Happy New Year 2020!

  
Where does all the time go on New Years Eve? Rebecca and I are on our way to ring in the new year with Mark and Lucy with some bubbles and board games. Just before heading over I had plenty of time to reflect on 2019 fondly.

Last year has been a real upswing for me full of personal milestones. I ran my first 10K in ages alongside my Dad and my Brother, I passed my driving test (finally) and I toured central Europe with Rebecca while interrailling. That was almost our biggest adventure together, trumped only by the excitement of buying our first house, we toured IKEA earlier on today for furniture ideas and we cannot wait to move in. Professionally, I had a good year of Running work too, doing commercials for bigger clients and meeting some really wonderful people. Even on a smaller note, I started writing for a small gaming website - getting my work published in any way is an immensly gratifying feeling. I feel more sure of myself than ever before and this photo best represents my year:

Sitting in Ljubljana, sipping a coffee and watching the world go by. If every day next year is even a fraction as lovely as that moment, it'll be a good year indeed.

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you're spending it with good company and the coming year is full of good fortune!

My First Memory Lane

Sparred with Louis for a little while on Smash Bros, then it was downtown for us to go furniture hunting. Along the way we went along the route I used to walk every day to primary school, I hadn't been that way for over a decade and the memories of walking to and from school rung around my head. Everything looked so much grander when you're only 7 years old.

The shopping itself was only dine to give is ideas about what we might want to pick up so we were fully prepared to leave empty handed but full of inspiration. Shortly after, Rebecca and I packed up our stuff and left Newbury after a really wonderful Christmas break. Its a shame the lead up between Christmas and New Years isn't longer because then I'd have an excuse to stay at home even longer.

Family Day and Name Game

Swabbed the decks and prepped some food all for the Christmas Family Day with my mum's side of the family tree. Got to see some relatives I hadnt seen in over three years so that was exciting, the food too that Dad mostly prepared was expectedly top notch. The ever popular Name Game made an appearance for the second year running and was a smash hit, Granny Sue's famous faces naturally returned too to the ironic chagrin of many patrons. Rebecca also dropped in for the day, first time I'd seen her in almost a week, lovely to have her back so show off all my presents to.

Trees Be Falling

Against all odds, work was actually very quiet today. Which was nice because I needed every ounce of energy for the travel home to Newbury as it turned out. A fallen tree on the line meant my train was delayed by 5 minutes, which meant I missed the only train heading home from Westbury. Luckily, the rail folk clocked onto this and started mass organising taxis for everyone so I piled into a small car with 3 other middle aged people coming home from a rugby game. Got back an hour later than expected, once I walked through the door I ravaged the fridge for a late dinner. Sat and watched TV with Mum, Dad and Louis for a bit but I'm dead tired now and ready for bed.

Orpington to Bristol

Woke up in Orpington, going to bed in Bristol, here's what happened in between. Saw some family, ate mince pies, met up with family friends, walked a dog, ate cheese and biscuits, got on a train, went home. Did quite a lot in retrospect, nothing felt rushed but the day flew right past me during my travels. I'm at work for one day tomorrow, chances are we are gonna be busy, soon as I'm done though I'm back to Newbury to enjoy Christmas part 2 with Mum's side of the family. Just gotta muscle through the day and all will be well after.

Boxing Day 2019

After a leisurely breakfast the family and I packed our bags and headed down to Orpington. I've been feeling incredibly lethargic all day and the moment we arrived at Grandma's home I found my eyelid's getting heavier by the second. So I curled up in an armchair and had a little kip. I just had a small glass of port with Louis and Grandma as we bid Boxing Day farewell. Its always a chill affair after Christmas Day and it was lovely just switching off for the afternoon.

Happy Christmas 2019!

For the first time in my life, Santa didn't deliver his presents in time for Christmas morning! Louis and I watched kids cartoons before Mum sheepishly brought our stockings in, if I was 20 years younger I would have been mortified, instead this little instance made me appreciate the human element to Christmas all the more. After our traditional breakfast we dished out the presents, Louis and I did especially well in the gifting department since everyone was chuffed to pieces with their gifts. I got a handful of coffee related presents plus Rusty Brown, a graphic novel I wasn't expecting to get but I already cannot wait to dive into.

Earlier this month I wrote here that following a friend's Christmas dinner I would be surprised if I had a better one, today I got to not only eat my words, but also tuck into the best Christmas dinner I reckon Dad has ever made. He always goes above and beyond with the Christmas lunch and his cooking deserves every ounce of praise that's coming to him.

The mandatory 'sofa veg-out' session began after dinner and carried us long into the evening. I sincerely hope everyone else had as good a Christmas as I did and that the good vibes were spread throughout the day.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2019

Twas the morning before Christmas, ASDA's carpark was brimming before day break and I trudged to open the cafe to greet the festive customers. It felt like every regular popped in today to wish us a happy Christmas, one even left a £5 tip as an early present for us. Work wasn't too busy which was ideal because I had a manic time getting on the train to head back to Newbury. My reference number bounced and the help desk needed a lot of cajoling before they extended a helping hand, I was a hair away from using the line '...But its Christmas' as a bargaining chip. Luckily, I didn't need to rely on clichés and I was on my way home for the Christmas Eve Party. Felt great coming home to help out and to see my folks, after a few beers and some nibbles the party was in full swing and I felt like I was home. Bring on Christmas.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

For years my Brother has moaned about how chilly it gets in his flat. I always secretly suspected he was just being a bit precious, but while parcel-sitting in his home this morning I grew increasingly conscious of how rapidly my body temperature was dropping. I never should have doubted you Louis!

