London in a Blizzard

Battled through the snow on my way down to Finsbury Park, at first I thought it was going to be a real mission but I actually arrived with plenty of time to spare and grab breakfast. Much later on in the day however, that's when things got a little hairy. At midday we were due to get coverage of a student/pro-Labour protest and march so it was already a busy situation. On top of that, the snow was absolutely pelting it down at this point, just crazy amounts.

This picture was taken at a cute level if snowfall, at the time of our filming there wasn't a tangible way to keep it all off our camera lenses. It was pretty harrowing at first, but we all agreed round the lunch table that it ended up being a pretty funny filming day because of it - hopefully the footage looks great too.

Snowbound in London

Super quick blog tonight. Fought the snow down to London and I'm ready again for another day of shooting in Central London. Going to be outside for the most of the day though and with highs of -1, it's bound to be an interesting day.

The Shape of Water

In order to distract myself from the cold I had an early morning viewing of Dead Man. As I sat there on the sofa, wrapped up in my black minky blanket, I noticed I looked and felt an awful lot like Johnny Depp in that film:

Outside of a few standout moment, I think this is currently my least favourite Jim Jarmusch film. While poetic in places, it didn't add up to as much as it could have by the end, but then again, maybe that's the point.

The other film I saw yesterday I will wholeheartedly recommend though: The Shape of Water was pretty darn excellent. Leave it to Del Toro to bring a distinctly European flavour to an American film, keen views may notice some callbacks to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's films, in particular Amélie and Delicatessen, but this film is totally it's own beast. From the title sequence to the credits I was absolutely enraptured by it, it moved at a brisk pace with not a single dull moment. It's funny, violent, charming and surprisingly human - leave it to a monster movie to bring out the humanity of our species.

Back 2 Wales

Started the day off well with some of the fluffiest pancakes I've ever made and with bellies full of batter, we headed off to Wales for another roadtrip with friends. We hit up another large castle at Chepstow which was beautiful and made our way down to Hay on Wye for peruse the various bookshops - I went along with 3 booksellers so that stop was kinda a given. We had to wrap up tight thought because it was COLD today, just outrageously chilly. Not sure if I'm really looking forward to the next few days, apparently the temperature is about to drop even harder.

Taking it down a Gear

Just another lazy Saturday. Seeing as I'm likely to get a bit busy over the next few weeks, it was nice to just take it easy with Rebecca and enjoy the day at our own pace. She even cooked something from the recipe book I got her for Christmas - some lemon chicken dish with some crispy potatoes, went down a treat too. Going to be using some of the left-over lemon in another attempt at making buttermilk for some bonafide US pancakes tomorrow morning, pumped for them.

In other news, I just hit over 100 Twitter followers which is a cool little milestone to pass. That and Pinkman's Bakery also shared the video I made of their Sourdoughnut on Facebook, meaning it's now out there for the world to see and enjoy. It's nice knowing that the small portfolio video I made has been seen by a fair few folks.

Chatty Pub

Followed up on a brief bit of admin work and then prepared myself to do a bit of entertaining at our flat. A friend of Rebecca's was around during the daytime and I invited both him and his visiting friend round for a games afternoon and dinner. Yes, it was a glorified play-date for some 20 year olds, but it actually turned out to be a really good day. We headed out in the evening with Rebecca to a few pubs and to meet up with a few more people, we talked about our worst injuries and our favourite museums in a pub where we could actually hear ourselves speak! Ended up having a really nice night out as a result.

Competitive Rock, Paper, Scissors

Attended a group interview for a local youth magazine first thing this morning, we did a real range of activities too from competitive rock, paper, scissors to pitching a group article idea. I thought I came across alright during the process, but maybe a little overshadowed by a few of the slightly larger personalities in the room. I got an email much later on this evening informing me that I wasn't successful and wou;dn't move further through the interview process which was a bit of a bummer.

On the plus side, my recent filming jobs have offered me a few more days at their offices in the run up to the next shoot, wouldn't have been able to say yes to that opportunity if I hadn't received the rejection notice so it's not all bad!

It also feels like my cold is in full force, my nose is all bunged up and I feel rinsed out, totally ready for bed.

Brexit Vigil

Doing another MegaBus coach station blog! We actually wrapped a bit earlier than expected so I tried to charm my way onto an earlier bus, but apparently there's a £10 fee if you want to swap buses. Considering my ticket cost less than that, I think I'll wait.

