A Handful of Games - 2020

End of year chores made up the day's bulk. Cleaned the oven which was a well overdue job so now it glistens and sparkles. I did the final shopping run of 2020, I tell you man, the Lidl down our road is never busy at the moment, it's absolute heaven to shop somewhere that isn't rife with riff-raff. Last but now least, I completed my write up for the best games I played this year. I always enjoy doing my annual round up, and this one I feel is a little sharper than most - Give it a read here if you have a moment!

Social Streamer

Rose early to be a part of a Twitch stream with a handful of other gaming YouTube folks. We were all basically coming together to share and discuss all of our favorite games of this year. I was actually the very first guest in the show and stuck around for almost two hours before they had to rotate someone else in. Had a real cute time doing it too, got to chat loads with people I'd never really met before - good bit of PR there!

Mark and Lucy swung by to do a present drop at our place too. We initially planned to go out for a walk but the sleet made us reconsider. Seeing them again at arms length made me more than ever wish for a bit more normality, we've all probably made personal 'what I'll do after the pandemic is over lists' and spending more time with friends like them if number one on that list.

Spicy Turkey

Turkey strikes again today as Rebecca squeezed the very most out of our leftovers. Soup for lunch, as prepped yesterday and a turkey green curry this evening for dinner. A handful of my home gorwn chili peppers are still knocking around so Rebecca asked if we could put them in as an extra spice. I remembered them being rather potent, but the few I picked I left to dry so I figured they'd mellow out a bit. I thought wrong. Worse still, Rebecca never learnt about the whole 'wash your hand after handling peppers' thing - some things you gotta learn the hard way. The ran shrieking from the kitchen and re-emerged with a cold compress against her eye. In solidarity, I bit into a chili flake and truthfully, I could barely put my tongue near one of these pepper, heaven only knows how bad it must sting if it gets into your eye.

Soul

Despite owning a mountain of cooked turkey, we needed to head out and buy some provisions. I elected to head to the supermarket and I while I know this is an all too common complaint, I was still agog at how busy it was and how many people still weren't wearing masks. Nine times out of ten I give people the benefit of the doubt, but while queuing I spotted a whole yuppie family together without any coverings. It triggered a very rapid level of intolerance deep within me, probably hailing form my Mother's side. I begun doing that thing where I fantasize about an interaction where I say something so snippy to them they immediately curl up and die with embarrassment while I'm lauded through ASDA as a Covid superhero. Instead I just bit my tongue and stewed by the self checkout... You know, the polite but unhealthy thing to do.

Luckily my spirits were lifted back at home, Rebecca and I took a spin on Disney Plus and watched Soul, the latest Pixar offering. You could boil it down to Inside Out meets La La Land and truthfully, that's exactly what you get. While no moment really 'wowed' me, it felt honest in all the right places and the gags were timed well with Richard Ayoade's character earning the most chuckles. I like how they didn't try to go for a big tear-jerking moment in this one too, but at the same time, it did feel a little toothless, the final 90 seconds in particular robbed one character of consequence. As a result though, it made for ideal Christmas Holiday viewing. A little funny and a little philosophical, it's the Pixar formula perfected, for better and for worse.

Boxing Day 2020

Still felt full when I woke up. Full of Christmas meats, chocolate and pudding. Like every Boxing Day I thought I'd try and pace myself on the decadent foods, but like every year, my standards slip near immediately after breakfast and now I feel the same as when I woke up. Rebecca and I treated today as a recuperation day, so we vegged out on the sofa for a time and I settled into the new game I got for Christmas, felt a bit bad for Rebecca because she almost didn't see me for half the day! Now we're back in Tier 3 the Christmas holiday is feeling a bit flat, weather has turned too so going outside isn't the nicest prospect. Guess we'll have to find some films to settle into in the meantime.

Merry Christmas 2020

For what feels like the first time ever in my life, I didn't wake upu in my parents house on Christmas morning. Instead, I honoured our breakfast traditions from my home in Bristol - grapefruit and glazed gammon + eggs for breakfast. Rebecca hadn't had the ham before but I reckon she's a convert now. We exchanged gifts just the two if us after breakfast and we hopped on a series of video calls, first of which was with Rebecca's parents, the latter was with my family. Though it was only in a limited capacity, it was truly wonderful to see that familiar living room brimming with the people nearest and dearest to me. Our call had some technical problems to begin with, but one we got into the swing it felt like second nature. We signed off wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

Shortly after we headed to Louis and Rachel's for our Christmas dinner. It cannot be overstated just how fantastically they both did, Rachel in particular was spinning so many plates, but it didn't phase her and lunch was served with beaming smiles all around the table. 

A short walk followed by a group return to our house followed suit. Louis and Rachel made comments about how chilly their home is so we lit a fire and warmed up with some port, cheese and television. 

It was undeniably a smaller Christmas, but my spirit was sated regardless. It marked my first Christmas with Rebecca and despite getting fewer gifts this year, it just goes to show that presents don't make the holiday - the people do. I sincerely wish that everyone felt at least a tingle of Christmas magic this year and had a wonderful 'alternative Christmas'!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2020

Plans for the big day tomorrow have all been finalised and the turkey has been passed on to Louis for roasting. To my incredible embarrassment I told him the wrong weight of the turkey, giving him a number I still don't know how I saw. Inexplicably, I told him it was 2.9kg, in reality, it was almost three times that size so they will have to improvise a bit when it comes to over spacing tomorrow.

Rebecca and I are in charge of the 'after dinner and nibbles' department, we stockpiled plenty if wine and cheese for the occasion. Additionally, I prepped my own cola boiled ham, as is now tradition in the Durrant household. I thought I'd messed it up about four times while cooking it, but it came out a treat. I leant in for a smell after it had cooled off and it transported me right back home to my dining room on Christmas morning. Can't wait to share it with Rebecca, Louis and Rachel for Christmas.

The Joys of Word Economy

Booted up my laptop for a day of writing, just like my furlough days and you know what, I had a blast. I'm curating my best games of the year list, something I always enjoy doing but I legitimately feel that my language skills have improved since last year. I'm all about condensing these days, summarising my thoughts on a game in under 150 words is a fun challenge for me, carefully examining my word economy and ensuring it reads well are tiny things I'm beginning to take more care and pleasure in. Just about wrote 80% of it today so I'll finish it up sometime before the year closes - look forward to that then.

Lidl Amount of Shoppers

I was laughing all the way through the supermarket. Our decision to get to Lidl bang on opening hours paid off hugely - there were literally only 5 other customers in the whole shop! Snagged a turkey, plus a smattering of all those Christmas goodies you can only get in Lidl/Aldi. Made a single error though... We didn't get anything to enjoy in the days leading up to Christmas. Every time I open up the fridge there's a wall of treats I can't have yet. It just sits there, taunting me. All I want is a little snack, I tucked into some of the beer I got on the cheap instead.

Long Distance Christmas

All things considered, it was a pretty social day. Popped round to see Louis and Rachel to drop off some homemade mince pies and discuss our new Christmas plans. Then there was a classic late afternoon gaming session with Mark and Daniel (Pirates today!). Then, Rebecca and I switched tuned into a webcam quiz, because lord know I haven't done enough of those this year. I did win it though so I can't really complain. 

I'll be waking up early alongside Rebecca tomorrow morning so we can take a crack at some Christmas food shopping. Hoping to get to Lidl 5 minutes after they open in a bid to swipe some cheeses, beers and nibbles... And maybe, just maybe a turkey.  

Tape Dispenser on my CV

Relegated once again to being the glorified tape dispenser while we wrapped our presents this year. I don't know why I complain really, I'm horrible at wrapping gifts (flying solo to tape up Rebecca's gifts today confirmed that once again). I spiced up my duties a bit by being the Christmas song DJ, Rebecca didn't even object to Tom Waits' Christmas song so I must have been doing something right.

Sat Rebecca down to watch It's A Wonderful Life, the best Christmas film she's never seen. I'd only seen it the once before tonight and its still one of the best films I've seen all year. It so easy to feel you heart get swept up in the ending, and by the time the credits roll your faith in humanity and yourself is invigorated - just a beautiful picture.

Early Bird Loses the Worm

Caught the worm like a proper early bird. Hit the shops just after daybreak to do the final sweep so we wouldn't need to leave the house again until Christmas. Made another batch of mince pies too, really warmed up and got in the Christmas mood. Then the Government announced their Tier 4 plans and everything went to shambles. Looks like I shan't be spending the big day with my parents anymore as Newbury is currently sat in a Covid hot zone, plan currently is to share the day with Louis and Rachel, cooking our first Christmas dinner and nursing any woes with copious amounts of beer, cheese and port. 

I think Mum took the news the hardest, while chatting with her on the phone she seemed particularly deflated. We agreed to do a webchat on Christmas morning to at least share some of the festivities together - I'm very much looking forward to that at least.

No More Work in 2020

 Damn, just realized I haven't pre-written a witty out of office email to flick on as I logged off today... 

Yes that is it for me for work in 2020, the filming is officially on its Christmas hiatus which means I finally have a license to sit back and feel good about all the hard work me and my team have been doing over the past 5 months. Tomorrow is a day bursting with opportunities and after hitting the shops nice and early, I'll probably make some more mince pies then call it a day. Fingers crossed Mark and Dan will be around for games then too, because I am hungry to spend some quality time with them.

Potent Presents

With 90% of my presents for others bought now I can finally start relaxing into the Christmas vibe. Ate a mince pie with my coffee and enjoyed basking in the glow of the Christmas Tree a little bit more than usual today. Maybe I'm just smiling on the inside while thinking about handing people their presents, that's a lovely feeling that only gets more potent with age.