Fortunately, I wasn't there long as his package arrived quite quickly, it gave me plenty of time to finish writing up a game review for Sick Critic (which you can read here) and get a few other bits done. So after my chores were all done I figured I could have a little bit of solo Christmas time. I poured out some advocaat, sat in the multicoloured glow of our tree and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas to honour the fact that all I've listened to this Christmas was the jazzy soundtrack. After my cockles were warmed, I packed for tomorrow and dreamt about being at home on Christmas Day - I can't wait.

Carols Abound

Bid farewell to Rebecca this morning as she drove home to spend the holidays with her folks in London. I cracked on with a lil bit of work before heading out to the other side of Bristol to what I though would be a simple night of carol singing. Little did I know, I actually signed up to head to a church to sing in The Festive Nine Lessons and Carols. You know what though, I had a jolly good time. It was a very small congregation, less than 30 people, but afterwards everyone got together in the vestry for mince pies and mulled wine and it felt nice to be part of a Christmas tradition with a group of friendly strangers.  

Yule Yolks

Cracked open a double yolker while prepping scrambled eggs this morning, the rest of the day was all uphill from there. Rounded up the last drips of Christmas shopping/wrapping with Rebecca and we even exchanged presents. I got a board game and a neat little book about films - both look great on their respective shelves. Originally we planned to head out and meet a friend this evening but those plans fell through so we wrapped up indoors and watched A Christmas Story, its been many years since I last saw it but its power still resonates. There is just so much truth and humanity in this little comedy, it charms the pants off me on every watch and it comfortably makes its way somewhere in my personal top 5 Christmas films.

Chocolate Orange

Got called into work for a very cosy 4 hour shift just to help out someone who was feeling poorly. Ended up doing a bit of running around after work though, I sent a parcel over to Rebecca's work to save us some time, instead I ended up making a special trip to collect it... Never mind though. We popped round to visit a friend in her new flat today and got gifted a chocolate orange which I was irrationally excited to receive - rarely get one to have all to myself. Done a lot of Christmas meet ups recently, feels good to wish people a merry Christmas and make the effort.

The Good News Bomb

Dad dropped the big 'good news bomb' on us this morning and announced that we have just exchanged contracts for our house. Completion is set for Jan 15th and Rebecca and I couldn't be happier. I immediately hopped on the phone to let our letting agents know that we were looking to move out the flat next month and it made me feel wistful about our humble flat. Sure the bin store is a faff to use and our letting agents have been truly dreadful, but the flat itself has endured and treated us well during our time here. Eager to move, but I'll likely pay a small tribute to the space just before we move out just to say thanks for the memories.

'Oh Crap, It's Christmas Soon!'

Been out and about today! Louis and I met up to do our annual 'Oh Crap, It's Christmas Soon!' shopping spree to tick off all the people that our outstanding on our lists. Thankfully, we live in a city that worships artisanal goods so we managed to pick up a bunch of bespoke presents while supporting local shop fronts - feels good man. The second half of our quest fell through a little bit though, we took a fruitless trek up to a far away shop just as the heavens opened up. I was cradling a brown paper gift bag all the way and it just about hit max saturation point moments before I burst back into my flat, ready to take my soggy shoes off and revitalize myself with a hot chocolate. I've still got a handful of little bits to get but today was the big push in present buying and I already can't wait to give some of them out. 

Gremlins, The Return

Tuesdays are often a quiet work day and today was deadly silent, I was actually relieved to leave and go shopping with Rebecca since I felt like nodding off on the job. I had a good old fashioned brainstorming session for any missing presents on my hit list after work too and I think I've got everyone sorted now, Louis and I are going on a shopping spree sometime tomorrow so with any luck I'll have a mini mountain of presents to wrap.

Went over to Louis and Rachel's for a really delicious Thai green curry with a yule log chaser. Gremlins was put on afterwards and we all basked in the kind of Christmas magic that can only be delivered by mass murdering little green men.

Adopt a Zen Perspective

Experienced a first at the cafe today. A customer insisted we made them a new coffee after they put their artificial sweetener in their friend's drink since it was all our fault. At this moment, I found myself at an impasse. This is a classic Baby Boomer moment and if I were to go along with the contemporary school of thought that pits Millennials and Boomers against each-other in a culture war I would have considered this instance as yet another excuse to hate another generation. Me though, I ain't got time for that. I made him another coffee and sent him on his merry way.

This week is my dedicated Christmas shopping week for anyone I haven't sorted already. Got a bit of a hit list to work through so I should be alright. I'm oddly calm at the moment about present shopping (to Rebecca's chagrin) but I think we can all learn a little something from my zen attitude concerning manic shopping. I'm sure the moment something goes wrong that'll all change.   

StophMas

Newbury to Bristol is often such a simple drive, an hour tops, but due to an accident on the road today it took Rebecca and I three hours to get back home. We were in a small hurry to get to Mark's Christmas lunch (which I loving dubbed Stophmas) we ended up being rather late, but luckily we weren't the only guests effected by the bad traffic - Dan was visiting with his VR headset too. Once all the gang arrived though, it was a blast! Great to hang out in Mark and Lucy's new house, bask in their tree and open fire, and spend some quality time together. I've had a jam-packed weekend but this was the icing on the cake.

