Early, Early Shoot

Set my alarm for 3.20 and took a two hour bus to get to set today, probably one of the biggest missions I've ever done to get to a shoot day. On the plus side, the day went really, really well. We were shooting an advert for a very big company as it turned out. Initially I was quite worried because the stigma surround commercial crews can be a bit sketchy, but everyone today was professional AND friendly!

I naturally got all the super glamorous jobs, namely mopping a large studio floor to give the surface a mirror-like reflection - a surprisingly effective technique. Unfortunately our talent couldn't perform on any wet patches so I'd frequently have to get in my hands and knees to towel off portions of the flooring, then wet then again, then dry them again. Kept me busy though.

I think I made a solid impression on many members of the crew, especially when someone busted out Mario Kart at lunch and I got to flex my skills.

Day is over now though and I'm shattered, in going to sleep for hopefully 90% of the Megabua journey back. I'm already dreaming of my bed and giving Rebecca a late night peck on the cheek.

Dodgy Dealings in Games

Started the day with an early morning driving lesson which went pretty well. Apparently my instructor wants to give me a mock test next time round which can only be a good sign. Following that, I headed into town to meet a friend and do some dodgy dealings. He was selling his PlayStation 4 with a range of games for a very, very low price. The deal got even sweeter once I went round the corner and sold a whole bunch of the games I didn't want at CEX and got £80 out of the deal! Now I'm the around owner of a PlayStation 4, I can already hear my mum moaning 'Not another console!'

Hopped on a Megabus to London once again this evening for an advert shoot I'm working on tomorrow. It's a bit of a long journey for me in the morning so I'll be getting up bright and early, say a prayer for me.

The Summer Ends

You know Summer is over when its more overcast than sunny when you're sitting on the beach. To bid Bournemouth farewell we had one last mince into Winton high street and one final walk down to the beach. It was a bit sad to say farewell to it all, the sand and the sea, but I know it'll be there waiting for me next year.

I've got a very early driving lesson tomorrow, and Rebecca and I are tuckered out after the long drive back - back to reality tomorrow!

Christchurch Tourists

For our last day in Bournemouth together, Rebecca and I went up to Hengistbury Head to drink in the sights and enjoy a walk along the clifftop. We toddled into Christchurch afterwards for lunch and to look around the picturesque village. Really nice way to spend a day.

Little bit of news too, the coffer job I applied for offered me the position! I'm only on a 8 hour a week contract so I have plenty of time to apply for other work and get a few pennies in at the same time.

Downton Convert?

Went up Westcliff way to have a little moovh along the seafront one last time before we bid farewell to Rebecca's folks. So then it was two, and Rebecca insisted that the Bank Holiday afternoon mood paired very nicely with Downton Abbey. We since stuck up a deal, I'd watch the first series of Downton if Rebecca watched season 1 of the Wire. I thought I'd be gritting my teeth for seven long episodes, but so far its pretty harmless!

Later on in the evening we met up with James Philpott, haven't seen him in 10 months it turned out. He's doing very well for himself now though and it was good to see an old uni friend.

Highcliffe Castle

Can't remember the last time it rained this much, only in Bournemouth I guess. We passed the time by visiting Highcliffe Castle, admission seemed very reasonable at first, only £2.50 a head, then we realised that the visiting areas were very limited. While I enjoyed looking at 4 rooms, I do wish I could have seen a little more...

Games of Rummikub and Mario Kart made up most the afternoon until we dashed to make a dinner reservation at a favourite Italian restaurant. My nose got a little bunged up just before heading out, I've had a very mild cold for what feels like 2 weeks now, just hoping it doesn't turn into anything too nasty.