Winding Down My 2020

With filming winding down, I've once again taken to my desk at home to do a few odd jobs. There's a bit push to get a bunch of new year accommodation things sorted which is a job that'll trickle through into my tomorrow too. Other than that though I think its smooth sailing for the time being. I keep thinking about how much I'm looking forward to Christmas this year, haven't seen my family in months and spending some quality time will be lovely.

No One Can Chill Food Like Me

Day two on the floor went swimmingly well, once I got over the lunch ordering hurdle once again. I roped in our other production Assistant to help me grab the food once it was ready and boy, did I end up feeling mighty bad for her. She struggled to find parking near the restaurant and got stuck in traffic, she felt mighty awful about it all too thinking she held the whole shoot up but in reality, we were running slightly behind anyway and could afford to wait 10 minutes no problem. 

had my first brush with a mini star today too, they were in the studio today for their first shooting day and I was charged with making them tea, taking their food orders and helping them out in general- easy stuff really. Halfway through the day they asked me to put their food... in a fridge. This warranted a friendly arm tap and a 'thanks a million from them'. Probably the highest ranking compliment I've ever earned for something so hilariously trivial.

DOP Got No Keys

Sun was still rising while I drove to work. I was once again thrusted into the world of floor running today, the skeleton crew made the workload manageable, I can't say the same for our locations mobile reception though which made everything that much harder. Once done in the middle of nowhere I got the incredibly bizarre job of driving our Director of Photography back to Bristol after he lost his car keys. Got him back safe and sound for the remainder if the afternoon which was done in the studio, pretty cushy gig at that point. Back there again tomorrow, for what may bethe final day of filming in 2020!

What Goes on my List?

Joined forces with Louis today to brainstorm potential present ideas for the family members who are commonly tough to buy for. Short of planning, Louis instead managed to smash out some spot on suggestions that I will ride on the tailcoats of by covering 50% of the buying costs. Real load off my mind that, I was fearsome we may have to do our infamous traipse across Bristol bespoke shops and grab something tasteful, if last minute. I think that's on tradition we can thankfully forgo this year.

Now I can focus my attention toward what I want for Christmas, and for the first time in my life, I am at a total loss. When I was 8 I wanted Hotwheels, Operation or anything from the Argos catalogue that was modestly priced. Now that I'm on the outskirts of 28 I simply don't know what else I really want or need for Christmas. Maybe I just need to rack my brain some more, certainly I don't want to think that my inner child has died a death.

Chances of Chances

Filled a thermos up with coffee and headed out to spend some time with friends for the first time since the second lockdown was initiated. We wrapped up plenty warm too since we'd have to do our socializing outdoors, but that was a worthy trade-off because it was a welcome reprieve to chat to a comparatively new person face to face. Just before we bid farewell to the we strolled past a road near their house and our friends bumped into one of their family friends... who just so happened to be Erica Roe. Though that was a crazy brush with a pseudo celebrity, what made it even more bonkers was that halfway through the conversation they learnt up against a van parked on the street which just so happened to be one of the vans I'd hired out for a member of our crew. What even are the odds of this chance encounter - it boggles my mind to even ponder on this coincidence.

Once I'd settled down from that brush with destiny, Louis asked if I could join in for an online gaming tournament he'd organized in lieu of our usual Christmas Smash Bro games. Our friend group have been separated into two teams and we're competing in a slew of games, ever match is also free for everyone to spectate so we've been commentating and cheering on our team-mates. It's been a huge success so far, I've earned a few points for my team too but the spirit of togetherness is what really ind it all together.

Flaunt Yer Jumper Day

Part of my daily duties on Monday and Tuesday next week involved finding takeaway places that'll serve 25ish people for lunch. In a past life, dreaming up menus for large groups was probably my forte, but every time I land this responsibility on jobs I always overthink it. I'm the least fussy eater in the world (though once again I discovered I still cannot swallow a mouthful of lebkuchen) but I always think about the fussy eaters and how they'll complain if the food I sourced wasn't to their liking. Eventually, I wear my brain down and learn to say 'sod that person' and that's how I landed on two decent places for the next few days. Even gave them each a courtesy call to let them know to anticipate a bigish order next week - fingers crossed, everything should go smoothly.

As it was National Christmas Jumper Day today it felt fitting to don my lovely sweater that Rebecca got me during our first year of dating. Shame non of my co-workers could see it since I'm still working from home, but it did help me get into the feel of the season. For obvious reason, this Christmas has felt a little stunted so far, but I am very much looking forward to finally seeing my family all together again on the big day. That thought is really carrying me through the coming weeks.

Cyberpunk 2077

Snuck out of bed very early to sink in a few hours of Cyberpunk 2077 in before work started. To my chagrin, I had to download more of the game, then wait for it to be installed, then there was another download, I waited an additional three hours this morning before I got a chance to finally dive in... and I quickly learnt one thing: I will probably need to invest in a new graphics card sooner than I anticipated. 

I continued the home working and got briefed on what I would be doing next week. A pair of filming days have been locked in and they need a floor runner for those two days, I'm a man of many hats after all so I've been summoned to fit that role once again. Looking forward to it already.

Part Time Santa

Loose ends needed tying up first thing today. I scooped up a handful of items I needed to return to Amazon from our main office before settling in back at home to work from my own desk. I then had the joy of trying to remember which return label correlated to which parcel, then I had to schedule a walking route to the high-street to drop them off at the correct post offices. Felt like a part time Santa.

In my downtime I went on a mini Christmas present buying spree and ticked several people off my list. Though I spent longer than I care to admit trying to buy Rebecca her Christmas card online. I kept adding it to my basket, then it sold out, then it came back in stock again... then it sold out again! I've never typed my debit card details in so fast because this was the perfect card for her so I didn't want to let it slip through my fingers. Luckily I got it in the end - I can sleep soundly knowing that it's on it's way here to put a smile on her face.

My Old Desk

Crazy to think that I started this film job back in August. One of the very first tasks I was given was to go and retrieve a smattering of fans to cool off the production team. A few months later that office is cold to the touch while it's occupants beg for a way to turn the radiators on. These were the type of thoughts running through my mind while I helped Mark reshuffle the tables and chairs in said office - the filming crew needed a place to sit and eat during lunch so the office's structure was sacrificed forthe greater good. Once done there, I was granted permission to work from home (it was my turn to do that, not just me being soft), a few hours later it sounded like hone was the right place to be because the crew all got stood down after a Covid scare. All I could think about was that now empty office where all our work began.  

Giving Receipts the Cold Shoulder

Gracious me it's chilly. Lucky for me I get to sit in a nice warm mobile office but everytime I stepped out for lunch or to drop something off the chills hit me hard. So I huddled up by the warm glow of my laptop and consolidated my receipts which was an unbridled joy. My mince pies went down a treat though and helped brighten the day for many stressed people in the truck today. Made it back just in time to give Rebecca a cuddle before bed too. This next week we're back in Central Bristol and we couldn't be happier with the short commutes.

High Time for Pie Time

Continuing the Christmas vibes, I rustled up a special batch of mince pies this afternoon. Made my own pastry in accordance to a Mary Berry recipe (the secret is rubbing orange zest into the pastry itself). I zhuzhed up my shop-bought mincemeat with some dried cranberries, port and orange juice too, the only thing I didn't totally nail was the pie lids. for some of them Rebecca and I attempted a type of lattice thing with varying degrees of success, for some others I wanted to try the classic lid look, but once they came out the oven the lids just sat atop them like ill-fitting bin tops. Though they aren't lookers, they taste the part - fingers crossed they make an impression when I bring them into work tomorrow.

Decking Our Halls

Just like real adults, Rebecca and I splashed out a bit this year and bought our first honest to goodness Christmas tree. Everyone always raves about how good real trees smell and in all honesty, I couldn't tell you what one smelt like, but today the scent registered with me and instantly took me back to the Christmases of yester-year. Though we put the tree up early this morning we waited until the sun went down before we conducted the ritual of listing to all the best Christmas songs while decorating the tree. Here's the result!

 

This is the best picture we managed to get, a short while later, after I lit a fire, put a film on and settled down with a hot chocolate all the lights on the tree suddenly died... guess we'll be doing Christmas decorating part 2 tomorrow with some replacement lights at the ready.

Rough, Soggy Day

Ploughed through one of the toughest film days of my life this Friday. Started early with the return of the van, then a trip up to a hire place followed by another short trip back to our offices. When I budgeted for time initially I thought I could even head home afterwards for a coffee and a read... That was a mistake. My morning chores begun snowballing as new jobs trickled in so I arrived on set bang on Breakfast call. This time as a member of Locations Department. My first job... Take breakfast orders for the whole department plus the security team (12 in total). My foot seldom came off the accelartor for the rest of the day, especially after the rain begun chucking it down, leaving me and another chap in charge of putting tents up. By the end of the shoot we all looked like drowned rats, I cranked the heating up in my car and grinned all the way home knowing that I'd soon be in my warm bed.

Bye Bye Brean

For my final trip up to Brean I was lucky enough to get a lift in. This of course came with the caviet that I would drive the big-boy van back to Bristol at the end of the day. Got pretty cosy driving it at the national speed limit, with very few drivers out and about I could just enjoy the drive and listen to the radio - made me feel like a budding trucker. Tomorrow I was asked if I could don yet another hat by temporarily joining the Locations department for the day. Don't really know what their department entails so it'll be a learning experience.