In smaller news, I managed to retroactively fix my latest video! The audio in the final moments still goes out of sync with the cuts, but I fixed a really crummy sounding blip at the end. So here's An Open Thank You Letter to Yacht Club Games!

Coffee 'n Smash

Initially I planned today to be a pretty quiet affair, little did I know the universe had different plans. A Nintendo club public gaming event was going on in a Newbury coffee shop this morning so I just had to go to that. Ended up playing Smash Bros against a bunch of 12 year olds and teaching them the value of losing gracefully. No time to stuck around for a trophy though because the Twin Town Christmas meal beckoned, I picked some rather un-Christmassy options to make a change, in hindsight a noodle basket really wasn't what I wanted to eat after pulling a cracker and wearing a party hat. No matter though, Rebecca and I met up with some friends from Newbury at the meeting and headed out with them for a quick drink at a local pub which was lovely. Lot of impromptu things today, but that actually made the day memorable! To top it all off, we decorated the family Christmas tree so I'm really vibing with the festive spirit.

Christmas Camel

Slept unusually badly last night so I got up and kinda mulled around a bit at 4am. I got a sense of the election results and managed to watch the final moments of The Game Awards live, though I got to sleep alright after that, it still felt like I spent the rest of the day recovering. Christmas shopping was on the cards for me and Rebecca, she got a decent chunk done while I did my best camel impression and lugged the goods up and down town. We headed to Newbury this evening for a pre-Christmas weekend, we wacked on Klaus, Netflix's animated Christmas movie and had a blast watching it. Occasionally it creeked, but the sentiment held it all together. If you want a new animated film to watch over the holidays this is a good pick!

Little Blarp

Worked all morning to finish the edit on my latest video, I watched it back once, watched it back twice, nodded and thought, 'this is great'. Four hours after I uploaded it, I watched it back on YouTube and discovered a small glitch occurred during the export that de-synced the audio during the final moments of the video, resulting in an awkward 'blarp' noise during the big finale I constructed. Now I don't know what's best, I could either leave it as is, or I could re-upload the video tomorrow after triple checking the export (which in theory, shouldn't have done this). I'll sleep on it and think about the best solution in the morning. I'll post it here tomorrow.

On a happier note, I headed into the cafe, not to work but to put up decorations. I wrapped lights round windows and put lights round the Christmas tree to get the shop looking gorgeous. I jetted off home to get ready for Wildseed's Christmas party which was going down this evening. Lovely to see a lot of familiar faces and enjoy a lil' drink with all of them, some folks I hadn't seen for years! A whole bunch of good eggs that lot and I'm proud to be associated with them.

Twice the Spice (And Everything Nice)

Brewed up a half litre of coffee and cemented myself to my video editing chair to smash through a hearty chuck of my next video. I'm about 80% done and I'm getting some real good vibes off this one, very eager to share it with the world tomorrow.

As a reprieve for the edit I turned to baking my first ever batch of mince pies. Didn't stray too far off the beaten path, I bought ready-made pastry and mince meat, but I did throw in a few extras to zhuzh up the filing. The zest (and a little juice) of an orange alongside a few dried cranberries, plus a hearty glug of port were my extras to make for a deep but zesty flavour.

They ain't lookers, but for a first time I'm pretty pleased with them - the taste especially. They'll make for a great pick me up as I do the finishing touches to my edit.

Hot Tea and Hot Hands

A day at work wouldn't be complete without someone burning themselves on scolding hot water. Usually its me, but this time it was a customer after a lid slipped off her re-usable cup, she spent the next few minutes hanging out with us in the back as she ran her hand under the tap. Her spirits were high considering (she won't be pressing charges basically). Walking home from work I finally bought my first Christmas present, one of several I know, but at least I've brainstormed what to get, just have to go out and get it all now!

Yesterday's To Do

I tell ya, the secret to a successful day is to make a to-do list on the day before, that way I can mull about what I have to do just before bed and wake up with a sense of direction. Result was a day I smashed, got all my odd jobs sorted and I finished writing yet another script for what'll likely be my last video of the year. This is one I've been biding my time for, waited the better part of a year to produce this one, I'm pleased with the script so I know I'll be chuffed with the end result. Shock and horror though, I'm at work tomorrow. Feels like ages since I last did an early morning shift, but I'm sure I'll remember all the steps.

Not So Noisey

The bustling sounds of a main London road rudely awoke me from my slumber on our friend's living room floor. Luckily, I wasn't alone in this, Rebecca started to stir at this point too so we endured the noise together and drifted back off to sleep. Shortly after, the gang burst into our make-shift bedroom and rustled up a cooked breakfast which set me up right for the rest of the day. We drove back to Bristol a little while later and enjoyed a few hours of quiet time at home to recharge after the weekend bustle. As much as I love having a busy social calendar, it's always nice to be back home.

Trees, Grub and Games

Bought a Christmas Tree with Rebecca's parents and decorated it too - the first of may I'm sure this year. Smitten with our efforts, we basked in its glory for a a few moments before dashing off to Tooting to have a little Christmas dinner with a group of old Uni friends. They pulled out all the stops too, they went to a local butchers to get a joint of beef which was excellent, I'll be surprised if I eat a Christmas meal that'll top the one I just had! Just set up some sleeping bags on the floor after playing boardgames til midnight, reminds me of spending nights with friends at sleepovers, can't wait for breakfast though.

