My 4 Walls

Minus a few toilet breaks, I spent the day in one room. These 4 walls have seen a lot of me, I just wished they could talk to me, or at least play Smash Bros. Work gave me a few jobs to crack in with and in my down time I played some games, finishing one of them a little earlier than I had predicted. Think I'll turn my hand back to writing when I get the chance, I got so comfy with it last year and I don't want to fall out of step.

I think it might just be the blocked nose, but my sense of taste and smell is beginning to wane... Really hope that comes back.

Feeling 'Positive'

 Well folks, we had a good run. Almost made it to 2022 without contracting Covid. After being a primary contact with someone at work, two lateral flow tests and a PCR confirmed that I have Covid. Back to isolating from Rebecca in the spare room (at least I have a proper bed this time) and missing out on the last few days of shooting. My blood turned cold when that second little line turned up on the lateral flow test kit and I still feel like I'm spacewalking. Luckily I had the day off, I'd planned to go out and buy wrap gifts for a few people but instead I just silently played video games by myself in a bid to pass the time. I'm feeling a little ropey, a cold basically: bunged nose and tired eyes mostly. Just hope tomorrow is ok and I haven't passed it into Rebecca.

Who Doesn't Love A Freebie?

Slow Sunday's always push Rebecca and me towards the Tobacco Factory market, and this week was a real delight. We low-key went in looking for some early Christmas presents for friends, we left with a full rucksack of goodies after snacking on plenty of free samples. We built such a rapport with one of the chaos there he actually ended up giving us a free packet of stuff! Granted l, we bought a lot of stuff from him but my inner miser smiled brightly at the idea of an unexpected freebie. 

I re-learnt that the fastest way to make Rebecca grumpy is to beat her at board games. A few weeks ago I trounced her at Chess, now I had a slam-dunk victory at Root and she wouldn't stop grimacing. She can be an atrocious loser at times, but then again, so was I when I was younger. Everyone's gotta lose though. Tough love lesson of the day.

Winds of Winter

Bins being blown up and down the street, this was the noise that woke me up first thing this morning. There was an almost visual chill in the air, even just looking out the window you knew you didn't want to be outside for long... But weekend plans always dictate that some time in the great outdoors is mandatory. Back to B&Q for a curtain rod and some grocery shopping was enough to convince Rebecca and me to stay indoors for the rest of the season. We're ready to hibernate now... At least until I run out of coffee.

Slow Wave 'Goodbye'

Down a few team members so I stepped up to help the day run smoothly. Drinks for the cast, food orders for base, hot chocolates for the director - you name it, I'll sort it. On the periphery, we were all saying a near-tearful farewell to our very lovely 2nd AD. I realized that I'd virtually spent the entire of 2021 only a few desk spaces away from her, she was on Malory Towers with me and we both quickly jumped onto Sanditon afterwards. We leaned on each other through all the rough spots of each job, especially in the first few weeks. We exchanged wrap gifts and, funnily enough secret Santa gifts (though neither of us said, we both drew each other's names out if the hat). Feels like the job is winding down and the gang is slowly dispersing - feels like friends are going off to get married. That's the bittersweet curse of long jobs - you can't wait for them to end, but you never want to lose your teammates.

Gin Gem

Midweek break in filming meant I got to stay iny pyjamas for most of the day, but that's not to say I wasn't busy. I had a wrap gift to buy for a team mate who's been working with me since Malory Towers back at the start of April. We've been through it all together now and tomorrow is her last day, I know she a big fan of Gin so I went to Asda... I quickly realized the present I wanted to get wouldn't come so easily as the selection was ropey. So I sourced a local distillery and bought a 'Made in Bristol' gin from a nearby place, I went to pick the bottle up and I was bowed over by how lovely their venue was. It's a cute little taproom just off an industrial estate at the end of our park, only been open 6 months so it felt like I uncovered a real gem. 

Additionally we got our oven fixed again, just in time for me to bake a cake for work tomorrow. Real espresso went into the batter and if the off-cuts are anything to go by, it's going to be a spectacular bake. So while I could have very easily stayed in my PJ's all day, I'm glad I got proactive and spent my time well.

Grub Coordinator

Unit Base was in the center of town today so our food options expoded with possibilities. Pinkman's became a requisite so I coordinated a big doghnut run for our production truck. Moments later our producer expressed a desire for a pad Thai, sorted him out there too. Then in the middle of all that I had to get a birthday cake collected. In hindsight I realize just how much every Runner's job revolves around food - at least everyone was super grateful for the grub!

