The only thing louder than my pounding morning headache was the meows of our cat asking for food at the crack of dawn. No nausea, only brain cramps on account of not drinking enough water yesterday, so I had a couple pints of clear and another of coffee to medicate myself. Part two of this friends birthday celebration was a trip to the movie to catch Devil Wears Prada 2, a cosy sequel which was cute to watch with a big audience. The film wasn't a patch on the original (which I already don't rate especially highly) but in all fairness it was better than I expected. Turns out sitting in a dark room for two hours cures all headaches.
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.
Sunday, 3 May 2026
Feline Morning Call
Was looking forward to a lovely chill morning and a nice long lie in. But in classic fashion our cat had other plans, meowing loudly and loudly re-arranging the bedroom furniture with her head til I had no choice but to get up. No matter though, it gave me a great excuse to get up and crack on with me day. I watched a film early doors, then headed out to join a friend at the food market on the road near me. The rain started as I came back though, leaving me soaked before adding the finishing touches to my tiramisu to take up to another friend's birthday party. It was a very chill flat hangout, few beers, few group games and catching up with everyone.
In a way, the cat gave me a good headstart for the day - guess I should be thankful.
Friday, 1 May 2026
Wee Shoot Day
Completed a bonus little filming day which had me loading up our little car full of kit and taking round long, winding country roads. All our real work was kinda done over the course of last week, so today was just making sure everything went roughly according to plan. I low-key forgot how long a shoot day feels when you haven't got much to do, and the day only dragged when I stopped, that and when I had to drive back home. I'm shattered now, but nothing a three day weekend can't solve.
Thursday, 30 April 2026
Where WiFi?
Back to the offices today to do the final bits of prep ahead of our one shoot day tomorrow. Saw lots of old faces, and with a lighter work load all round, we had plenty of time to chat and enjoy the day. My biggest contribution to the effort was actually buying tea table supplies for tomorrow, a crew moves on its stomach and without snacks and hot beverages it'll all fall apart.
The only missing piece of the puzzle for tomorrow was the wifi. I tee'd up our supplies to drop a satalite dish to us today but the chap couldn't get to me til midnight tonight. So I got to making some homemade goods for a party I'm going to this weekend - lemonade and tiramisu. The Wi-Fi actually arrived early, just as I was putting everything in the fridge to chill overnight. I'd better get to bed now too so I'm not too tired for tomorrow.
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Deep in the Crate
Headed back to the old studios to have a nose around in the crate we put into deep storage. It's full of all the stuff that might be handy if the next series gets the full greenlight, we thought we wouldn't have to crack into it for another couple of months. Instead I found myself digging through boxes for tiny bits which were all, predictably, at the back of the crate underneath all the other boxes. Ah well, it got my muscles working again, lifting and shifting, so much so that I went in a run later on today just to keep a good thing going. I'll be heading into the office for just one day tomorrow, a toe-dip into office life once again.
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
SFX Road Trip
Day two back on the short term work beat had me driving out to an SFX house to grab a smoke machine. A labyrinth of road closures meant that I was on the road a lot longer than I was anticipating, but I knew the guy at the place as it turns out so we had a good chin wag.
I'm also continuing to moonlight as a script editor for a young filmmaker, offering gratis advice on how to sharpen their story. I'm lucky they're actually very good at writing so it's a joy to help them out on it. Keep my brain whirring in all the ways I like it too as well.
Monday, 27 April 2026
Remembering how to Email
I got a weeks worth of work starting up from today so I set up my downstairs desk and got to emailing. We basically have a single day shoot to prepare for on Friday which we're all gently scrambling to get ready for. I spent most of the first hour reclaiming all my work credentials so I could sign into our various platforms. From then. I just had to get back into the swing of phonecalls and emails. Nice to be useful though, even nicer to get a little bit of cash in my pocket.