Mince Pie and a Coffee

Make way London, because I'm coming down for a long weekend! Rebecca and I have a full social calendar to stick to over the next few days, but we were a little weary from the journey, and we could only refuel via coffee and mince pies. Once we perked up a bit we headed out to see Rebecca Grandmother and I prepped myself for an evening of typing and writing while Rebecca went out to see White Lies with her Dad. We done good today, but it's just a warm up for the Christmas dinner/party we'll be attending tomorrow night.

Pamper Pizza

Had breakfast, made a cup of coffee then I sat down to a day of writing. It feels like ages since I've been able to commit to a day like this and I really made it count. I hit my desired word count and had time spare so I wasn't stressing - always a bonus. I closed down my laptop and headed out to meet Rebecca at Treefest, St Mary Redcliff's little Christmas tree showcase. We've made it our own tradition to go and visit the display every year, every time I go I'm glad I did. While the trees won't blow you away, there is something very humble and community minded about the whole event which taps into the nature of the season. Since we were out and about, we decided to treat ourselves to an impromptu restaurant visit for pizza, we're both headed to London tomorrow for social calls so we wanted to celebrate the end of the week a little early. We're both going to be busy bees in the leadup to Christmas so its nice to carve out a bit of time to pamper ourselves.

Celebrities in Gaming

Sat down and smashed the final cut of my latest video: Celebrities in Gaming. I've recently played a handful of games that include a lot of famous faces and that got me thinking about the subject. The video only really scratches the surface of the topic, but I stand by my points and I'm generally pleased with it, check it out below if you fancy.

More Muppets

Work, work, work. Once my morning shift was over I was back on my video edit, aiming to have it done tomorrow afternoon.

Once again, I dove into the comforting world weaved by the Muppets in their rendition of A Christmas Carol, Rebecca enjoyed it so much when we saw it that she fancied seeing it again. I think if someone was keeping a tally of 'films I've seen the most times' I wouldn't be surprised if this one came in the top ten. Its a staple part of my Christmas diet every year and it never fails to put a spring in my step as I march towards the big day on the 25th.

Ponderin' 'bout Prezzies

Waking up early is much easier when you're not the only one rolling out of bed. I cooked Rebecca some 7am porridge before we both headed off for some long working days. A few friends dropped into the cafe by chance so that brightened up the day, otherwise getting through the day felt like a bit of a mission. Thankfully I'm not actually working too much this week at the cafe so that'll give me a so breathing room to crack on with some other projects of mine. Sick Critic scored me a review code for a game I'm personally very excited for, and I'm getting to play it a little in advance to the general public which is a really cool feeling. I need to really commit some brain power to buying presents for Christmas this year too, I only have some murmurations of ideas right now, with any luck I'll have my 'present ideas' spreadsheet filled out in good time this year.

Scrooged

December is finally here, and with it, come tidings of merriment and joy. I wrapped up in a blanket and sat on the sofa with Rebecca for most of the day, enjoying some time off after a busy week in and around London. We eased into some festive fun in the evening though, I rustled up some 'Christmas Burgers' with brie and lashings of cranberry sauce. A warmed mince pie with custard was served as pudding, though Rebecca curdled her custard while warming it (yet another great reason why cold custard is the superior form). We then took a gamble on watching a Christmas film neither of us had ever seen: Scrooged. 

Though Bill Murray carried the movie, structurally it was all over the show. Some story threads were a little undercooked and it wasn't anywhere near as funny as I wanted it to be, despite all that though, it did eventually win me over. The design for the Ghost of Christmas Future was a real highlight and the rousing speech Murray's character delivers at the end thawed the cockles of my heart. It ain't a classic in my books, but it's sentiment was heartfelt even if the route there was a bit wobbly wobbly.   

Los Angeles, November 2019

Chopped through the cafe crowds with gusto. It felt like I was still in 'filming mode' so I ended up Assistant Director'ing my shift, pointing my colleges in the right direction so we could crack through the queue as fast as possible.

Rebecca and I met up shortly after to have a second look at the house we're looking to buy. Took a tape measure too so we could get an idea of where we could squeeze our furniture, there's a good space allocated for my desk so I'm pleased as punch.

Returning home we got ready for a movie night with Louis, Rachel and Pete. The original Blade Runner was the movie of choice since it's set in November of 2019 (yes, we truly picked the last possible day to watch it in the month) I always remember the first time I saw the film I was totally lukewarm on it, but now, I'm blown away by every tiny detail. In terms of art direction this film is a masterclass, just the scale and the vision behind this project is staggering, it left me aghast even after a 4th or 5th re-watch. 

Flat-Out Exhausted

Can't actually believe the shoot is all done. After two days of prep and a lot of hard work we only filmed for 2 hours in each set we built. Our efforts really paid off though, several people were stunned by how incredible our sets all looked, and with the right lighting, the shots looked great. Really looking forward to seeing the final film now, but in the meantime I'll be snoozing on my coach home, dreaming of days off and cuddling up to Rebecca.

London Rat Race

A rat jumped out in front of me as I walked to the bus this morning, a precursor to how commuters treat each other like rodents on the undergroud. Is there anywhere worse on Earth than the Waterloo and City line during peak times? If so, I'd like to see it.