It was our 1st AD's Birthday too so I scheduled in a table at Pizza Express for 30 people. A massive banquet style arrangement was set up for us on arrival and we all had a jolly good evening. I always enjoy showing my face to the crew whenever I can and it was nicer still to see them all outside of work.

The Fun Jobs

 Got not one, but two of the fun jobs that you only get in my role. A member of cast wanted to buy the whole crew a little wrap gift and enlisted me to source close to 100 bottles of wine. In the meantime, our 1st AD is having her birthday on set tomorrow so I was tasked with sourcing a cake. Trouble is, she's a very fussy eater... So we got a plain Victoria Sponge, no cream, smooth jam and extra fresh fruit on top. Luckily, my go-to place we're willing to do a little favour for me - just hope they like it when it arrives! These tasks kept me occupied for the day though, it's always fun writing up little reports/debriefs for these types of things too. Booked the Birthday girl a table for 30 at a nearby restaurant too, guess I'll be one of many on a massive banquet table tomorrow.

Credit Number 1

Logged onto BBC IPlayer first thing this morning to see my first ever TV credit! Malory Towers is officially out and I immediately scrobbled through right to the end just so I could see my name on the big screen next to a lot of familiar names. I showed it to all the folks on the truck and got a mini applause, all that hard work has at long last come home to roost.

Keeping it Local

 Part two of our Totterdown exploration begun with a trip around Arno's Vale Cemetery, a spot Rebecca and I have always wanted to visit but lockdown etc made it very difficult. I've never seen such a wide spectrum of headstones and monuments, really unique and beautiful spot to walk around too. Next up was a lunch at the infamous Totterdown Canteen, a well loves brunch venue in the local area that's previously been too busy for our custom. Today we squeezed onto the last table and loaded up on salmon and hollandaise sauce while beaming from ear to ear. Mum was chuffed we kept the weekend so local, most of our money went back to the community which is one well worth supporting.

This afternoon was all about town center though. I organized a little work shindig with the other AD's and Unit Drivers. We went bowling, rode bumper cars at a nearby fun fair and ate a Mexican dinner to top the night off. An early start tomorrow morning loomed over all of us so we called it a night fairly early... I've just set my alarm for 5am so I can get into Wales in good time.

Totterdown Arts Trail

Mum came down to Bristol to potter around the Totterdown Arts Trail, a community art sale all run from people's living rooms. Lot of postcards, pottery, prints and jewelry basically, all by local talent. Secretly I think Mum enjoys nosing around other people's houses more than the art, but we all had a nice time wandering the nearby streets and connecting with our neighborhood. Walking around all afternoon meant we worked up a mighty appetite, a curry could only cure our hunger, so we re-appraised and old curry house favorite and we're delighted to find out it's still a winner. Mum inexplicably got the spiciest dish, it even left Rachel winching from the heat. She muscled through it though and is now camping out on our sofa bed - always nice to host an overnight guest.

Hiding Amidst Horses

Trundled to set a few times this morning, it's lovely that even though the crew rarely see me, they all give me a warm welcome when I step into the floor. Lots of horses today, in narrow passages so I had to duck and weave my way around them to get signatures for risk assemements... All in a day's work for me. Back at base the Friday feeling ran rampant. Until a nasty batch of script amends came in, rocking the calm if Friday afternoon. We all just craved the weekend so bad, of course something dreadful was coming our way. That's Monday's problem though. Right now, I just want to sleep and sleep and sleep.

Tarot Masters

With only three members of cast in and no supporting artists, we could all afford a little breather today. With manic back to back days it was just so nice to just enjoy a day and have it a bit easier. We even got the callsheet ready for wrap today, I got to leave early... That never happens!

I can't recall if I mentioned this here, but the Base Runner and I are slowly building up a reputation as mystics. A deck of tarot cards was passed down to us and we studied the accompanying handbook and are now junior fortune tellers. We're making out way steadily through the vast majority of the base crew - it's been a great laugh too. Been a good way to pass the time and interact with a few departments that passed us by..

Script Super

Took the initiative and asked to shadow our current Script Supervisor on set for a chunk of the morning. So I pulled up a camping chair up by a set in monitors and learnt the ropes while watching a scene unfold. I took in a lot of really insightful information and practical know-how in how to draw tramlines across a script and what to keep a real eye for while a scene is playing out. Sadly, a printer meant my time with the scripty was cut short by a few minutes but it was a great initiation into that world. New career path possibly...?

Out of the Park

Tiramisu was a smash hit, Producers all filled their boots, one even asked to take some home with him, I'd say that's a hallmark of success. The rest of the day though wasn't spent basking in praise, but rather being on my feet and dashing around. We were a man down today so it fell to me to pick up a bit of his slack on a day that was already busier than usual. After having three days off to recharge it already feels like I'm ready for another weekend.