Blush Burgers in B-town

Though we suffered through the late morning traffic, we arrived in B-town with plenty of time for activities. Rebecca and I joined forces with her parents and headed into the high street for some lunch shopping and we later headed into the town centre to do some quality mooching. We dipped our toes in the water (mid August and still freezing) and popped into a classic sweet shop so I could finally get some hard apple sweets I've been craving recently. Came back to BBQ some burgers courtesy of the local butcher. Turns out I'm significantly less squeamish when it comes to eating blush meat compared to Rebecca's family - if I get food poisoning tomorrow though then I won't judge so harshly.

Dishwasher Fumes

The first thing I properly noticed during my trial shift was the smell of the dishwasher: it immediately took me right back to my Eddie Catz days. There's no denying that smell, and there's no denying that I did my absolute best while I was there. Apparently I'll find out if I got the job sometime next week so once again, I'll keep you posted.

Rebecca and I are driving down to Bournemouth tomorrow morning for a mini holiday but we stopped off in Newbury tonight to break up the journey. My parents are up in Aberdeen for Dad's next 10K, so that meant we could blast out the final episode of The Night Off as loud as we liked. Really gripping series overall, they crammed an awful lot in the final episode but I was pretty chuffed with it overall.

Lift 'n Shift Lifestyle

Seeing as Rebecca and I are so wrapped up in the drama from The Night Of, its perhaps understandable that we typically run out of time in the evenings to do much else. We were meant to wash Rebecca's car last night but got a bit distracted. Instead, I opted to do it for her so it was done before we have to run off to Bournemouth tomorrow night. Got her car looking spic and span too, even though I had to dodge a whole bunch of traffic while cleaning one side of it.

Later in the afternoon I hopped in a van with Mark to help him collect and carry a whole bunch of furniture for his office renovation. There was one cabinet that nearly defeated us, but you can always find an inner strength somewhere deep down for when it all really matters.

I got my trial shift at the coffee place tomorrow afternoon so watch this space to hear how it goes!

The Streets Hit Back

Well, it turned out that hitting the streets with my CV was a hood way to go. Just before lunch I got a call back from on of the coffee shops I visited and they gave me a telephone interview. Two hours later I was having a face to face interview and arranged to do a trial shift with them this Friday. Its all happening so fast right now after months of nothing, but I'm pretty pleased so far. If the trial shift goes well they'll likely offer me a place on board.

I decided to knock up another batch of bread too. I tried out an overnight ferment technique that was advertised as being 'no kneed'. Maybe I messed up my ratios, but when the dough came out it was unbelievably wet still and I had to rub in a whole bunch of flour and kneed it all together for the standard ten minutes... Not too sure where I actually saved time on that one. Despite that setback, it turned out really, really good, probably my best loaf yet!

Hittin' the Streets

Since jobs aren't exactly knocking on my door I did job hunting the old fashioned way: by going door to door handing in my CV. I hit the trendy side of Bedminster to beg ask about job vacancies at nearby coffee shops. One or two told me upfront they didn't need any staff, but some others were eager to take my CV. I guess we will see if anything come of it, with any luck I could get a call back within the next week or so.

I think I'm at a point now where I just need two things: A bit more of a purpose in life and a little extra money lining my pockets.

Digital Garage

Its been almost 3 months, but I'm at long last back behind the wheel and learning to drive again. I was a bit anxious about how I'd do after such a long hiatus, but my worries were unjustified since it turned out to be just fine. If anything, it was a bit better than usual.

As part of the potential apprenticeship scheme I'm trying to get on I was asked to complete Google's Digital Garage certificate. Its hilarious because the whole thing reads as one massive piece of propaganda for Google AdWords and Analytics, it also somehow manages to be either far too simple, or far too complicated in some areas. There's a 'final exam' at the end of it all which I failed on my first attempt, you have to wait 10 HOURS until you can retake it. I still don't know what the pass grade is either... Maybe the whole thing was a waste of time.