Otherwise the day went swimmingly well. Constructed and dressed all three of our sets and they're ready to go first thing tomorrow. I'm actually quite excited to see what out sets look like on camera and to see our hard work pay off.

Art Runner and Prep Days

So glad I bought those working gloves yesterday, they were invaluable during work today. I helped unload trucks, constructed flats, built flat-pack furniture, streached canvases and painted stuff all in one day. Every job I did, I did alongside art department and it was humbling for them to see me as an equal. The work was undeniably tough, I've got blisters on my hands and I needed to jump right in the shower when I got back, but I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow.

Got Gloves

Seeing as I'll likely be doing a lot of painting and DIY over the next few days for my next film shoot, I figured I might need some extra bits. Firstly, I popped into a charity shop for a cheap shirt I could afford to get paint on, second was a nice pair of heavy-duty leather gloves for liftin' 'n shiftin'. Not only will they come in handy for filming, I'm sure I'll find some use out of them when we move house.

My trip to London was painless and I'm now primed and ready to go tomorrow with a rucksack brimming with little bits and bobs I might need. I've got my 'set bag' down to a fine art now, I like to be versatile and be able to say 'yes' if someone asks me for basically anything. Not such an early start tomorrow either so I can have a tiny bit longer in bed, fingers crossed tomorrow goes well!

Special Quesedillas

Powered through an early shift at work and an afternoon of video editing so I could go see Mark and Lucy this evening, their company was worth the wait. Mark rustled up some totally incredible sweet potato quesedillas which paired very well with my curated dessert: sticky toffee pudding! Lost miserably at King Domino and chatted about art and Christmas movies, racked up a few extra lil' films to watch during the festive season now. Again, it was real nice to see those guys again, especially since I'll be out of town for most of the week. Still got to pack and buy some provisions in the morning tomorrow, is it also wrong that I'm secretly looking forward to my 3 hour coach trip? I can just read and listen to music the whole way without feeling guilty.

Pressing Edit

Rolled up my sleeves and got to work on one of the trickiest videos I've had to edit. Basically had to accrew a library of stock footage, feels more like a research project. Made a bit of headway in cutting, but admittedly not as much as I would have liked. I think I hit that creative wall where you just spiral into self-doubt, I'm just trying to push those feelings down and press on.

Got an email about the next shoot I'm on next week, though its three days total, the first two days will be pure prep work, I'll be painting sets and arranging furniture as an Art Assistant (once again!) I'm stoked for it too!

There's Busy and Then There's Busy

Hands down, today is the busiest I have ever seen the cafe. The crowds just never ended, whenever the queue died down, more people who were waiting in the wings for a lull in people sprung up, then the whole cycle started again. In all honesty I don't even know how me managed at points, at one point we had to clean up a bit of baby sick, another time there was no less than five different sandwiches/porridge to go out but despite all odds the day flowed like clockwork. We even found enough time to deliver a warm Happy Birthday to one of our friendliest regulars who went bright red when we gave him a card. I stayed at work for an extra 90 minutes so now I'm beat, can't wait to go to sleep.

Making Latte Art

The chills and the rain brought flocks of folk into the cafe, luckily I was ready to deal with the masses. My latte art is really coming along nicely too, haven't figured out a good way to do a snowman yet, but my flourettes are really coming along. Not that I get to properly practice when we're super busy mind, but when I see a little break in the crowd, I like to treat people with an Instagram worthy coffee.

I begun voice recording on my next video, managed to splice all my audio into a sequence too which is always my least favourite job in making a video. Now that's out the way I can make a start on the main edit tomorrow, I know it sounds like I've been a little down on this one but after reading the script again I think it'll turn out ok. I've got an even better one lined up in my mind after this one though.

Got my Digits?

Locked myself in the Wildseed offices to finish up a video script that has been bugging me for ages now. I've spent far too long working on this one and I don't think it'll benefit from any longer in the over so I just want to get it done so I can focus on other projects. I think I've finished it up, might just need a proof-read and final edits but I think it's good to go.

Almost got locked out of my own block of flats today too. The door code got changed but out letting agents failed to give us the new number in time so I had to sneak into the building like a rat. Once home, I made a heated phonecall to them saying it was unacceptable that they hadn't told us the code and that they left me out in the cold and rain - they buckled pretty quickly after that despite initially saying they didn't have the new code. Frankly they've been pretty dreadful letting agents anyhow but this was the tipping point for me. As much as I like our flat, I'm glad we'll be rid of them soon.

Food > Writing

I'd set out to do a mini day of writing, instead though it turned into a day of cooking and food prep. I'd recently decided to try my hand at some chilli sauce, last month I got a batch of chilli peppers and I finally put them to good use today. I'm starting with a fermentation process in a lil' jar full of a spicy brine. In a few weeks time I'll have some super tasty peppers ready to blitz into sauce. If the yeild is good enough, I may even send some out as Christmas presents.

For dinner I strayed outside my comfort zone and made a spanakopita, a kind of Greek chicken and spinach pie, any recipe that calls for 5 cloves of garlic is a win in my book so I gave it a shot. It was a meal that could be entirely done from the comfort of a cast iron pan and Rebecca was so impressed with the final product she took this little photo:

Served with a side of some roasted mediterranean vegetables and boy, it made for a good mid-week meal.