We did some filming round a handful of universities and a Brexit Vigil held by folks passionate about staying in the EU. It was bizarre though, everyone there was waving flags and blasting comedy songs about how awful Theresa May is outside 10 Downing Street. One woman seemed to believe the best way to protest was by hula hooping. Mum would have loved it.

Cancellation Blessing

Scrambled around a fair bit last week in order to reschedule a driving lesson and it ended up landing on this morning. While I was glad to squeeze it in, my cold meant I wasn't really feeling up to it and it meant I'd be rushing around packing for going to London tonight. Imagine my delight then when my instructor messaged me saying he woke up with his own stonking cold and had to cancel the lesson. Dream come true that. It meant my day was much more leisurely overall and I even got a chance to do some brainstorming for a creative project that was floating around in my brain last night.

I'm down in London now, prepping for a shoot near Downing Street tomorrow afternoon. I reckon its gonna be a real good one too.

Sore Throat Blues

Moped around the flat a bit today since I woke up feeling rather wretched. Sore throats always make me a bit glum and I found it a little harder to commit to doing some work than usual, at one point I even decided to watch a bit of daytime TV and I think that just made me feel even more sorry for myself.

I got another video idea that I am slowly building up, I actually have a full structure for the script already which is amazing so I'm just putting some meat on the skeleton. Turnaround for it should be much quicker than my last one, but I'll actually be rather busy this week traveling to and from London for the shoot. I'm already feeling unnecessarily grumpy about the prospect of hopping on a MegaBus tomorrow evening...

Lady Bird

There's a section in Francis Ha where Greta Gerwig's character visits her parents (played by Gerwig's actual parents) in Sacramento (Gerwig's actual hometown). It's not so surprising then to see Lady Bird dealing with a subject and set in a location that is clearly very familiar to the director. At its core, the film is about that key moment in many teenager's lives where they begin to develop nostalgia and a love for the people and places they used to know and understand. In particular, its about Lady Bird's parents and the relationship she has with her mother. The film is strongest when the main family are all together, celebrating Christmas or arguing over finances and college tuition fees.

Running alongside that are glimpses into Lady Bird's school life and her final year at high school along with all the adolescent thrills that come with it. It certainly works as a coming of age film, despite hitting some familiar beats, but it fails to capatalise on the relationship between her parents more and for that reason it occasionally feels like the film lacks focus.

It comes together nicely at the end however, it brings back the family element well even if it did seem like it was warming the bench for a little too long. Much like Lady Bird herself, the film is angsty and funny in all the right places, but every now and then it doesn't know where it wants to go. More than anything though, it has got me incredibly excited to see what Greta Gerwig will produce in the future because  beyond the comedy she is able to capture some very human moments.

Bit of a nothing Saturday

Aside from me making a banging bacon and avocado sandwich, ain't much happened today. Just booked my tickets to go see Lady Bird at the Watershed tomorrow night so I'll put my thoughts on that here, pretty pumped to see it actually. Need to sort out my movements for next week too, my shooting dates feel like they are continuously changing all the time so I my need to send off an email or two before booking some MegaBus journeys, can't wait to fall asleep on a coach again while listening to Tom Waits.

Bristol Visitors plus Year of the Dog

Mum and Granny Sue popped down to Bristol for a day out so Louis and I took them to see the sights. Starting with a nice lunch at the Watershed then onto the camera obscura up at Clifton Observatory, hadn't been there before so it was a neat little experience. After a brief snack at Pinkmans we waved goodbye to our visitors, I think Mum and Granny had a grand old time out today, shame they had to leave so soon though since Louis and I stuck around Wapping Wharf for their Chinese New Year celebrations. Got to see a mini dragon roam around and play with the kids before dancing along to the drummers. Nice way to ring in the year if the dog anyhow.

Happiness is a Warm Email

Got an email back from a job I applied for last week offering me an interview! It was for a content creator position at a local youth magazine so I think I'd slot in perfectly, funny how a little email can really brighten your day.

Otherwise I've just been keeping my head down with some small projects I've got going on. Another internet personality asked me to do a collaboration video with me a few weeks back and that is finally starting to come to fruition. I think the writing phase will begin soon, but for now I've just been re-playing our selected 'retro game' which is Starfox Adventures. I remember loving it as a kid, but going back to it now I can start to see an awful lot of cracks in it, least there's plenty to discuss for a video.

Happy Valentines Day 2018! Food Special!

To love another you must learn to love yourself first. I took this thought to heart going into today and decided to give myself a small pampering session. It's been a while since I saw an afternoon film so I treated myself to a viewing of Babette Feast, which is perhaps second only to Big Night when it comes to exploring the spiritual significance of an excellent meal. There Babette was making partridge pies and caviar pancakes while I was tucking into marmite on toast and a penguin bar.

