or another for nearly a decade now:

It's time to focus on reading again, but with a twist- I've put two seemingly unconnected challenges together before, with attempts to do the splits whilst reading. This somewhat unusual combination of targets I conjoined in a vain attempt to regain the flexibility I had in my 20s. (I've just turned 38.) Most recently (2018) I did this with the aid of Robb, an ointment good for warming muscles. 

For some years now I've had a bottle of Thai oil, an ointment mostly used in Thailand to increase circulation and prevent bruising. I've been meaning to use that for practising the splits. So- let's see what happens while I try this during Oldham's lockdown. A quick measurement between the ankles shows 1m 42, a long way off my 1m 65 record. We don't know when this local lockdown will be lifted, but I'm not expecting it to be any time soon.