Christmas Movie Deathmatch

Did the double Brean trip again today, returning kit and various expensive bits of camera equipment back to their homes. When I wasn't driving around I was locked into a heated debate about the best Christmas films. Over the last few days I'd been constructing a 'Christmas Movie Deathmatch' tournament for the people to on the shoot to vote on. It really kicked off today though as we opened up the voting to the entire shooting crew for a bit if Christmas cheer. I'm very happy to report that people were very impressed with the lengths I went to in order to organize it, that really made me smile.

Cosy Confines

Really didn't want to get out of bed this morning. A very small, but important little pre-arrangement I made for someone's travel plans at work fell through last minute so it fell back to me to figure out an alternative. Though I had a handful of options I was fairly reluctant to leave the cosy confines of my bed to try and crack open a solution. Once work started I got to researching and very quickly found the holy problem-solver, all within 30 minutes of starting. That relief carried me throughout the day and it was immeasurably reassuring in retrospect to realize, once again, that there's very often a good answer to a problem and that I shouldn't feel overly daunted by something.

Fidgit Bottom

Got to Brean, then got to drive back to Bristol and then back to Brean... Then back home. My bum hurts from all the driving but I got plenty of motorway practice which is a plus. I really do think I've re-listened to most of my Tom Waits albums now as I oddly find it to be great driving music. Picked up a new appreciation for Swordfishtrombones and Mule Variations, both are the ideal length for my daily drive too. Plus when I'm working from home Rebecca vetoes his music so I gotta get my fill while I can.

Guilt Quesidillas

Best part of my day: eating homemade quesidillas. Worst part of my day: the pangs of guilt I felt when I ate too many homemade quesidillas... Whenever the opportunity to save food for tomorrow's lunch arises I instead get greedy and just want to eat everything straight away, always have and I probably always will. 

The day surrounding dinner was fine too. Went for a brief walk across the foogy Bristol streets while catching up on all the episodes of The West Wing had I been working socialble hours last week... Just one more week of Brean ahead of us, then it starts getting cosy again - I already cannot wait.

City Slackers

Rebecca and I took a load off today. Couldnt even be bothered to do the weekly shop so we lumped it until tomorrow. Instead we had a very busy day of doing nothing, and we're better people for it. In fact, we felt so lazy that we ordered pizza and watched Scream with red wine tonight. I don't think a human being is capable of 'switching off' any moreso than we did today, if you think you've ever done a better day of slacking off then all the more power to you.   

Out of Gas Canisters

Though I had to make a brief excursion out into the street of Bristol today (our forklift apparently ran out of gas in the middle of our warehouse a doorway so I took the trip to get more canisters), I saw the day through from the comfort of my desk. We learnt that Rebecca cannot stand the sound of my phone vibrating when I get notifications, which turns out to be quite frequently, so I kept it close to scoop up any calls for myself. Quite an odd way to end a work week though, didn't even get to do the drive home where the anticipation of the work week begins bubbling away on the inside. I just logged off turned around and hey-ho, I was home. Guess I shouldn't complain, got the whole weekend ahead of me now with only lockdown inhibiting my imagination.

Ace Scraper

The temperature dropped dramatically today, to the point where I had to scrape the ice off my car after finishing work. Every time I use the ice scraper Rebecca convinced me to buy I end up feeling very grateful. Got me out of Brean anyway and for that I'm eternally grateful.

Work itself was a pretty manic one, late night for me again with the rushes but it gives me a great excuse to sleep in tomorrow.

Double Screen Life Saver

Tell you what, two monitors really is better than one. While working from home today I settled into doing some really mind-numbingly boring logging work and having a good desk set up made the work at least manageable. Coffee and Rebecca's company kept me going today too - though it is undeniably nice to work from the comfort of my own home, I do feel like I'm missing out on the action a little bit... especially when the day's lunch menu gets put up on our group chat. Missed out an a homemade Madras Curry tonight!

Bring me a Hire Love

From the get-go, the day was pretty full throttle. Just while I was eating my breakfast I was taking calls and formulating a plan for the day. On the drive down to work I had plenty of time to prioritize everything, when I finally stepped onto our truck I begun making a flurry of calls. In just two hours I managed to:

• Schedule a courier to France
  
• Hire two luton vans from two different hire companies
• Hire a scissor lift

All the while I was elected to be office DJ for the day, so I had the added pressure of having to read the room and pick tunes to suit the vibe. Honestly, that was the most stressful part!

Big Rigs Part Deux

Headed to work not in a car today, but in another big old van. Picked it up in Bristol and drove it all the way along to Brean. I didn't want to hoof it all the way there so I stuck to the left hand lane where I could, though we I had to go for a sneaky overtake I was happy to. Best part was how I was actually in an elevated cab while driving, at long last I could share and eye-line with other truck drivers. When they saw me overtaking them, I like to think they turned their head to look in awe at the chap passing by. Instead they get to see a 20-something in a cardigan that badly needs a haircut.

Crimbo Cake

Plucked the first of my lemon tree's lemons in aid of adding some more zest and juice to our Christmas cake. Rebecca and I have never baked one before so we thought we'd give it a go. I was in charge of boiling down the booze and dried fruit, within moments, the whole house smelt like Christmas came early. We were helping ourselves to a generous number of taster spoonfuls of mixture, plus a few crumbs of the final product. Just got to keep feeding it brandy for the next and then we can tuck in!

Speaking of cake, we took our weekly pilgrimage to up to North Street to check out the Sunday Market, we'd never seen the chimney cake man before so it felt rude not to sample his treats. We plucked coils of cinnamon-sugar cake while queing to get a coffee from mynold cafe. They'd recently had an exodus of staff (all for wholesome reasons) so they were more delighted than usual to see me. Made me miss the barista life a little bit, but I was proud to tell then my new job was going well.

License to Chill

Licence to chill today. No emails, no phonecalls. Just the weekly shop and some hoovering, after that it wasa free for all. Spent some time with Rebecca, played games online with Mark and Dan and watched more if The West Wing - perfect Saturday.

I even opted to make fajitas for dinner, a well-loved meal in our house, but this time I wanted to try and make it extra special by making my own torlilla wraps. We had all the ingredients lying around (minus the lard, never bought that in a supermarket til today) so whipping up a batch wasn't too strenuous. The end result was incredibly tasty and well worth the effort, I made them all about 1/4cm too thick so they were more like Middle Eastern flarbreads, but that honestly wasn't a bad thing. Already know how to make the second batch even better.

Counting Muddy Sheep

Took the trip back to Brean today. I thought I was being all clever and sneaky by setting my sat nav to avoid the disruptive road closure, but though most of the journey was brand new, Google Maps spluttered me back to the same junction, with the same road closure sign. Wearily, I swallowed the 20 extra minutes it added to my journey, and turned onto the alternative country road. Two minutes along that, I saw something that looked just like a herd of sheep on the road, and sure enough, it was. I was literally driving into the 'road trip from hell' cliche. A pair of farmers were desperately trying to wrangle two dozen sheep while pulling two out of a ditch in the road. I just laughed it off mostly and caught this wonderfully surreal snapshot:

Despite the long trip, the day went well. Got plenty done again and the day went quick as a result. About to drive back home with the rushes in tow, then I'm off to bed for a well-deserved 2 day weekend.

Unbeatable Commute

Quite relieved to be working from home today, for no other reason than having access to stable internet for the day. I managed to get loads done as a result, including taking care of a taxi order gone wrong. I won't bore you with the details, but I did get to write a shirty email to a cab company demanding a refund. I rarely get the chance to get my sassy attitude out so that was a bit of fun. It is weird working from home until 11:30 at night though. Had my dinner up by my desk while Rebecca sat in her office chair to join me. Right now, Rebecca's gone to bed and and I've only just signed off at work. So while it is weird, you just can't beat the commute home. Better cherish it though, another late night tomorrow, after that though it's a whole two day weekend!

Blown Away by Brean

Between fighting road closures, dodgey internet and gale force winds, we had our first big day down in Brean. Once we got settled though, the day wasn't so rough. I was mostly chasing up emails and counting radios to return. There was a lot of chat about homemade mince pies at work which got me thinking about my baking efforts last year. Perhaps I'll have to make a new batch...

Mail Boy

Our last day in our studio for a while was today, with the crew so nearby I basically became the mail boy for the day. Just got to run around with parcels and wrestle with photocopiers today while everyone else was rocking and rolling in front of, effectively a massive green screen. Not to say I didn't getto have my own brand of fun today. I set the wheels turning on a long term game our Production Truck can enjoy in the lead up to Christmas that'll result in some fun debates.

Tomorrow, I head to Brean for a loooong old day. Feeling positive about it though, we all gotta keep on trucking.

Ebb and Flow of Film Work

Later start at work today so I took my sweet, sweet time getting out of bed. Treated myself to a few video games with breakfast too, I budgeted plenty of time to try and complete a game I'm working through at the moment. All was right in the world. Then in the span of 90 seconds I got 2 phonecalls and a text message and an email, 4 separate jobs that needed my immediate attention. So I booked a skip to get collected, arranged a taxi cab, sent a confirmation email and called ups ome people who had gone to the wrong place... Then I went back to video games... 

Then I got another email telling me I had 10 minutes to get to work to pass a package onto a courier. In a frenzy, I made it to work (Mark wasa legend though and stood on  standby for me while I drove in). Then the courier didn't even show up! Rubbish!

Rest if the day moved at a steady clip, had loads if jobs to do which kept me busy well into the evening. Then when it quietened down a bit, the production team snuck in a few cheeky games of Dobble. Manic one moment, still waters the next - welcome to the world if filming.

Where did my Sunday Go?