Prior to watching the film I also decided to make something a little special our Valentines Day evening since food is an excellent way to show your love. I wasn't around for Pancake Day yesterday so I opted to make some crepes along with some chocolate cover strawberries. Never had an excuse to learn how to temper chocolate until now and I'm jolly glad I gave it s shot because they came out amazing.

I had so much chocolate left I actually decided to coat some dried cranberries while I was at it too for a nice snack later on in the week.

Rebecca and I rounded off our 'Easy Valentines' with a viewing of Shakespeare in Love, a film I havn't seen in exactly 6 years today (I watched it last on my lonesome). It was a lovely one to revisit too and I'm glad I could share it with Rebecca this time around.

Brexit-On-Sea

About to hop on my Megabus back to Bristol, when I get back I can happily say that's I have literally gone cross country today. It would be a real feat, had I not have spent most of the day in the small town of Clacton-On-Sea. (Or Brexit-On-Sea as many news outlets have nicknamed it.) It was pretty naff there, but we didn't quite find the level of Brexiteers we expected. Instead it was just really bloody cold and windy, made filming a bit of a mission at times. But we got it all in the can and I'm on my way back to Bristol now, can't wait to get in bed.

Double CV Day

Hit the CV game pretty hard today and happily applied for two more jobs in Bristol. Wrote some really short and punchy covering letters to go with them too so I'm very pleased with how they read. Seeing as I had about an hour before I got off the metaphorical clock, I decided to put some time into brainstorming my next video, and I've settled on a pretty fun topic. I spoke a bit about it with Daniel and we had a mini spitball session over it - plus its always nice to talk games.

I'm headed Eastward to Clacton on Sea tomorrow for another days filming, we are there to get coverage of people who voted for Brexit which will be... Interesting. Especially because we'll be making fun of them. I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow.

Sunday Apart

Woke up with a trademark silly tuft of bed hair after a well needed nights sleep after the previous late night. Went with Rebecca to see a London friend of hers at a coffee shop and then we saw her grandmother for a Sunday Lunch. Really easy going day but it was a bit sad to wave goodbye to Rebecca while I stayed put. I'm sticking around in London til Tuesday now for another day of filming so we'll be apart for just a little while.

Ally Pally Filming Day

Morning trek to Alexandria Palace for a bit of vox pop shooting was on the bill for me today. Bit of rushing around for a pizza box early first thing, but after that I was Mr release form. I basically went around and asked members of the public of they were happy for us to use their face in the final product. For the most part it went well (really well considering how potentially rude we were being) so that's all good.

Hopped on the tube for a night out with so.e London friends after wrap. Originally we were going to hit the night life, but we needed up walking around in the rain for ages looking for a club with no luck. Shattered now and I can't wait for this train to start moving so it can take me to bed.

Guilt and Time Travel in The Sexy Brutale

Manic rush to get myself all ready for heading to London this evening but I think I pulled it all off. Most importantly, I managed to get my new video all done and dusted, I put it up earlier this afternoon and I'm pretty chuffed with it. Pleased to present 'Guilt and Time Travel in The Sexy Brutale'

A few hours later I got a comment on Twitter about the video... From the co-founder of the game studio that made the game!

I want this turned into a fridge magnet, really blown away by the fact someone involved in the games development was interested in watching my video, glad he had a sense of humour about criticism too. I sent him a message back in good faith too, this is the most rock and roll I've ever felt on the internet.

Crunch Editing Time

Belted up for yet another driving lesson which went about as well as usual. I think I'm getting to a point now where I'm just fine tuning my skills on the road. Keep making some little mistakes that add up, but hey, that's what lessons are for.

At long last, I started editing together my next video too, and I've got a mini deadline now seeing as Rebecca and I are headed to London tomorrow evening. May have to crunch a little bit to get it all done for then (including export and upload times) but I did a hearty chunk today so I should have it ready for viewing tomorrow.

Entertainment Centres of Bristol

Went around a few key entertainment stops around Bristol over the course of the day. First up was VR Star, a little VR booth tucked away at the top of Cabot Circus. Previosuly Mark and I played around in the VR headspace with the Sony headsets, but now we got a chance to sample some other tech and more importantly, some other games. I got to try a motorbike game which felt a little bit clunky and gimmicky, but was a lot of fun for the 7 minutes it lasted for. Any longer on that one and it would have unraveled a bit. After that I stuck with a sci-fi 'kill all robots' style wave defense game with guns! Using both hands I got to go around and shoot robots in the face with my akimbo pistols and that was good stuff.