Running Up and Down Cheddar Gorge

Seeing as we spent most of yesterday indoors watching Netflix, Rebecca and I decided to stretch our legs and head out to a far away land we've never been to before. The magical Cheddar Gorge! First impressions of the village was a bit dicey, we didn't realise the place was a total tourist trap so driving past folks with ice creams and kids was a lot of fun. Once we parked up I had to run down to the nearest shop to break a £10 note for parking, barging past some very slow walkers on the way. Once we walked up along the road for a bit, far away from the expensive magnum ice creams, then the gorge really impressed. We saw a handful of mountain goats and even sat in a tearoom for a scone and a coffee - we do weekends pretty well.

No Tomato Bake

Rebecca treated me to a new meal today from a Jamie Oliver cookbook: a chipolata and tomato bake! But since Rebecca can't eat tomatoes, we subbed in some chickpeas and aubergine instead.

I'm also making my way through Matt Groening's new show Disenchantment which is pretty good, I'm thinking of doing a small review/write-up for it once I finished all ten episodes.

The evening ended with me feeling oddly clammy and naff. It felt like I had 1% of cold symptoms throughout the week but now they might be coming to the forefront. Hopefully I wake up feeling a little better.

Early, Early Morning Board Games

Been a busy few days on my end. Went out for a board games night with Mark recently and I got back at 4:30 in the morning from it (we went at it pretty hard) since then I've just been applying for more work and thinking about topics for my next video.

Been getting through a bit more of The Night Of with Rebecca in the evenings. I'm really intrigued to see what happens and his it all pans out, I started watching it last year and I only just got the opportunity to watch it with Rebecca.

Carcaixent 2018

Anyone who looks back on the English Summer of 2018 will recall it was an absolute scorcher. But let me tell you, England's heat was child's play compared to the near 40 degree temperatures we go in Carcaixent during the Youth for Europe meeting.

Naturally, the Spanish had a means of combating the heat and once we arrived in the beautiful town of Carcaixent we were invited to dive into a swimming pool. I was only in the country for three hours and I was already drinking beer in a sparkling pool – I looked like I was in a Villa Plus advert. Not only does this say a lot about Spanish hospitality, it pretty much set the precedent for how the rest of the week was going to play out: warm, relaxing and a lot of fun.

The first half of the meeting we spent with host families in Carcaixent where we were indicted to the Spanish way of life. This meant daily dips in the pool and enjoying late lunches and even later evening meals. I immediately felt very welcome since my host family were immensely friendly and eager to showcase the regional cuisine. We spent the latter half of the week all together in a youth hostel in Piles, a small town right on the beach. Every evening after activities we had the chance to swim in the sea or just chill out and listen to the waves.

Every year the Youth for Europe meetings have a different central theme, because Carcaixent and the Valencia region was renowned for it's silk industry, this time we looking into the world of weaving. On the first day everyone was given either a crochet hook or a pair of knitting needles and were taught how to make a simple square pattern. Each day we were taught more advanced steps with the ultimate goal of combining our woollen squares into multiple blankets for a local charity. The theme even carried over into some of our day activities and we even visited a nearby textile factory to watch how intricately decorated blankets are produced using a loom – something I've never seen before.

Though we were up to our elbows in knitting, we got up to plenty of other activities. Some days we went swimming in a nearby pool or toured the historic buildings of Carcaixent. One morning we even found ourselves crawling through caves on a picturesque hillside. Not one for claustrophobics, but it was certainly unique! Early on in the week we were all separated into teams named after Hogwarts houses. Every day we were given a new task ranging from collecting photos of things that look like Pokemon to building a sandman on the beach. They were all great team building exercises and they were a great way to meet and talk to new people from all the other involved countries.

The crown jewel of the visit was the trip to Valencia. It started with a brief guided tour of the silk museum and Valencia's sweeping market which was bursting with fresh fruits and Spanish meats. Afterwards, we were given free time to roam the city and do as we pleased, we ended up visiting a church, Valencia's Cathedral and walked along several beautiful streets. Hot and weary from being tourists, we retired to a sleepy tapas bar completely off the beaten path and ordered 'one of everything!' We slept like babies on the coach home.