Aside from going for a little walk, I fulfilled my dream of turning into a coach potato this Sunday. All I did was eat, nap and eat some more, by the evening my healing was complete. Just as begun settling into the groove of my weekend I realized it was in fact Sunday and work starts up again tomorrow. One more day if filming our first block tomorrow, then we change director and a few other members of our crew, we're all keen to see how the new unit will function. But not as keen as I am to go to sleep right now.

Heading East of Eden

Felt a bit like a mother hen as I walked into the Production Truck, arms full of Lucosade, paracetamol and coconut water. Last night's drinking session took a tiny toll on a few of us this morning, but we quickly bounced back to complete the final day at the Eden Project. You could tell there was an eagerness in the air for everyone to just finish the day and get home - I know I felt that way anyway. Did the drive home fairly late tonight, thankfully the journey felt quick and the roads were incredibly clear. I'm now tucked in bed with Rebecca already dreaming about a lazy Sunday.

Party at Eden

My biggest job of the day was buying enough alcohol for our 'almost done in Eden' party. I queued up at the supermarket with £100+ of booze and I had to quietly explain that we weren't having an illegal drinking party, we were responsible, negatively tested adults who have been working crazy hard for 2 months. The check-out lady looked like she'd seen it all already though and gave me no trouble.

With beers in hand I spent the evening unwinding with the team and getting to know them all a little better. I've spent so much time isolating in the truck I'd almost forgotten there was another 30 humans working their collective socks off to try and bring this project to life. Between beers and board games, I felt humbled to be in their presence.

Big Eden Day

This was the big day. The big Eden Project with 200 extras day. I donned my Runner hat once more to help out with the crowd, while being briefed by the 2nd AD he flippantly said 'It's gonna be like Vietnam' - I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

There I was, stationed inside the humid Eden Project dome with double PPE on, moving swathes of people around set. I was part of a massive team though and as a result of plenty of prep and hard work it felt like we totally nailed the day. I'm knackered now though, but chuffed to have such a big day under our belt.

Beach Beats Bake Off

Clawed my eyes open this morning all for the sake of watching Bake Off on catch up. There I was, scrambling around trying to plug a my laptop into the hotel TV in my pants, I thought I'd be polite and listen to it on my headphones. Shock horror, I left my headphones in the boot of my car. Reluctantly, I got dressed, and groggily pawed my way outdoors trying hard not to make eye contact with any contact with my early bird colleagues (I was wearing yesterday's clothes). Mission failed, I bumped into a Runner who started talking to me. "I'm heading to the beach to go surfing, wanna come along?" Impulse kicked in, hell yeah I wanna go to the beach. So I did.

30 minutes later I was strolling along a windswept coastline, poking my head into caves and watching the waves. Very lucky I left my headphones in the car - got to enjoy a bit of the seaside all before work!

I had a fairly easy day compared to one of my team. They got up at 5am to drive to Bristol and then back to Cornwall, with 30 minutes left of her journey her car's clutch broke on the motorway. Worse still, it'll be £800 to repair it. Glad I wasn't her.

Getting Lost in Lostwithiel

Writing this blog while I'm still in the production truck - we just called wrap but I'm sticking around to help put people into taxis if need be.

I set my alarm for 8:15 this morning with the full intention on riding my snooze button long into the early hours of the morning. For whatever reason though, I bolted awake immediately and found myself sat in my hotel room with 4 hours to kill. Fortunately Lostwithiel is one of the better places to be marooned in, the Sun was out and it beckoned me outside for a stroll. So I did just that. Went for a walk along the river bank, saw the famous Tudor Bridge and waltzed around the perimeter of the town. Felt very lucky to be able to do that today, it was certainly a lovely way to start the day.

With just over an hour left before I needed to be at work I decided to give my Grandmother a call and it was great to chat with her. We chatted about our gardens, she's been offloading potatoes and strawberries like it was going out of fashion apparently, made me wish I was her neighbour! I signed off wishing her a good day and she did the same back, I think some of that well wishing made a difference because my day went rather well. Smashed all the job I had to do today and I'm in a good position to do the same tomorrow. 

Back to Eden

My first 'flying solo' trip down the motorway went just like every journey does: it lasted a little longer than is comfortable. It was a breeze in all honesty, just got a bit fidgety during the final hour, but glad to say I did it.

Immediately after the ling drive it was right into the thick of it. Another full on day, tempered with the exciting thought that we were indeed, filming at the Eden Project. Through all the long days, stressful times and tough moment, it all felt worth it once I got the chance to wander freely around the Eden Project at night time. It's not open to the public because if Covid so we basically have the run of the place. You know in movies where a friend of the main character let's them into a museum after hours - same kind of magic.

Just arrived at my hotel, thrown my shoes off and hooked my Switch up to their TV. Sleep now but I'll enjoy a late start and some games in the meantime.

Motorway Ready

Tackled another one of life's first this morning, I say this fully aware that this isn't something a 27 year old often celebrates, but here goes: I drove for the motorway for the first time ever today. With Rebecca riding shotgun and acting as my guide, she showed me the ropes and offered several helpful tips and tricks. Though I was tense to start with, I eased into the journey quickly and swiftly got the measure of how it all worked. Tomorrow I'm due to make a big trip down to Cornwall for filming so that'll be the real test, but as it stands, I have no quarrel making the trip. I've pre-made a lengthy playlist of catchy music to keep my mind occupied too (It is a 2 and a half hour journey after all so I'll need something) just hope my phone doesn't overheat while acting as my GPS, otherwise I'm all happy.

The hardest part about being away from Rebecca over the next week won't be the fact I'll be living in a hotel by myself. It'll be lying to her afterwards about how I definitely did not watch any of The West Wing without her. In all but name, we've been binge watching that show all weekend and it's going to be tough going cold turkey on it for the next few days - guess that'll be the glistening light at the end of the tunnel.

The Northern Slopes Take 3

 Next week I'll be down in Cornwall for work so I wanted to spend some quality time with Rebecca. Though I opted out of doing the weekly shop with her (I cited new Covid, 'one person does the shopping' legislation, but in reality I was just feeling lazy) but otherwise I wanted to do some nice things together that defined us. That mostly entailed watching The West Wing while getting take out, but towards the latter half of the day I wanted to show her a nice view I found on a walk I did a few months back. I've mentioned The Northern Slopes here a few times now, but I've finally managed to pinpoint exactly where the core beauty spots are. My intention was to take us out on a Wintery picnic on the highest hill that overlooks Bristol while the sun sets with coffee and Portuguese tarts. Though the view was nice, it was hazy on account of people having weekend Bonfire Night's, plus the day itself was a little dreary. So while we enjoyed the coffee and the grey skyline, it wasn't as magical or transformative as I'd hoped - she had a nice time, but I just wanted it to pack a bit more of a punch.

One Way System

Gotta love Bristol's one way system. I was out and about doing several drop offs this afternoon and got to learn first hand just how long it takes to get anywhere in this city. Don't get me wrong, as a 98% pedestrian, I love it, but when I've got timed deadlines to hit, having to drive for 15 minutes when my sat nav tells me I could walk to the same place in 12 minutes is a bit demoralizing. That was my day for the most part, even though I've only technically been back at work for the past few days, it feels like a whole weeks worth has blown through me within 48 hours. Despite it being lockdown, I want to do something cute with Rebecca this weekend.

Almost Forgetting the 5th of November

Didn't even skip a beat as we all headed back into the groove of filming. I settled back into my space on the truck and it was like I never left. We were working into the early evening, all the while we could hear the almighty thunder of fireworks as every house in Bristol seemingly celebrated the first night in lockdown. There was so much smoke in the air I legitimately considered putting my full beams on while driving home. Shame to have missed out on the festivities, but I got to see some fireworks from a glance at least.

Up and Down to The Studio

It was all systems go at my desk this morning. Had plenty of jobs to keep me occupied and arguably not enough time to do it all in. I drove up to our studios on three separate occasions, once for my new speedy Covid test (I tested negative woop-woop), the second time I was doing drop offs and fixing a printer and finally I went in the evening to collect the day's footage so our editors have something to play with. Tomorrow marks the first proper day of returning to filming and I'm actually kinda excited for it, free breakfasts help but I've made some bonds with the crew now and I miss their faces.

The Slow Return to Filming

Creeping into the last few days of working from home before we get back to filming. News about the lockdown has actually had very little effect on us, in fact, in many ways it's a benefit. Several of our locations are public spaces but with everything shut down now we have free rein over plenty of spots. Naturally our Covid precautions are going up a bit, me and the rest of the crew are getting tested again tomorrow just to be on the safe side, been feeling pretty healthy over the last few days so I've got a good feeling about the result.

Enjoyed the final night of having Louis and Rachel over for Bake Off before lockdown strikes again. Going to miss being able to have people over in general, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles. May need to start thinking about new virtual pub quiz rounds too...

Falling for The West Wing

Sacked off using my laptop today in favour of using my hefty PC. One of my first jobs of the day was cross referencing a pair of spreadsheets so my two monitors made short work of it. Sadly, the one thing a dual screen set-up can't do is locate a modestly priced Luton van to hire in Bristol. Seems like everyone is scrambling to hire them before we get into lockdown 2.0 so they were in short supply. We sourced a workaround though and all was right in the world.

Rebecca and I started watching The West Wing over the weekend and we've already fallen head over heels in love with it. Feels oddly timely with the US election coming up, whatever the outcome of that, at least we have a fictional president who's everything we could hope for.

A Whisker Away

A civil war wouldn't have disturbed Rebecca from her slumber this morning,so I snuck out if bed to get a head start on enjoying my Sunday. Mostly virtual sailing in the high seas once again, followed by more games by myself.