Tons of Tiramisu

 Hardly knew what to do with myself on my free morning. Had enough time to really enjoy some sourdough toast before settling into some hushed video games, Rebecca goes on work calls next to me so I had to keep my viceral whoops silent. The one thing I did plan to do today was make a LOT of tiramisu. I got a lot of little take away pots from the caterers at work and portioned out 21 pots of pudding. Altered my technique slightly and opted to do the double sponge layer for the tiramisu - every sponge was dipped in real espresso too for that extra authentic taste. The end result is perhaps the best tiramisu I've made to date... Only problem is I very slightly overfilled each pot so now the lids smoosh in the beautiful layer on top. A visual set back, no doubt the taste will mask any blemishes; can't wait to share them with the team tomorrow.

Crimbo Cake

Coffee and scrambled eggs - the classic Sunday combo. That lined my stomach for a bracing, if familiar, walk up to the SS Great Britain with Rebecca's parents. People are out and about again in town now, I forget just how little Covid means outside of my filming job where they take it so seriously. 

Since it was a smash hit last year, we once again geared up to make our Christmas cake. I was on fruit duty, zesting lemons and oranges to ensure a harmonious citrus balance within the cake. Every now and then while boiling it all down I got some in my fingers - a taste test couldn't be avoided by a mortal man and I'm already looking forward to sampling a slice of the final product. For now though, my kitchen smells of the holidays and that suits me just fine.

Clevedon

Visited Clevedon for the first time ever, seen it on a hundred road signs so it's kinda nice to finally see what all the fuss is about. Turns out, it just a very picturesque little town by the shore of the Bristol Channel. We strolled up and along Poet's Walk, an incredibly beautiful hill overlooking a church and the cliffsides - one may even say it was somewhat soul-stirring. We went with Rebecca's folks and ate out at a small cafe by the pier. It was such a nice day one would be forgiven for forgetting it was the middle of November - it was getting dark by the time we got in the car to head back. The Autumn leaves were gorgeous on the drive home too, the orange hues warm the cockles of my heart.

Ginger Amends

 Back on lemon and ginger tea making duty. Never, ever claimed to be an expert in making that stuff but the cast can't get enough of it. I was also back to my good old friend, script amends to go another round. Usually it's only a few pages that get tweaked these days, but almost half a script got tweaks today. Didn't quite get the chance to budget my time around them as it was all systems go after lunch. Went into a little on bit of overtime too, on a Friday too which was a killer, but now if got a lovely 3 day weekend ahead of me! Can't wait to lounge about in style!

Hot Choc Shock

 One of my now routine duties at work is making our director a flask of hot chocolate. The Base Runner and I have been doing this consistently for the last month and today,callsheet to spice it up. According to almost every recipe including chocolate written after 2015, the addition of a trace amount of coffee will boost the chocolate flavour. Naturally, this advice speaks to me (and in various cooking tests, it is true), so alongside the hot choc I brewed a pot if coffee and put a little over two tablespoons of coffee into the silky chocolate mixture. I sampled it before passing it on and I thought it was delicious.

An hour passes, and in passing I bumped into our director so I asked what she thought of her latest batch of hot choc, I was jolly proud of it after all and I wanted to bask in positive feedback. Instead, I was mortified to learn that she HATES coffee and could taste it lurking in the back of the flavour profile. We had a little joke about it but I just wanted to die when I found out. Won't be taking the initiative again until my ego has made a full recovery.

Attention to Amend

That was the day that was. No surprises or anything special to note, I managed to point out a little flaw in some new script amends - flexing my attention to detail there to the chagrin of our scripting coordinator. Made another popular batch of lemon and ginger tea too, I'm now looking up alchol free mulled wine recipes online to get ideas for new hot drinks that'll bring some cheer to the crew. More than anything now though I just look forward to sleeping in the evenings. A lot of truck swaps recently have made me get up for the crack if dawn when really I just want to be hibernating with Rebecca in the mornings.

Kermode Back on the Menu

Rekindled my relationship with The Kermode and Mayo's Film Review podcast. What was once a staple part of my weekly audio diet has recently been put on the back burner due to long, busy work weeks. Podcasts also proved to be a little too distracting while driving for me, at least when I was first driving solo. Truth be told, I'm just bored of listening to music on the road, I wasn't to stimulate my brain with discussion - so I looked inward and returned to my true north: my love of film. Though it's been over a year since I tuned in, it feels like no time has passed. Plus now that cinemas are slowly trickling out good movies it feels lovely to be part of the conversation. Just so chuffed right now.