For our final night in Spain, the group met at a nearby event space in Carcaixent for an awards ceremony and a farewell party. We got to see the fruits of our weaving labour that night as all 15 of our blankets were laid out, ready to be gifted to a good cause.

Additional certificates were given out and the winners of the Hogwarts team challenge were announced. Modesty be damned, my team won overall and Hufflepuff carried home the house trophy! After the presentations and a slap-up meal a DJ appeared and we danced the night away.

I've been to my fair share of Youth for Europe meetings now, but each year I continue to meet new people and make new friends. I got talking to a German called Lukas and we bonded over our mutural love of Batman and I chatted to a young French girl called Ella who told me that she recently visited Newbury, she even whipped out her 'souvenir' English train ticket to prove it. In Carcaixent this year I noticed that more and more of the younger generation stepping up the plate and mucking in with the activities and that makes me confident that they will continue to carry the Youth for Europe torch well into the foreseeable future.

  

Plus, I know how to knit now! Once the temperature cools off back in England, I might just start knitting my girlfriend a scarf.

Sassy Email

Sent out three more job applications today, really stepping it up. It helps that I've got about 40 CV and covering letter templates to adapt now so making a bespoke application is getting quicker and quicker.

I got to send out a fairly sassy email today too after the apprenticeship company I applied for apparently want me to come into their offices again because they forgot to get me to sign a document when I was first there. Its basically a 90 minute round trip for me to go there, I suggested simply signing and scanning in their document, but they were adamant that I should just 'pop in'. I held my ground though and they suddenly dropped the subject, dah well.

I'm also going to try and make an effort to promote my YouTube and Twitter stuff on a daily basis just by commenting or posting stuff around the net. Improving my digital footprint basically. Its paid off so far, already got 8 new Twitter followers in an evening.

Anyone want a Coffee Man?

Armed with my laptop and a cup of coffee I ventured into the world of job applications once more. I found a great sounding TV job I wrote a strong covering letter for. After that I shot off 4 applications for coffee jobs in the local area and have a few more to do tomorrow. I've made up a mini plan for this coming week and all the work I need to do and I'm already feeling positive.

In the evening I hopped on a voice call with the chap I'm doing a collab video with and stormed through a bit more scripting. I'd say we were about 3/4 of the way done with the writing now so I'm getting excited to actually make the video with him.

Caerphilly Castle

Braved the wet weather to drive Westward into Wales for yet another castle tour session. This time we hit up Caerphilly and its castle/fortress which was pretty spectacular. We jokingly treated the entire day out as a photoshoot for Rebecca and you can't deny that she looks pretty regal here:

Went back to a friend house for an evening of board and cards games. We played a few rounds of Hearts and I managed to shoot the moon twice! Should put that on my CV.

Not-so-Hot Air Balloon Festival

Was looking forward to going to the Bristol Balloon Festival this evening, but bad weather effectively called off most of the event. There was due to be an 'accent' where you could see a mass of hot air balloons go up, but the rain kept them grounded. Later on there was also meant to be a glowing festival where all the balloons lit up in the night sky, but again that was more or less canned too. Bit of a shame because Rebecca and I were both really looking forward to seeing it all in action. Apparently it's ropey weather every year at this event - oh well.

We stated in and watched Notting Hill instead, a film I've not seen for about ten years. Infamously, we watched it with a family friend while on holiday and she enjoyed it so much after we saw it, she rewound the tape to watch it again immediately and we did nothing to stop her. And I can see why, because its still a pretty dang good rom-com and I enjoyed it a lot more than I remembered.

I, Tonya

Spent the last few hours in Bournemouth watching the rain fall onto the patio table, wishing we had a deck if cards. It was a little sad to go, but I'll be back in a few weeks with Rebecca and I already can't wait.