I did spend the evening watching a newish film with Rebecca though. Netflix's 'A Whisker Away' is an anime film about a Japanese schoolgirl who can turn into a cat. Simple and charming enough premise, but somehow the film struggled to win me over. Somewhere between the odd pacing, brash characters and uncomfortable sexual undercurrent it just failed to engage me. If anything, it made me appreciate just how easy Studio Ghibli projects make anime filmmaking look.

Happy Halloween 2020

Just moments ago, I realised I almost ended a Halloween without listening to 'The Monster Mash'. Thankfully, I honoured that tradition just in time.

Due to the nature of the world this year we decided not to go super hard for Halloween this year. Didn't go nuts with the sugary treats, but we did carve a pumpkin a play some spooky video games while we waited for the Sun to set... Because then, we had guests. Louis and Rachel to be exact, they came over for a viewing of Psycho which was a bugger hit than I anticipated. Obviously the government's announcement about lockdown part two was arguably scarier than any film we could've picked, but for that 110 minutes we forgot all about the world and remained on the edge of our seats.

Rough Cut Call

Got to go on a little jaunt around Bristol this afternoon to do some drop offs, but not before taking advantage of the company printer to make a copy of this year's pumpkin stencil. It ain't Halloween until the scent of pumpkin innards fills my nostrils - that'll be a tomorrow activity.

As a little end of week treat all the cast and crew got together on a massive webcam chat to watch a super rough cut of everything we've filmed recently. I've only really seen storyboards, but the scenes came to life thanks to the hard work if literally every single member of the team. I can't wait to see the final product.

Bakery Breakfast

 Bid our visitor farewell this morning, but not before feeding them a a slap up breakfast of high-quality porridge and freshly baked pastries, courtesy of our local bakery. I had several odd jobs to get on with today, including going on a little drive up to our studio to pick up some post. Let my hair down a bit this evening as Mark and the producer of the show we're working on all played some games over webcam together. We did something similar over lockdown and this too had the same low-key, wholesome vibes. Though those kind of nights are often tinged with the melancholy of isolation, the joy comes in rebelling against that feeling and reminding ourselves of what life was, and could be like once we get through 2020. 

Guest Number 1

Happy to announce that we've hosted our first over night guest since moving house tonight too. An old uni friend was visiting relatives nearby and decided to call upon us for a place to lay his head which was extremely flattering. I rustled up a classic, but no less impressive, cottage pie and we wittled away the hours with board games and red wine. An incredibly warm evening all round, a rare, but wholesome encounter in these strange times.

The Walk Around

 Drove up to our studio first thing today to collect a hire car. I've gotten pretty good at 'the walk around' that awkward part where you circle round the car and point out all the dinfs and scuffs to a clipboard wielding bloke. I'm sure some microcultures would perceive this activity as male bonding, I just want it over and done with ASAP.

Back at my desk I booked a taxi and tidied up my Google Drive. Spent a bit long of time looking into new laptops again but its proving very difficult to find one that suits my needs. Nice keyboard and a large enter key is basically my only 'must have' feature and that's harder to find than I expected. At least the roaring fan on my current laptop is keeping me warm in the chilly dining room...

Return to my Home Desk

Working from home today as filming has been temporarily put on hold. Luckily, I was never more than a few paces away from my kettle and coffee grinder so I may have gone a little overboard when it came to coffee consumption. I also got to round off a lot of my odd jobs that needed doing, I fleshed out a few of our logs and squared off a vehicle hire for tomorrow morning. Best of all though, I got to spend most of the day close to Rebecca, during lockdown we grew quite fond of our little 'separate office, but within speaking distance' dynamic and deep down I could tell she was thrilled to have someone to keep her company while she worked from home.

Rebecca - Netflix

Our makeup department passed out a handful of moisturizing face masks to us lot in production the other week, though they have a feminine vibe, I thought I'd give one a shot during this lazy Sunday. After washing my face, Rebecca helped me apply what was essentially a soaked piece of seaweed with creepy slits for my eyes, nose and mouth. I looked like Halloween had come early, I felt wet and miserable on the inside for the whole 15 minutes it lingered on my cheekbones, like an unwanted mollusc. Once I peeled it off, I felt no different either. Lets just say I'm not a convert.

Another thing I wasn't mad about was Ben Wheatley's take on Rebecca which recently appeared on Netflix. It's obviously unfair to compare this film to the Hitchcock version, I went in with a blank canvas of expectations, hoping to see a creepy, but gripping chiller/drama. What I got was an unaired Downton Abbey Halloween special mascerading as a poor-man's Shutter Island. The original story is so remarkable, yet here, it fails to raise an eyebrow because it lacks any soul or identity. It's not that it's a bad film, it's just not a good one - arguably that's the most damning criticism there is.  

Now We're Cooking with Wood

Posted a big batch of Covid tests first thing this morning, the cold and the rain outside mean that afterwards all we wanted to do was swaddle up indoors. But not before buying some firewood for our woodburner - the little piece of our house we've yet to test out. A chimney sweep visited earlier in the week to check our wood burner and remove any gubbins sitting inside the chimney. He wrote us out a certificate giving us the all clear and this evening we decided to indulge in a warming fire. Had a few false starts lighting it as we decided to use up some of the old, musty kindling first, but once it got going it was delightful - just the ticket during the dead of Autumn.

It was some point in the evening when the heat tickled my toes and I could see the light of the flickering flames dancing on the walls when I realised this house has become a home. 

Post-Wrap Post

I was back running on the floor today, got to mingle (at a safe distance) with our main cast members too as I travelled them to and from set which felt pretty rock and roll. Filming actually wrapped 40 minutes ahead if schedule which was delightful, our production team packed up to leave at 6 on the dot, though I'm always the last to trickle out as I print off callsheets.

Just as I was slinging my bag on my should, our Covid Supervisor walks in and informs me I need to immediately post 15 tests to upcoming crew members who need swabs before they can work with us. Typically we do this job at lunchtime, but for whatever reason this task was suddenly dropped on me, and just me, after everyone else had gone home. So I put on a happy face and cracked on with the job at hand, sending a reassuring email once I was done. Gotta hit the post office tomorrow now with a mountain of letters, hope they don't hate me too much!

Stepping On Once Again

Strapped my running belt on and headed into the fray. Though I was sold a hellish day full of screaming school kids, the day actually went pretty well. There were 5 runners total so everything just went like clockwork, I daresay I was getting a small buzz off being back on set too. Though it was undoubtedly busy, it was good work and nice to be amidst the crew I only ever otherwise chat with over email.

Also, I was blessed today with a chance encounter for the books. Just flippantly I headed towards set to check on some bits and I spotted a courier was knocking around, dropping bits and pieces off. I went up to check if there was anything for us and it was an old colleague from Coffee #1! We had a super brief chat and did the little covid-friendly elbow bump, but I was just smitten with how small this world feels sometimes. 

Won't be my First Rodeo

I was rather busy today, not uncomfortably so but there was always a set of plates to spin. Sounds like another van hire is in the cards, now that I'm a seasoned van hirer the process should be very smooth. I delighted a Fleetwood Mac obsessed colleague by introducing them to the live, acoustic version of Big Love (one of Dad's favourites). They were so enamored with it they immediately hit replay and thanked me for the recommendation.

About halfway through the day Mark ominously beckoned me into the tiny backroom office for a private chat. 'Uh oh' thought I, as I mentally fortified myself for some bad news. With a big smile on his face he asked if I could help out and act as a Floor Runner for the day tomorrow. I said I be delighted. He heartily swung the door open and bellowed 'He said yes!' And there was a miniature, but not inaudible cheer at this announcement. So yeah, for one day only I'll be back in the saddle, radio on, set bag handy and ready to work on set. Pretty excited, just want to make sure I don't let the squad down because tomorrow is a big day.

Bye Bye Cafetieres

And so, our hero returned the cafetieres and saved the production budget a sizeable chunk of money. He then rewarded himself with lashing sausage, bacon and eggs from the catering truck - a happy ending to this morning's exploits. 

The remainder of the day was spent consolidating petty cash receipts and chasing post. I got the briefly visit set today to drop off a lunch order, almost made me miss being a runner!

Cafetiere / Coffee

I've become accustomed to late starts at work, so when we get a call time of 7am it felt incredibly foreign. It was still dark when I arrived in fact, but that didn't stop me smelling out the 'Meat-Free Monday' breakfast menu. Settled into a nice working groove today despite making a blunderous faux pax. Our 2nd AD came in, gestured towards the cafetieres and asked if we had any more. Lip reading is hard to do with facemasks so I told him no but we can go out and get some. So I sent someone out to grab some more French Presses, I presented them to him and he was like 'what the heck are these for?' Turns out he wanted coffee, plain and simple. I felt so bad for the runner I sent out I elected to take the receipt and return them all tomorrow to make up for their wasted time.

Return to A&E

Finished writing my blog last night, sunk my head onto the pillow and got ready for a well deserved rest after a long hike in the countryside. No rest for the wicked though. In the later hours of last night, Rebecca developed some bizarre stomach cramps that didn't subside. We called 111, who ultimately recommended we visit A&E, so that's what we did. I drove her up there while such was hunched over a hot water bottle, bless her. Once she checked in I was told I couldn't stay in the waiting room for Covid reasons, so we had to separate. I sat in the car as it was a darn-sight warmer in there than outdoors! A few hours later, Rebecca got a blood test, was tended by a nurse and given the all clear. The pain lessened in that time thankfully and we all headed home just before 4am... Suffice to say, today we didn't get up early... or do anything too strenuous. This time last year Rebecca drove me to A&E, good to know we're even now after this trip.  

A bit of rest did her well today though, and after I knocked out some nourishing burritos she was right as rain. Looking forward to getting some real beauty sleep tonight! 