On another note, I accepted another Running job for next week. Three days total in London through a contact of mine, its flattering to get headhunted like that I must admit.

Double News Whammy

Slept unusually badly last night and that wasn't especially welcome when I had to get up early for the open shift at work. Once I got home I had a short sit down then wrote up not one, but two news articles for Sick Critic. The second of which was a real buzz, basically the nominees for the gaming equivalent of the Oscars were announced on a live video stream, wrote them all down off that video and got the list of nominees up before the official website for The Game Awards did. Never typed so fast in my life, but I got the scoop!

After my typing fingers got a rest I took Rebecca out for a small date nightbat a nearby Italian restaurant that was due for a re-visit. The food wasn't as good as I remembered it being but at least we got to share a tiramisu (again) and enjoy a bit of quiet time away from home. I can't believe how tired I am now though, I was nodding off at stages during the day. I know I'm going to enjoy this sleep.

The End of Death Stranding

Was kinda looking forward to writing some new stuff on Sick Critic today but their website has been down for just over 24 hours now. Instead I got on with my small jobs, emailing invoices, and mailing parcels to Italy. Afterwards I cracked on and finished Death Stranding. If you thought the prolonged farewell at the end of Lord of the Rings was bad, then you haven't experienced Death Stranding's ending. The credits rolled twice between a lengthy 2 hour cutscene, I could feel my goodwill draining from me every minute. Pleased I finished it up though, now I can finally read some discussions about it online without fear of spoilers.

Christmas Movie Showdown

Shared yet another busy shift with the new co-worker but I actually had a bit of spare time to get to know them a little better. We also brainstormed a nifty little charity money spinner that revolves around Christmas movies, basically I want to start a tournament where customers get to 'vote with their wallets' on the best Christmas movies until we arrive at a democratically selected favourite. In my heart of hearts, I fear the public will crown Elf or Love Actually, but we all know the answer is actually Die Hard or A Christmas Story.

I took a trip to the nearby market on my break with Rebecca, in addition to getting a bonafide tiramisu, we bumped into my friend who asked me to model for her foraging bags. She was selling them at the market too and seeing them all lined up again made me eager to buy a few as Christmas presents.

Weary Wine

Couldn't fathom just how busy we were today. I shared the morning shift with a very friendly new starter and by the sounds of it both of us wanted to us the sleepy morning to chat and get to know each-other a little better, instead we were swept up in a rush of people thirsty for the new Christmas drinks and cakes. Guess we'll have to get antiquated properly tomorrow now since I left fairly early today, but I was admittedly happy to leave the busy gaggle behind me. Once I was home, Rebecca and I relaxed a bit together and go the flat ready for a visit from my Mum, Louis and Rachel. We chatted the night away as the red wine made Louis' and my cheeks equally go crimson. I'll sleep well tonight knowing that I'm a little weary and a little merry, but it was really lovely to have Mum round again for a social visit. Some of the best memories of our flat are of times when my family are sat round a table, chatting and eating good food.

Nourish the Soul

Got up at a normal time for the first time in ages, had the time to have a nice breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee. Instead of feeling like a busy-body drone I felt like a human being, free to enjoy the day and that's exactly what I did. I chipped away a bit more at my new game and met up with Rebecca for lunch. I even did a bit of pudding prep by making some chocolate mousse for the weekend. Basically I got to do all my favourite things at my own pace, I'm back to it at work tomorrow but now at least I have a bit more pep in my soul after a busy ol' week.

Showered in Praise

Didn't think I'd need any kind of waterproof clothes on set today, but boy I was wrong. First job I got was to buy a Birthday cake for a crew member, while I was shopping the heavens opened up and the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Still Ibchanced it by waiting for a weather break, instead it started snowing. The trek back to set was a soggy affair I wasn't without sympathisers, the costume and make-up people all flocked to my aid. Two ladies used a hairdryer to dry my jacket and wardrobe gave me a new jumper to wear, why were they so generous? Because I seemed to have made a good impression on them. In fact, that's the recurring notion of the day, whenever I had a chance to stop and chat to anyone they showered me with compliments for all my hard work. The shoots all done now and I alreadyvhave a feeling I'm on the cards for the next one.

Handy Firemen

My energy is draining from me after a pair of early starts and late nights on account of the film shoot. Got one more day now and its going really well so far. We got the fire department to turn up and spray down a large space outside to give it a rain-slick look, that was a first for me anyway, seeing firemen in action. I'm totally pooped now though but I've got enough in my reserves for one last push tomorrow.

Snakes and Lattes

Rolled out of bed into several layers so I could face the early morning chills with confidence. I was on a filming job in Bristol today up at Cribbs Causeway and I cannot stress just how lovely it is to come home to my own bed after a long shoot day. Although, heading to bed wasn't what I did when I got back because I immediately dashed out to Coffee 1 to help host the board game night: Snakes and Lattes which turned out to be a sleeper hit. At first there were only a smattering of people, but as the evening went on, more and more folks flocked to our humble cafe. Rebecca and I played Rummikub with two total strangers and it was brilliant! Meeting new people like that is exactly what I wanted to happen with the event, the night itself was a real success overall since several friends, strangers and co-workers mentioned how much they enjoyed the night. Its just like the Rummikub box says: 'Brings People Together'

Silent Cafe

Was charged with making the Remeberance announcement at the cafe, I went around to all the tables to let people know I'd be asking for a two minute silence and when 11 o'clock came everyone was very compliant. A lady came up to me just as she was leaving and thanked me for doing it, she seemed genuinely impressed that we made the effort and that put a smile on my face.

