My throat and nose were sizzling when I woke up and they maintained that level of nastyness long into the day. While I wasn't knocked out by the illness, a day of respite was in order. So Rebecca and I camped out in the sofa and watch movies (including Chicago, the only Best Picture winner from the 21st century I hadn't seen yet) as the Summer rain lashed against the window. Rebecca frequently remarked how hot I was to the touch, likely my body is fighting off something but with any luck I'll be in a better place after a better night's sleep.
Theo Durrant
Welcome to the blog written by Theo Durrant, graduate of Bournemouth University and an all-round good chap. Keep up to date with his day-to-day ramblings and follow the latest news from Cafe Studios team.
Saturday, 5 July 2025
Friday, 4 July 2025
Friday Lurgy
The thing that was causing me a barrel of worry has finally been resolved so I wanted to spend my Friday smiling. A few people in the office have some kind of illness but I also thought I caught something recently so I was totally immune. Went up the road for beers and board games, took one sip of stout and then it all hit me. Bunged nose, sore sinuses, fatigue, the works. Guess that's my weekend plans now - getting rested up.
Thursday, 3 July 2025
Swelling Dread
Experienced yet another day that went by far too quickly for the amount of things I actually got done. I'm sat on my hands a bit again though as I I'm waiting on other people authorizing various bits and pieces before I can do anything. We got a 2nd Unit coming up (my specialty!) so I'll be across that no doubt in several of its aspects. In the midst of all this, I can't shake this feeling of impending doom lingering in the pit of my stomach. I honestly can't place where it's stemming from either...
Wednesday, 2 July 2025
Perfect Facsimile
We hired a temporary member of the Production to help us around the office, and without hyperbole, he looks exactly the same as me. I kept getting messages from the team laughing about how he's my clone and how our boss will keep having to do a double take. It actually put me in a bit more of an emotional spin that I had prepared for. Here I am, believing that I'm a beautiful, unique snowflake and all that jazz, yet here is my perfect facsimile, walking around the same office, in the same department as me. I know we're all instantly replaceable in the grand schedule of the job and this brought that to light in a way that was more uncomfortable than I expected.
But to be fair, it's also pretty funny. He's with us for two weeks, I wonder how long the comedy will stay fresh.
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
An Easy One
Got back into Bristol after a work day that went far too quickly. My team all stood behind their desks, unpacking their laptops after everyone went down to set. 'This'll be an easy day', one of us said. I also think that was the last thing that was said to each other as we got our heads down and powered in through the day. I came out the other side wishing we had a few more hours of the day, but that was all reserved for travel back home which felt painfully long. Time is relative as they say.
Time and Memory
Drove down a very literal memory lane first thing this morning. First two hours were admittedly not super nostalgic, but when I slowly approached the location that was so synonymous with Malory Towers in my mind, I started to feel all warm and fuzzy. Is there a word for a homecoming for somewhere you've never lived? The Germans or the Japanese almost certainly have a phrase for it, but we'll just call it a bittersweet sense of relocation. So many memories of Malory came flooding back on approach. The wrap parties, the landscape but most of all the people. Like all the cells in our bodies, coming back felt so alien yet so familiar. Something old and something new at the same time.
Somehow I lucked out and landed in the same accomodation wing as all of our big dog HOD's. (It was also where we put the cast up on Malory). We threw darts, shot pool and drank arguably too much for a school night. All the while I glanced at the pub tables and booths where past crew members and I sat. I remembered the conversations, their energy, their ghosts. But in this space I made new memories, just as fond as the old ones. Their moments overlap and interwine all at once, not unlike remembering multiple Christmases from long since past. What a hell of a thing time and memory is.
Sunday, 29 June 2025
Speedy Sunday
Heatwave out so the perfect day to drawn the curtains and stay indoors. After a big Saturday it was refreshing to lock myself away and potter around. Movies were watched, games were played and dinner was cook, consumed and washed up. Monday frankly has come around too quickly, especially when I had to spend a small chunk of the day packing for an overnight tomorrow - I'm a little out of practice since the last job but thankfully I can just about remember how to pack a pair of underwear.