Book Barn

Big day in the great outdoors for me today. Rebecca has long wanted to visit the Book Barn, an international book selling warehouse with a fun reputation. Pictures online make it look like a weird and wonderful looking library - right up Rebecca's alley. When we got there though, the charm wore off the moment I realised it was effectively just a really big Oxfam bookstore, with an inexplicably unwhelming selection of books. Rebecca seldom leaves any bookshop without picking up a little something, but we left empty handed...

Still, we had bigger fish to fry. The Book Barn is located on the outskirts of the Mendips so we looked up a good hike to go on and just did it. In just over three hours we did it all. Saw every farm animal, walked through a cow and sheep field, crossed muddy paths, shallow streams and went through more kissing gates than I'd care to count. We were planning on taking a cheeky shortcut at one point, but a dog that belonged to a passing hiker got alarmingly territorial and literally blocked our way forward. So we took the scenic (and muddy) route back. The magic of the walk waned in the final half hour though and all we wanted to do was get home and cradle a cup of coffee.  

Fantasy Weekend

Despite only being a 4 day week for us, you could tell the crew were all shattered and ready for the weekend. The Production team were all counting down the hours until home time, each of us had our own little dream weekend planned, a fantasy that'd carry us through til the end of the day. Mark kindly grabbed a few of us and gave us a sneaky tour of the set Art Department had built for us and their work really is astonishing. Though I only see very little of what's being shot, I can't wait to see the final product.

Stapler Swiper

 

Smooth(ish) sailing for me at work today. Got a lot of small jobs done and ultimately ticked off most of my jobs. I actually got a little bit of time to read through some of the scripts which was remarkably helpful for understanding future shooting days.

My last job of the day is always doing bundles of printing and stapling. Currently I'm using a stapler I swiped from Rebecca, but now partly out of guilt (and partly because its a sub-par stapler) I've turned to the internet to buy a posh one for myself. I'm not sure if it really is something worth bragging about, but I'm legitimately excited about upgrading my stationary game.

Cheeky Eggs Benedict

Because I got home pretty dang late last night, I earned the right to a little lie in - I didn't need to be at work until 12:30. So I caught up on Bake Off, played some games and just had a chance to drink a coffee with Rebecca which was probably the highlight of my day. 

Work itself went surprisingly smoothly for me, I was just cracking on with some little bits of work and ordering some more stuff for our crew online. We got treated to a special brunch first thing though so I got a 'second breakfast' in the form of an Eggs Benedict. The catering makes the long days worth it.

Where's my Pizza?

First shoot day that bled into the next day, I finished just a little past midnight this evening (by design mind, we all got a lunchtime start to compensate). After 6pm rolls around though the emails flat line but I still had plenty of odd tasks to occupy my time. Strangely enough, ordering a pizza ended up being the most stressful part of my day. In between dodgey bank card readings and a delivery guy that got lost it translated into a bonkers hour that frankly, should have been super easy.

Over The Wire

Got another Monday off which meant I got a lot of extra curricular fun stuff done. Baked a whopping big batch of brownies for starters, was hard waiting for them to all cool off before enjoying a sample bite let me tell you. I bing played Silent Hill 2 and ended up completing it, it gets a up-nod of approval from me, not too scary though. Lastly, Rebecca and finished the penultimate episode of The Wire, took a look at the clock and said 'To hell with it, let's finish this show' so we did. Just over two years ago I agreed to watch Downtown Abbey if Rebecca watched The Wire, and now, collectively 135 hours if TV later, we are both square on that deal... Only problem now is we don't know what to watch next!

Embracing The Spooky Season

I'm feeling the Halloween vibes early on this year and I curiously find myself wanting to surround myself in all things spooky. I started playing Silent Hill 2, gripping the controller tightly while I meandered through pitch-black abandoned apartment. I also borrowed DVD form Halloween and Scream - two of the most iconic films I've not seen yet because I've always been too much of a scaredy cat to give them a shot - Rebecca expressed some interest too so I won't have to watch them by myself. We rounded the day off with a gaming session with friends that was only meant to last an hour or so, but we ended up going for more than three hours on just one game! Guess we were all having too much fun.

Porky Walk

I slept in while Rebecca got up early for another cat sitting job, when she got back she detailed her dealings with an overly energetic kitten which made me chuckle. Around mid day we headed out to Newbury to see my parents, Mum is low-key anxious about another lockdown soon so she wanted to see me, Louis, Rebecca and Rachel before the beginning of next week. Dad rustled up a delicious leg of pork for lunch which we walked off on a short hike around some nearby fields. Louis cooked Gus signature scones for an evening supper and we chatted the night away with a coffee in hand. Really lovely to spend some more time with family today, fingers crossed we can meet up more in the coming months!

New Set of Wheels

Was having a lovely chill morning before work, played some video games with Rebecca, had a nice breakfast, the whole she-bang. Then an email came through telling me I had an hour less of my morning than I anticipated so I had to dash away. Ended up getting to set early as a result!

Got a new hire car today too! Bit sad seeing my old one being slowly driven away by two burly blokes and already, my new one lacks the rustic charm of my old Skoda. Few more drives though and I'm sure I'll get to grips with this new set of wheels.

A Bouquet

Our unit base today was actually our main office, no more diesel fumes or sluggish WiFi for us! My main task today was actually doing something I'd never done before: buying a bouquet of flowers. It was weirdly stressful trying to get the right variety and colours but I settled on something very nice in the end. The sun begun to set on us just as we were halfway through our day, I stuck around in the office until almost midnight, the folks filming were out a bit longer than that. Another late one tomorrow, but now my body-clock has adjusted I'm pretty nonplussed by it.

Knee Deep in Grime

Wow, I thought yesterday was rough at work, but today was on another level. Later start was nice, though it always means a later finish (got to drive along the same closed roads on my way home too). The mud and the rain just meant everything was slippy, someone managed to slip and smash a phone, someone else twisted their ankle a little bit after taking a tumble. Lots of little fires to put out today, but when that happens you gotta just keep on soldiering on!

Remember the Alamo

Good golly, what a day. I was just busy all the time. Once we wrapped at the end if the day though things really ramped up. I was back on booking taxis and due to a road closure and the fact we were out in the middle if nowhere the cars just weren't arriving at a decent rate, despite pre-booking them. Never mind though, everyone got bundled into a car by the end of it all and two hours after we wrapped, I hopped into my own car... Only to discover that road closure was a lot more devastating than I expected. It doubled my 35 minute journey. Google maps wasn't accommodating in giving me alternative route either, so I made my own and ended up on a road that even a tank would've struggled with. I got flashbacks to my scouting overnight hikes, aptly called 'Alamo's' - well this was another Alamo I won't soon forget.

Happy 10th Birthday to The Blog!

"The blog, which you lovely people are now reading, will be updated daily, we'll see how long that lasts."

It's not very often I get the chance to quote myself, but exactly ten years ago today I wrote those words. My 17 year old self would be shocked to hear that I kept up blogging this long, but more than that, he'd be stunned to see the person he'd become.

This blog started as a cute little way for our YouTube gang, Cafe Studios, to keep in touch with our fan base, somewhere to share behind the scenes pictures and glimpses at our latest film projects. It feels oddly fitting then to note that for many of the group's original members, our fledgling hobby has blossomed into careers. Mark and I in particular are embroiled in the biggest production either of us have ever worked on, and it's humbling now to reflect on our roots. 

As ever, I must thank all the readers of this blog. Your support and kind words of encouragement never fail to put a smile on my face. Whether you've only read a single post, or if you tune in regularly, it's beyond comforting to know that someone is always interested in my life. My readership may be small, but hey, that's never bothered me.

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Ten years and counting... Writing a daily post has become a part of my nightly routine, and honestly, it's become a part of my identity. Already I'm thinking about what a 37 year old version of me looks like, and whether I'd want to share a beer with him? I certainly hope so.

Not much more to say... other than cheers!

Running Laps with Laptops

I went to bed last night a little conflicted. I'm thinking of buying anew laptop since my old one is starting to chug in a way that's just a little beyond endearing. This time last year I was about to source Rebecca a perfect laptop for her on my first try, naturally I assumed it'd be just as easy for me to find something, but alas, finding the right laptop for me has be a real trial. I even headed out to a computer shop today just to look and feel some of my front runners, this gave me a tighter shortlist but so many of them are out of stock thanks to students buying them all up. Reckon I'll take some names for now and just sit tight. 

Other than fretting about new hardware, I did plenty of cooking today. Rustling up a nice meal is something I've wholeheartedly missed doing since I started this new job, but I'm always glad to do it over the weekends. Classic scrambled eggs for breakfast, baked Camembert and garlic for lunch and a mini roast plus homemade Yorkshire puddings for dinner. The latter was paired with a really exceptional wine a colleague gave me as a 'thank you' present last month. I've already made a mental note of the bottle for future present giving.

Non-Alcoholic Hangover

The weather has continued to stay miserable so Rebecca and I minimized our contact with the outside world. I also woke up curiously feeling rather ropy, almost as if I were hungover despite not drinking anything last night. A fuzzy headache plagued me for most of the day, neutering my motivation to do many things. So, we treated the day as a recovery day and ended up ordering pizza, cooking popcorn and watching Hot Fuzz while swaddled up on the sofa. Rebecca only saw it once on a coach trip and was still shocked as the twists and turns emerged in the story. Feeling much better now though, maybe I was just knackered after a busy work week.