I'm psycheing myself up for me Bristol shoot tomorrow, its over 3 days this shoot so I'm eager to make a good first impression amidst a new crowd. Literally never met anyone on this shoot and if all goes well I may leave with some contacts, gotta nail the day first though and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Bromley to Orpington

With four hours sleep under my belt, I left Lincoln's house in Bromley to go visit my Grandmother in Orpington. I set out a good time and travel schedule for the trip, as the crow flies, its a pretty simple journey but it took a lot longer to get there than expected. I didn't take into account the Remembrance Day parades that ultimately changed a lot of my bus routes, in one case my bus terminated 12 stops away from my destination. But when the front door opened and Grandma greeted me I knew the journey was worth it. We had a cup of coffee and some biscuits and chatted about life and how much we were both looking forward to Christmas. She remarked that this was the first time I'd ever really gone to visit her without my parents, I left thinking I should make a habit of dropping in to visit more often since I had such a lovely morning.

Long Into the Night

Bombed down the motorway with Rebecca in London for a range of social calls. First was her Mum, then her best friend for coffee and finally I met up with Lincoln to help him shoot his latest short film. In classic passion project style, the shoot overran dramatically, I'm writing this now at about the same time of day that I wake up to open up the cafe on a morning shift. It was totally worth it though, working as a journeyman sound guy again was a ton of fun and it was gratifying to work on a film that I could see the heart in.

Death Stranding

Stood outside GAME with two other dedicated gamers to pick out our copies of Death Stranding. I dashed home, plugged it in and lost myself in playing a sci-fi Amazon delivery guy game. After a very long gaming session I went out with Rebecca to see a friend and watch a firework display done by a nearby school. The fireworks were way better than they had any right to be and really made me reflect on that feeling of watching fireworks as a child. Something about the sparks, lights and whistles still manages to mezmerise.

Death Standing Around

Wrote a list of lil' job to do yesterday and systematically ticked them off first thing today. I'm heading to London over the weekend to help my old housemate from uni to make a short film, really stoked to go see him and help him make a project a reality. Otherwise, I've just been clearing the runway for a dedicated gaming day tomorrow, one of the most anticipated games of the last few years, Death Stranding comes out tomorrow so I'll be queuing up on the high-street to get my hands on a copy. I've done a total media blackout for this game recently just so my experiences will feel just a little more personal. I'm so pumped for it I even wrote an article a while back explaining why this game's release is important to so many people.

Double Sick

Ran home after work to not only write up a time-sensitve news article forbSick Critic, but also to look after a sick girlfriend. Rebecca took the day off work to swan about the house and watch crap TV, and she expected me to feel sorry for her.

In reality I gave her plenty of sympathy and soup so she'd get back on her feet, plus it was nice to spend some time with her after my shift ended in the early afternoon. I also finally got to enjoy the fruits of my labour now that a online sketch show I was a Runner on back in April is finally airing on YouTube. I shan't be posting a link here because they are rather naughty, but if you head to YouTube and type in 'Comedy Central Waiting' you'll be graced with some giggle-worthy videos.

Bright Bonfire

Remember, remember the 5th if November, most years I actually forget to do anything on Bonfire Night but this year we took the initiative and join in with a big old fireworks party. This one happened to be on the park next to us and a much bigger community event than I was anticipating. Hundreds of people came to see a big fire being lit and to watch the backyard displays of several nearby firework displays, by the end of the night thebair was thick with that smokey smell that you only get this time of year and it made me feel like a kid again.

Snakes And Lattes, The Final Poster

Committed myself to a day of writing at the Wildseed offices and ended up making some real headway. I almost have the entire downstairs section to myself now which is great, no distractions while I work is lovely, and I was close enough to town to pop into the high-street during my lunch break to pre-order a new game. I also got in touch with Lincoln, my old uni housemate about being a sound recording for us upcoming short film - very much looking forward to working with him again to make a little film.

Just about finished designing the poster for the cafe's upcoming board game night too, this is the version they were happiest with anyhow. It's not great work of art but I'm happy enough with it.

Good Pud

Today was the dictionary definition of a Lazy Sunday. I felt like I had enough time this evening to confidently make a batch of Yorkshire pudding to go with our roast dinner, for the second time I've ever made them, they came out incredibly well. We even had one leftover so I treated it like a mini Dutch Baby and dusted some icing sugar on it for a dessert. For better and for worse, it just tasted like a Yorkshire Pudding with some icing sugar on it.

Internally did a bit of week planning today too, I'm heading to Wildseed to crack on with some bits and bobs first thing tomorrow. Excited to get back behind a desk and blitz through some writing to hit my deadline.

Merry Making Board Games

Trained the new starter at work today on how to do a handful of odd jobs around the cafe and after chatting to him for a bit I felt like we'd become fast work friends. The rain and the rugby ensured today was a busy one so I felt relived once my shift was over, I stumbled back home in a soggy heap and got myself ready for a night of entertaining a few guests and playing some more board games. I cracked out some red wine, some whiskey and even some mead as we enjoyed each-other's company and cursed each-other's tactics during game time. I made notes of all the games we played tonight so I can hopefully add them to a Christmas list, nice to have a few ideas.

