A colleague has left the job a week ahead of the rest of us so a bevvy of their old jobs landed with me. The chief one being in charge of skips which really blew up in my face first thing this morning as I scrambled to understand then resolve the situation. All the while we continued to slowly load bits into our storage crates and finish up the online paperwork. The clock is ticking now and I'd love nothing more than to close the door and walk away on Friday... But a niggling feeling tells me there'll be some bonus bits.
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.
Monday, 2 March 2026
Sunday, 1 March 2026
Earplugs or Nay?
Did the last few bits of prep for our Canada trip, booked a hire car, ferry and our US visa. Rebecca's attention is now turning to 'how to sleep best on the flight'. We're talking earplugs, sleep mask, compression socks etc. I'll probably just tilt my neck to the side and suffer in silence, but I should probably invest in some goodies to make the trip a little more comfy.
One more week at work now too. Lots to polish off but it should all be achievable. With any luck it won't turn into a photo finish and we can continue gliding over the finishing line. I'm ready for a break now though, I'm already planning all the things I want to do while I'm off. One way or another, it'll all be over soon.
Saturday, 28 February 2026
Resident Evil Requiem
Like a kid on Christmas, I woke up early to play a brand new video game today. Resident Evil Requiem launched very recently and I wanted to dive in with the rest of the world to enjoy the games thrills and chills. I was perhaps a little too keen to see it all though because I ended up finishing the game tonight too. The only thing that threatened my progress was a giant spider boss that Rebecca very kindly dispatched for me after I got myself in a bit of a tiz about the prospect of fighting it. All in the game was actually low-key disappointing, but I still had a fab time playing it with Rebecca on the sofa as she read a book while I screamed softly to myself whenever something jumped up.
Friday, 27 February 2026
Bye Bye Production Runner
Though we have a full week left at work, some of my team bid farewell to us today. Specifically our Production Runner who started on the same day as me and who I shared many a shoot day on the truck with. We worked with eachother for so long it's frankly alien to think they won't be in on Friday now. I handed over my wrap gift, gave them a hug and watched them walk into the sunset. But we've already discussed making plans to meet up soon, even though this job is coming to a close the friendships will last a lifetime.
Thursday, 26 February 2026
Over Caffeinated
Got given a pair of bulk upload tasks to do, the first of which was gonna be a long one as it involved dragging, renaming and filing just over 100 files. I made a cup of coffee, accidentally over caffeinated myself then proceeded to peek beyond the realm of space and time to bash them out at a rate that shocked my coworkers (and myself). I rode that high for the rest of the day it felt like. It helped that we watched Grease on our big office telly in the morning, a real team bonding moment where people stopped what they were doing to watch their favourite bits. Just an oddly productive day in a lot of ways.
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Drip Feeding Work
The work has continued to flat line now and the team have lost all momentum. We're like soldiers with no war left to fight, drifting, ever hopeful for an email or phonecall. My last big project job is slowly arriving at completion point too, after that I really will start to feel like a bit of a spare part, but that's a good thing at this stage, beats rushing and stressing, especially when we've all got so little left in the tank.
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Goof Off
Having smashed through my to do list I found myself with a pair of thumbs to twiddle. This is rare for me but I found myself in a position to 'save my energy' with is the perfect euphemism for 'goof off'. For about an hour I just stood up, shuffled some bits around the office to help with the pack down and then enjoyed some time off my screen. Until people eventually got back to my emails that is, then I was jumping back into action.
Our production team enjoyed our last meal together at an upmarket Italian place which was certified delicious. It was swell to buy a bottle of wine for the table and enjoy it in the company of the team and we reflected on the victory lap. Best of all, because we're all so quiet there was virtually no talking shop.
I'm also delighted to report that my efforts to give up Margaritas for Lent are still going strong.