Soggy, Soggy Friday

Boy it was a wet one today. Soggy shoes and sodden umbrellas all round, stepping off our nice, warm truck meant subjecting yourself to amber-level weather that persisted throughout the day. Didn't feel like a Friday as a result, until the last hour, then all I could think about was the weekend. Another week of filming down though, I feel like it's all starting to find a nice pace, still one ore two growing pains but we're working hard to quash them. Rebecca popped by to see our unit base too, while it was a fleeting visit, it was the highlight of my day.

Back at home I hopped onto a gaming sessions with some high-tier YouTubers to play some online games. I mostly kept a little quiet but it was a thrill to hang out with that crowd nonetheless.

A Good Looking Truck

Just another day in the truck for me, wrestled slightly with dodgy internet, but otherwise filming has picked up some pace. In fact, you can even read about our exploits here. The journo's even got a very underwheling photo of our location where the truck I had a nightmare renting features very prominently:

Walked home from set (bucket list item ticked off), got home and immediately packed up my things to head out again. Rebecca hosted a book club tonight bringing the household total up to 6, but only if I wasn't there. So I camped out at Louis and Rachel's for the evening, until the coast was clear that is. We shared some craft beers I picked up and played Skull, a new board game Louis got me for my Birthday. It looked alarmingly simple when I went through the rules, but it very quickly blossomed into an immensely satisfying bluffing game - had a real hoot with it.

So Very Thirsty

Watched the sunrise on my drive into work. Right now, my portable office is set up right on Bristol's harbourside, every now and then I see unit vehicles for film and TV parked there and it's crazy to think that now I'm inside one of them! The rain dampened my mood only a little and only served to make my work load a bit busier. Had to deal with one or two stressy folks too, but my calm demeanor seemed to put them at ease.

I was very much looking forward to walking home tonight after work, but then I got a call from Rebecca to tell me the water was no longer working in our house -  a burst pipe knocked out most of the post code. Luckily, I had a water-dispenser canister in my car which Mark, very generously, allowed us to have in a worst case scenario. So, I drove back with the heavy, heavy water and because I had so much, I thought I'd even offer it to the neighbours. Neither accepted my generous offer, and the water came back on a hour later. Hopefully there'll be no drama's tomorrow evening so I can finally fulfill me 'walking to set' wish.

Another Alumni

Crept out of bed for another early morning. I arrived at our unit base while the breakfast truck was still teeming with goodies, so in spite of having cereal before arrive, I dipped in for a second breakfast. It'd be rude not to!

Got chatting with a new team member today, I was under the impression they'd recently graduated from uni so I asked them where they studied. As chance would have it, they were also Bournemouth TV Production alumni! We bonded massively over old lecturers and our grad projects, such a small world.

Bake off has started up again so Louis and Rachel swung by with some cookies so we could indulge while watching. First time christing our TV licence too, looking forward to enjoying the next few Tuesdays with those guys too.

Key Conundrum

Had a mini panic attack after I got up this morning since I couldn't find my keys anywhere. I was chucking stuff out my bag, running down the street to see if I left then inside my car, golly I was a state. In the ruckus, Rebecca work up and pointed them out immediately, they were right where I left them. Felt like a melon, but I was relived nonetheless, got to work just in time for a pain au choc and a meat free full English breakfast.

Filming went slow today, so slow that we didn't actually finish on schedule so we're hanging back for a day at our current location. Shame, the next place is so close to my house I can actually walk to set - something that's never happened before!

Sunday Stout

More Mario this morning, this time I graduated to Super Mario Galaxy. Playing this remastered Mario collection has been a warm nostalgia trip for me, I can so vividly remember my headspace while playing every single one of these games, I can trace back my school year and the houses I played them in too. Its like digging up a time capsule and looking at a museum of myself, all I can do is wistfully smile at who I used to be.

Rebecca and I took a stroll down to our favourite Sunday market and to my old cafe for a coffee and a chat. Funnily enough, the moment we got home another old colleague messagemessaged me inviting us to the pub this, so we whiled away the lazy hours of this Sunday afternoon with a pint of stout in hand. Never met up with this colleague outside of a work function before and we already agreed to do it again sometime.

Back to 2002

Got to relive my long-gone Saturday mornings as a 9 year old by replaying Super Mario Sunshine. I mercilessly recounted my childhood experience of working through the game to a very nonplussed, yet patient Rebecca. We poked our head up into our attic for the second ever time and loaded it up with our Christmas tree and some other forgettables - I didn't want to climb in because of the potential spider risk, but it's good to know our loft can hold a few extra bits for us.

Felt right to watch a movie this evening and My Cousin Vinny beckoned from its DVD case. I'd not seen the film fully since I was way younger and it's remained a total delight to watch. Rebecca's Dad is a big fan too and he's been trying to get her to watch it for donkey's years, she appreciated Marisa Tomei's sass (how couldn't you) and it won our hearts before the credits rolled. 

Petty Cash and Pretty Cake

Aside from booking a very last minute courier from London this morning, my day was remarkably uneventful. That meant I could at long last crack on with all my expenses claims and this lengthy photoshop project I'm working on. I just kept myself to myself mostly and got a lot done, a good way to end on a Friday! Plus the catering truck had plenty of cake available today, and since I've made it my mission to be chummy with the caterers, they even cracked out a whole new Victoria Sponge for me and some of the other Production team - it pays to be friendly in this industry!

Taxi... Please!

Late start for the filming today so that meant I could chill out with Rebecca and catch up on the first episode of Bake Off before work, it was so nice I almost forgot I had a full day of work ahead of me... and what a day that was! For the most part, things went pretty smoothly until the final hour of the day when I was asked to book taxis for a handful of people. Though many of the cars arrived no problem, many of my cabs just decided to cancel our booking halfway into our already lengthy wait times. We even had to call upon our crummy back-up taxi service just to compensate. Thankfully everyone got home safe and sound, just resulted in a stressful hour at the days end - a stark contrast to this morning's vibes.

Chilly Camper

 Just another day on the production truck! I tended to a lot of logs today, maintaining records of taxis, trains and hotels. So while it wasn't a thrilling day by any means, I got a fair amount done! Now the days are getting colder and since we're technically camping, I'm gonna have to start wearing my jumpers once again. I opened up my knitware drawer and was greeted with several old friends. Just got to choose which one to wear first...

Fill 'er Up

Day two on our mobile production trailer and things have already settled into a nice rhythm. I actually found a bit of time today to catch up on some work which was nice. I'll be chasing post most of tomorrow morning by the sounds of things so I'm just enjoying this little calm before the storm.

Once I got back, Rebecca and I went on a tiny 'date night' our to Asda's petrol station. I'd never worked a pump before so Rebecca elected to come out with me to fill up my car. We made a cute little thing of it and she was actually remarkable helpful. I got to show her how much more confident (but not cocky) I am as a driver - I even did a parallel park with her and she was impressed!

Static Canal Boat

Filming started today, so that means I no longer need to eat marmite sandwiches for lunch since everything is catered! Joking aside though, it was a good level of busy for me today, though I was relegated to my car for the first half of the day, the afternoon I could catch up on my 'to do' list in the comfort of the mobile production office. I've never been in an office trailer before, the novelty wore off the moment the wifi conked out, and when I realized it was a static canal boat where work happens, but it was an experience nevertheless.

Revisiting Old Beans

Though I spent this Sunday by myself, I still did plenty of socializing. Part of the day was spent playing games online with friends, and after I grew painfully aware that it was a glorious day I decided to go out and enjoy the sunshine. I headed down to my old cafe to see my old team mates, all of which were delighted to see me - I was actually left a little speechless as they had some many questions for me but I felt bad just talking about myself. Lovely to see them all again though, this was the first time I'd been back to the cafe after leaving and I'll try and make more of an effort to visit in the future.

Handling Heartbreak in Sayonara Wild Hearts

Since I found myself sandwiched between a very busy work week and the start of filming next week, I elected to stay at home in Bristol while Rebecca traveled up to London to see her folks and friends. It was a tough call, but I really think staying here was the best thing to do so I could roll in on Monday feeling refreshed and ready to hit the ground running. Today then, was all about unfinished business, specifically my latest video for my YouTube channel. I started this morning thinking I was basically finished, but I ended up 'just doing finishing touches' until late this afternoon. At least though, I'm delighted to present 'Handling Heartbreak in Sayonara Wild Hearts'

This one took me a while, not only because of my new job, but because I wanted to do the game some justice. Since it's a rhythm based game a lot of edits had to be done to the time of the music and I just wanted it all to flow neatly. Only once I took a step back from it I realised it all came together into something I'm proud to call my handiwork.

This may well be my last one for a while now, but I'll keep brainstorming while I'm on set for new topics to discuss.

Cupcakes And Car TrIps

 For reasons I won't bore you with, I spent nealy 5 hours driving today. Last working day before a shoot is always busy, but thus was ridiculous! Got to eat my lunch at 5:15 this evening, but thankfully, some cupcakes from the big bosses arrived to nourish the team and thank us for all our hard work.

Louis' Birthday - 2020

Two working days left until the shoot starts and already the work load has really picked up. So many people kept coming up to me asking for quick favours today so it took me away from the other jobs I needed to crack on with. Hopefully it'll be a bit quieter tomorrow so I can cross off some of my lingering 'to do' jobs.

Thankfully, this evening was everything I needed. We headed over to Rachel and Louis' house to wish him a Happy Birthday. After dishing out his presents we settled into watching Badlands, a film I kinda dismissed when I first saw it but now it has grown on me. We all had positive thoughts on it afterwards too which was nice, glad we could all share that with him on his special day.

Luton

Another busy one today, a lot of urgent business to complete arrived and disapeared just as quick. This close to shoot I guess that's to be expected, just gotta keep going until we start rolling!