Our trains were really naggered coming back, our journey took about an hour and a half longer than expected and there I was without a book to read. I indulged in eavesdropping on the people in front of me for a spell, then I just listened to podcasts and watched the world go by. I made it back in time to cook Rebecca some burritos and watch I, Tonya. A good and highly enjoyable film, with flashes of greatness, but it never quite found its feet for me. I think it didn't have a substantial emotional anchor or character truth to keep me wholly invested. Most if the second act puts Tonya on the backseat too which is a bit of a shame. Still, its a good story that is told very well through the lense of a pseudo docu-drama, in the wrong hands that approach could have been a disaster, but after you've seen the film you couldn't imagine it unfolding in any other way.

Where the Otters At?

We're on a bit of a roll in terms of doing activities we haven't done in Bournemouth before, we hit up Google to help us find nearby places to spend the afternoon and stumbled upon a nearby nature reserve. The website assured us that you could see otters there if you were lucky, but the only wildlife we saw were moorhens. No bother though since it was a nice way to get out the house and go for a walk. I'll be coming back home to Bristol tomorrow afternoon, hopefully just in time to cook Rebecca a nice meal and give her plenty of cuddles.

Taking Our Pick

Is there a nicer way to spend a Summer morning than berry picking? If there is I don't want to know. Mum drove us along to the small town of Sopley to pick some raspberries and strawberries (which we later had for pudding). It was a really chill and lovely thing to do and I couldn't resist getting a few photos:

Later on I sat down and tanked through the final chapter of A Prayer for Owen Meany which was a totally great book. It had me totally hooked from the very beginning and kept peppering in little bits of foreshadowing that kept me guessing right up to the final page. It was beautifully written too and a total pleasure to read, the next book I pick up will have to do some heavy lifting because Owen Meany is a tough act to follow.

Back in Bournemouth 2018

Woke up early to prep a little bit for today's interview which was being held at a local boxing charity. They were about 25 minutes late before they had the chance to see me, but the interview itself went pretty well I reckon, I gave it my damnedest but it was a little hard to read the guys there since none of them really cracked a smile while we chatted. We left on fairly open terms too which suited us both, I'm still not 100% certain if this role is right for me but it was good experience and it could lead to something down the line.

I took the train down to Bournemouth immediately afterwards to spend a bit of time with my family. I always look forward to spending a few days down at Frederica Road in the Summer and I'm settling right in so far. It still feels weird to imagine I did my degree here though.

Catching up with My Sleep

Rebecca and I slept for a staggering twelve hours last night, guess all those late evenings and hot days finally caught up with us. I woke up feeling refreshed yet found myself being a bit fidgety throughout the day. I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to commit to anything more demanding than reading my book or doing some laundry, I'm still coming to terms with the fact my time in Spain is over now and I have to stare reality in the face.

I got an interview as a digital media apprentice for a nearby boxing charity tomorrow, apparently there's only one other candidate in the running at the moment so my chances are quite favorable. I've got my outfit sorted - tan trousers, nice shirt and smart shoes, I'll go in with a fresh shave tomorrow and hopefully make a good impression.

Carcaixent Days 4, 5, 6 and 7!

Coverage of this meeting got a little bit tricky for me since we spent the second half of our visit in a youth hostel by the beach, this meant late nights and no wifi hence some lack of updates. Overall though, we spent the last few days swimming in the ocean and visiting the city of Valencia. Last night we had our farewell party and for me at least, it felt harder than usual to say goodbye to everyone as the reality of this years Youth for Europe ending was a fairly sad prospect.

Rest assured, I'll be doing my write up soon if you want to read about the whole thing.

Carcaicent Day 3

We continued with our knitting and weaving activities to start off the day. My second pattern is coming along nicely and I've even taught a handful of people how to knit now which I'm really chuffed with.

In the evening we played house games after being separated into teams inspired by Harry Potter. We had to run around town finding people and doing a group activity with each of them - first team to do all of them got bonus points. And I'd be damned if Hufflepuff (my team) didn't get those points! Ended up sprinting for basically an hour in 28 degrees at night time. I was easily more sweat than man.