Then the Birthday train didn't stop for Rebecca as we met up with a few friends that couldn't make it to the pub yesterday. We headed down together to Chance and Counters to play a few board games and that's always a fun time. I think I'm a little worn out now after such a busy 'out and about' period, I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I can focus on editing up my next video and eat some of Rebecca's Birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Rebecca 2018!

For Rebecca's Birthday we started the day off right, with cooked eggs and a late morning viewing of Back to the Future - very easy going to begin with. From there though, things really got going, we headed up to Wahaca on Park Street for a mighty Mexican Lunch and some free Birthday churros!

After digesting all that we spent some time with the things Rebecca loves most: Cats. Bristol has a lovely little cat cafe where you can have a coffee while stroking and playing with a variety of cats. I started off quite reserved, but I ended up on the floor playing around with a few of them.

Those were all the big activities, after that we had a small dinner and headed out to a nearby pub with some friends to round off the evening. I think Rebecca rung in her 23rd really well and I feel incredibly lucky to be there to share it all with her. Here's a quick snap of her I got after leaving the cat cafe - it started snowing then too so it was a cute moment.

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Surprise Cake

Surprised Rebecca by baking her my renowned coffee cake in preparation for her Birthday tomorrow. Couldn't have hidden it from her this evening so I just kinda presented it to her when she got home and she was delighted. In between rounds of baking I finally finished up writing my next video. Need to do one more round of proof reading and editing quickly before I can start producing the video but I'm really eager to pop something new on my channel now.

Terrible Tudors

Waved goodbye to Rebecca's parents after a massive hotel breakfast, and a brisk walk along the Bristol Harbour. Rebecca and I just spent the rest of our Sunday veg-ing out which was very welcome after a busy yesterday.

We wanted to watch a film before the end of the day though, and Rebecca had a Tudor craving so we settled on The Other Boleyn Girl and it felt like serving a life sentence. I figure that it's a little hard for me to get into a film where a character doesn't have noble virtues, however humble they may be, but here, every character was contemptible. Wasn't my cuppa tea.  

Up and Down Town

Eating, drinking and walking was all we did today. Rebecca folks came down and we took them up and down park street before settling into a nearby pub. Then we hit Zero Degrees for a pizza and a pint and took the scenic route back. The busy day culminated with tiramisu at ours. I just had a green tea that took me to my happy place and I'm now very, very sleepy.

Games, Charity and Tiramisu

Had a craving to go outside for a bit today so I met up with Mark for a cheeky Friday lunch at Spice Up Your Life, a street food curry place which is pretty dang great. May be heading out with him sometime next week to sample some more VR for some techie fun times. Watch this space for a dorky picture of me with a VR headset soon.

Daniel flagged up one of the best gaming deals I think I've even seen. The Humble Bundle put up Dark Souls 3 (A game I've been wanting for a while now) up for the lowest rice I've ever seen it along with a few extra goodies. Plus, some of the money goes to charity, feeling pretty good about myself AND I've got something good to play over the weekend.

Rebecca's folks are popping down tomorrow too and as a small way of saying thank you to them for letting me stay at theirs for the filming last week, I've made a tiramisu! It's chilling in our fridge right now and I've got a feeling this will be a good one (I know because I licked the bowl). Already looking forward to serving some of it up.

Anxious Emailer

Email writing took up the bulk of my day, or rather worrying about writing emails. Long story short, I may have two potential upcoming jobs where the dates could clash - I want to do both of them if possible but I still don't have confirmation on one of them so it's a little hard to make plans. Had to call my Mum up for a little life advice session, but we came up with a plan and I sent off a good little email which yielded a really positive response. It was the best possible outcome of the situation and it just goes to show that I often worry about a whole load of nothing sometimes.

Rebecca came back flaunting the results of her DiSC test which she took at work to get a better understanding of her personality. It did sound a bit like a precursor to a Scientology thing at first, but while she was reading back the report it was hard not to agree with a few points it made about her - she ended up in the 'C' band in case anyone familiar with the test is interested.

And in other news, I bought a silicone spatula after hearing I was actually going to be paid a little more for my last job than I expected. I'm going to be making tiramisu tomorrow so I'll need every bit of help I can get scraping the bowl clean. I mean I could do it with my fingers, but then I'd just have to eat all the tasty bits leftover in the bowl... And boy, wouldn't that be a shame.