The final portion of the day pitted me against something that, a month ago, would have scarred me witless. I had to go pick up a van from a rental place and drive it across Bristol. Specifically, I got to drive one of these:

 

Gear box in the dash, no rear view mirror and three seats in the cabin - let's go. Thankfully, the depot was located basically in a rural lay-by so there was a stretch I could get a feel for the car. Only stalled it 4 times trying to get into second gear. Once that bit of road was over, it was time to merge onto a 40mph dual carriageway... That was the sweatiest part, but afterwards it was pretty smooth sailing. Now I know what it feels like to drive a tractor too, since I was taking my time, I accumulated a fair old conga line of miffed drivers who all had to march to my beat. When you're in a Luton Van you're king of the jungle, but I still got a mite nervous everytime I revved the engine.

CoVideo

Had the luxery of working from home for the first half of the day. I had some video editing work to get on with for our office's Covid Health and Safety video which was my baby for the day. Though it's literally the driest subject known to man, I think we did the best with what we had, I even got to put in a fancy tracking graphic!

Back in the office I was running around trying to catch up on emails and old jobs. I've been away from my desk so much this week they've started to pile up a bit, tomorrow is a backlog busting day for sure.

Only Two Minutes

They say every day is a school day and yesterday made a big thing out of driving to the supermarket. Well today I had another driving related milestone, on the negative side of the spectrum. Today I got my first parking ticket... BUT it was wrongly slapped onto my windscreen! I won't bore you with the details but they fined me exactly two minutes after I paid for my stay. The wards. I contested it with was remarkably stubborn on the matter, despite me flagging evidence to him, so I gained another nugget of life experience by contesting a parking fine with the authorities. I'm so busy at work right now I couldn't help thinking there was plenty more important things to do with my time than writing angry letters to the council. Live and learn though, hopefully I get the fine waivered.

Driving to the Supermarket (!)

Crickey, I felt like an adult today. I drove to a supermarket and did my weekly shop, loaded it into the car, and rove home. If you told me one year ago I would be writing that sentence, 26 year old me would've been shocked... even moreso if you tod me I bay parked like a pro.

Beyond that, this Sunday was just a Sunday. Played (and lost) a game of Rummikub with Rebecca and tinkered away a bit more on my video. I'm on the home stretch for this one now, just another hour or so to work on it and it'll be ready to face the world. 

Next week marks our final week of pre-production at work so I'm anticipating it to be an all hands on deck affair. I'm also getting an official Codiv test, alongside all the rest of the crew. Hoping I don't get too squeamish about where the swab has to go, but it can't be that bad right?

Jigaraki

Mum and Dad popped down to Bristol to spend the day with me, Rebecca, Louis and Rachel for our shared Birthday weekend. I received the lion's share of my presents this morning, including a gorgeous new jumper, some books and some board games that I'm very much looking forward to finding an excuse to play with people. We tried a new Middle Eastern place on Wapping Wharf for lunch which was a huge hit, then again you never can go too wrong with lamb and flatbread.

I took everyone up for a walk to The Northen Slopes too, it started off as a massive success since I remembered where I discovered a panoramic view of Bristol. Shortly after I forgot my way around and I accidentally booted us out back onto the main road. For somewhere so vast, it was crazy how I couldn't find it properly again. However the group was starting to flag a bit, and the promise of a home baked Rachel pudding was too good to put on hold for any longer so we retired to Louis' place for drinks and treats. The sun was dipping down just as I was getting a haircut (feels like only the second one this year), then we all said our final farewells. I always relish it when my folks are down in Bristol. Their company is always easy going and familiar, plus it's a delight to share the best parts of Bristol with with them - hope they had a good day too.

Muffled Laughter

Got that Friday feeling on my way out the office. Plenty of jobs all got tied up in a neat lil' ribbon today and it felt right to walk away from my desk and enjoy my weekend. I left at a good time too, early enough to even cook Rebecca a midweek meal which she sincerely appreciated. Just finished off the evening with an impromptu online gaming session with Louis and his mates which was a ton of fun, stayed up late to finish a few rounds and had to consciously muffle my own laughter for the neighbours, and the sleeping Rebecca's sake.

Happy 27th Birthday to Me!

To my delight, Rebecca agreed to wake up early with me so we could spend some time together before I went to work. She was a little shocked to discover just how early I get up these days, but she obliged none the less. This was one of many ways she made today very special. We opened my cards together and she gave me her presents, I got a great owl mug and a swanky mini wallet - perfect for short outings when I don't want to carry a chunky wallet.

Work was work, I didn't want to make a big thing out of it being my Birthday since everyone is super busy. Imagine my surprise then when the whole office starting singing 'Happy Birthday' over halfway through the day. It was super humbling - I've only been with most of those guys for a few weeks but they made it feel very personal which was lovely.

On my way home I got to call my parents, which is one of life's simple pleasures. Back at home Rebecca ordered some takeaway burgers for us and quietly lit a candle and walked out with a flaming sourdoughnut... She knows me too well.

27 years on this Earth, it's a weird thought. Lot of people at work said how 27 is the age where you emerge out of the uncertainty of your 20's and everything starts falling into place. That was a comforting sentiment, time will tell exactly how true that'll be, but day by day, I feel more and more comfortable wearing my own skin.

 Just wanted to close this blog entry with the card that Grandma Margaret got me. For reasons I still can't explain, it just really resonated with me. It's a very gentle, but wholesome picture of a dog on a canal boat, but both Rebecca and I instantly thought was lovely.   

Thanks to everyone who made this Birthday special!

"One Van Please"

Couldn't believe that I was the first one into the office today! I had to flick the lights on and everything before I got to sit at my desk and make a 'first thing in the morning phone call' to a van hire company... That took an extra 30 minutes to finally start answering their phones. Speed bump aside, once I finally got through to them they were exceptionally chill and gave me all the answers I wanted to hear which was incredibly reassuring. Otherwise I got to drive up to Marks and Spencers to clear out 25 of their pre-packed sandwiches (yes, I got funny looks) as lunch for tomorrow's production meeting. We had an awkward time trying to ensure all the seat arrangements were 2 meters apart for Covid reasons, but we settled on something that works. 

In other news, tomorrow I turn 27. I've actually been too busy recently to properly process that but instead of the usual Birthday excitement I feel, I'm feeling more of the 'sand running out the hourglass' vibe. I'm sure those feelings will melt away first thing tomorrow though.

I'm a Van Man(?)

Seeing as everyone was out of the office today, my boss let us all come in an hour later today. For the first time in ages I got to wake up alongside Rebecca and enjoy her company while I made porridge and listened to the radio. Most mornings Rebecca is barely lucid before I walk out the door so today was a most welcome change of pace, I even got to walk part-way into work with her.

The day at work was a little stressful for me. I'm still in charge of hiring a handful of vans for different departments, since I'm pretty new to vehicle renting I'm still learning the ins and outs. A long chunk of time was spent waiting to hear back from our out of office accountant about filling out a vital form for me, eventually she did it but it was closer to the deadline than I would've liked. I'll head in a touch earlier tomorrow to iron out all the kinks though, once that's done I can occupy my thoughts with other, less daunting tasks.

Chasing COVID

Most of the office was out on recces today so it was mostly just me and my production team at our desks. Every now and then cast members trickled in since today was the day of their official COVID test - exciting for them, it'll be me next week apparently. I sent out a lot of chasing emails to nudge a plenty of people so I could cross off my to do list, ended the day with a lot of 'pending' jobs while I wait for replies, but fingers crossed I'll have a cleaner slate tomorrow.

Holy Guacamole

 Set out on a Sunday stroll across the Bristol Downs with Rebecca and her parents. Before we knew it we'd already walked well over 10,000 steps, all that did was whet our appetites for some nearby cafe food and coffee. This evening they all came round to ours again and I whipped up the meal I've been fretting about all week. In the end, I settled in making fajitas, but not some namby-pampy mid-week meal version, oh no, tonight I  went all out. Did my signature polenta coated chicken plus spices, we slashed out on salsa and sour cream and finally I made the best batch of guacamole I think I've ever made. Even Rebecca's Dad who isn't a fan if avacado was stunned that I was able to make something so delicious. (This isn't an exaggeration. He took a cautionary dolop of guacamole, had a mouthful, paused slightly and a quiet 'wow' was the only thing he could compute saying.) It was a big hit overall and I'm chuffed fajitas was ultimately the right call.

Time to Oil Up

Weekends during the tailing parts of the Summer have mostly been spent tending to the garden. I sheared the lawn and put a protective coat of wood oil on our garden furniture, even had the added bonus of stepping in some cat poo and got to wash that off my shoes. Carved out a bit of time to beaver away on my video editing too which was nice. Then in the evening I was back to the Italian restaurant we visited two weeks ago, but this time we shared it with Rebecca's parents. In my mind, they would either love it or hate it there, thankfully they adored it and we all left full of good food and smiling faces. Living in Bristol means we're never more than a stone's throw away from 10/10 food, learning and sharing our favourite places is one of the many joys of living in this city.

Friday's always Friday

 Friday is fast becoming the office lunch take out day, which I wouldn't mind so much if it didn't fall to me to do the ordering and driving to collect it each week. My pessimism melt away after several satisfied faces turned round and complemented my choice of take out and gave big thanks to my efforts. This afternoon my team and I were scrambling to get everything ready for a lot of big movements going on at the beginning of next week. A lot of travel plans changed quickly too so we had to play catch up, I left the office just before 8pm tonight, quietly photocopying a final batch of documents for Mark. Came home to Rebecca's hugs though, plus her visiting g parents and a big helping of Chinese Takeaway. It was a busy Friday, but it was still a Friday at heart.