Lemon and Ginger

 The punk sunrise lingered over our unit base, guiding me towards the catering truck, towards a bowl of mediocre porridge and yogurt. This was all the goodness I needed to push on through the day, though early in I got locked into teamaking duty. I've been getting into making fresh lemon and ginger tea to I made a big pitcher of it for the office. One cast member spotted it and next thing I knew, everyone wanted a cup! Wish people just stuck with drinking my coffee... So much easier to make...-

Potter Paint

 Bathroom fully painted now and looking better than ever! Yet another little weekend project with a big old tick next to its name, not too many DIY jobs left to do now before it gets to cold and wet to do anything. Rebecca and I (but mostly Rebecca) have done some much it feels like, everything we do makes the house more and more our own, very proud of us. After washing out all the paintbrushes we just collapsed onto the sofa and channel surelfed on the first Harry Potter film and ended up watching a lot more of it than we expected. It's a wholesome movie now, I can see why people feel so nostalgic towards it.

Paint Smearer

 Next housework job on our hit list: painting the bathroom. I typically make good use of the big paint roller when Rebecca and I split up the duties, suits my personality better I think - big immediate results with the roller. Though, I did managed to totally bodge the ceiling somehow, too much paint in the roller meant I applied too much Jasmine White and ended up smearing around the place rather than actually applying it. The first coat I did was embarrassing poor, luckily we managed to rectify it before I had to sleep knowing I'd messed up our bathroom beyond all repair. 

Wasn't all work this Saturday: games with Mark and Dan took place and a takeaway burger was quickly consumed. Feeling a little decompressed now, all I got to do is have a good Sunday, then I know I'll be fit to fight another Monday.

Bonfire Night 2021

Down a Base Runner today so I helped fill in the gaps. Mostly just put food orders in for the cast and crew and did some extra leg work - all while de-rigging our truck for the location swap. A lot of elements to juggle and I daresay I actually felt a little overwhelmed at one point. I'll chalk that up to the overly-hot heating and the overly-potent coffee playing with my senses. Took myself away for 2 minutes and came back ready to take on the world.

We wanted a little bit of Bonfire Night action so Louis, Rachel, Rebecca and I all went hunting for smoke and fireworks. We trudged for a while with nothing to show for it, until we unwittingly stumbled into a battlefield. Chaps were lighting fireworks only a few couple yards from us, the bangs were intense. Even better, another group in the school were popping off a few of their own fireworks just behind us. We kept looking over our shoulder to see who had the better display. What was almost a disaster night turned into an organic evening that couldn't have happened anywhere else except our nearby park.

Independent Union

What a beautiful morning! Driving to work was legitimately soul stirring, leaving the confines if the city to head out towards the countryside in Autumn was such a pleasure. The day's work was steady and everyone was a lot chirpier which made everything nice and easy. An email came out saying everyone would need to work on a Saturday on short notice though - a threat to disturb the new peace... Instead all of the crew literally laughed at the email and just said 'fat chance'. Apparently we are our own union and we may have wriggled out of a weekend workday.

Car Park Curry

A decidedly better day was enjoyed by all. Warmer attitudes aided by a manageable shooting schedule perked us all up. Funnily enough, my new gloves won the hearts of many of my coworkers and we're the unfettered talk of base for a hot minute this morning - maybe they were the good vibes we all needed.

I actually had a steady stream of work to get on with too which always helps, but I still had enough time to perform a Tarot reading on our 2nd AD. Someone recently purchased a Tarot set for our truck and it fell to me to digest and memorize all the cards, it was well worth it though because the lady I did the reading for left with a brand new lease on life. Maybe I got myself a nice little side hustle. 

Just before the sun set I was invited to share some homemade food with some of the Unit Driver's. One of their wives made a delicious curry with the most perfect level of spice I've ever experienced. As I stood in the Unit Base car park, huddled with the cool kids eating curry out of an open boot I felt very accepted. Those guys are big sharers and I'm delighted they want to always get me involved.

C'mon Team

Another slow and somewhat rocky 12 hours for me. My work load is diminishing by the minute and I keep thinking I ought to be helping out more. Not much I can do though, filming is in the hands of the higher ups and the best I can do is try and keep morale up with tea, coffee and the occasional mockery of myself.

Off-Day on Set

Morale took a bit of a nosedive across the board on set. The bad weather never helps and the long, dialogue-heavy days are always the hardest to get shot in the day. I wished I could do a little more to help as I had some long spates of naff-all to do, then again, even I was dropping the ball a little today. Nothing beyond repair thankfully, but just not operating to my usual standard which makes me a bit frustrated in myself. We all have off-days though, I've already told myself tomorrow will be better and that's half the battle already.