Feasting on the Leftovers

Best part about throwing a Halloween party? Getting to eat all the leftovers! I must have had about 3 mini lunches today, since I was working from home today I just found myself picking at whatever I found in the fridge first. In turn, today was one of those days where you start with the best of intentions, but for whatever reason you're not as productive as you'd like to be. I really wanted to get more writing done but I felt myself losing confidence in my tone today so I took to staring at a bit of paper for long periods. I've given myself a hard deadline for the project now, I know I respond well to these and I do like to stick to even self imposed restrictions.

Happy Halloween 2019!

Did a quick run into town to pick up a copy of Luigi's Mansion 3, a game I've been pretty excited about for a little while now. In fact, I've been so hyped for it, I decided to etch Luigi's screaming mug into my personal pumpkin this year.

My goodness, this was a fiddly one to carve! But it was all worth it as it stood proudly on the snack table for our small Halloween party. Accompanying Luigi was some adorably decorated fairy cakes by me and Rebecca:

 

Plus a 'Mummy Brie' as prepped by Louis, I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it.

Suffice to say, we were well-fed at this party. Mark, Lucy, Louis and Lorna joined us for board games and good vibes in the evening as we reveled in the Halloween spirit.

As a small side piece, I collaborated with some of the writers at Sick Critic to compile a short list of the scariest games we ever played. The whole article was my baby so I wrangled in writers, formatted it and even wrote a small part of it. You can read it here if you fancy

Happy Halloween!

Baa Ram Ewe

Goodness, I haven't actually stopped today it feels like. Caught up with a few life admin things in the morning then headed off to the cafe to carve the 'Monster Sized' pumpkin - it was an epic task to gut that one let me tell you. A co-worker drew on the design for me and I got to work on cutting out the shape. After the complete disaster that was the first one I did I felt compelled to make this one a work of art, and the end result was something I'm very proud of.

It's a ram in honour of our unofficial mascot (as seen just below the pumpkin): Norman the Ibex. I'm thrilled with how this one turned out, and good thing too because we are submitting it to work's pumpkin competition. You get bonus points if you lark around a bit on the submission photo, at least that's what I told myself before we sent over this one:

Left work beaming, then took a quick stop in town to pre-order a game, then headed home to prep another pumpkin, I don't want to overload today's blog post with pumpkin snaps so I'll show it off tomorrow. Rebecca and I also wittled away the evening hours decorating fairy cakes for our little Halloween shindig we are having tomorrow. We both licked the icing sugar spoon perhaps a little too much, I'm feeling a bit sickly now but it's all in the spirit of things I guess.

Art Runner

Wrapped on a jolly successful filming day. I did a days work as a dedicated Art Runner/Assistant which felt pretty swell. My boss effectively put me in charge of two easy scenes, the first of which was a stone skimming scene that we did early in the morning, most if that hour I spent beach combing for the perfect skimming stone. We moved into a house afterwards so IKEA flat pack assembly was the name of the game followed by some milkshake continuity work, all of it was fun thanks to a stellar crew that kept things feeling light and professional.

As an added bonus, someone asked if I wanted a tea or coffee around lunchtime and one magically appeared in my hand a few moments later. Been waiting my whole life for that moment.

A added little tidbit, I bagged my first Bristol Running gig too! I got a call at lunch officially inviting me to join them on a 3 day commercial shoot with good pay, good hours and beat of all, I can go back home after each day is over to share dinner and my evenings with the people I love.

Mega Betrayal

Battled my way through the hoards of mums and kids that all flocked to Coffee 1 over half term. Babycinos all day basically, I've said it once, I'll say it again: if I had my own cafe I wouldn't serve them. I travelled down to London for yet another film shoot, this time though I didn't use my old favourite Megabus... I got a National Express instead! Very swanky bus experience, it was like stepping onto first class, so I enjoyed a slightly more cushy trip this time around for a decent price too (was cheaper this time round). Set my alarm, for early and I'm already anticipating riding 85 bus stops first thing tomorrow morning - that's not an exaggeration, I will be going 85 stops.

Cat got my Pumpkin

Well, if its free don't say no. That was my philosophy when Rebecca suggested going to Stonehenge today, luckily we have membership cards that permitted us entry at no cost. Good thing too because it is EXPENSIVE to visit the stones! It was nice enough to take a whirl round the rocks, but for what you pay for, you don't really get that much. Least it wasn't as ropey as The Rufas Stone.

With my help, Rebecca carved her first ever pumpkin tonight. I took a picture of a cat design I saw last year and we finally got the chance to make it ourselves. It came out really well too, she was chuffed as chips with it, showing it off online to anyone who'd listen. I'll let you be the judge of how good a job she did:

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Got to carve my first pumpkin of the year at work today! Seeing as it was for a coffee place, we thought it'd be apt to do a latte art design on our pumpkin, I was up for the challenge of doing an intricate design but it was perhaps one of those pumpkin designs that sounds better on paper than it does in practice. This is what we tried to recreate:

It actually started off really well, but once I stepped back from it to admire it, I noticed that the design curved in up and around the pumpkin so no-one could really see the whole thing. I felt a bit bad afterward because it was meant to be our centerpiece pumpkin that we were all really proud of, but I just feel a tinge of guilt every-time I look at it. I might get a picture next time, plus it might look better in the dark!

Keeping On Friday

Life finds a way to derail my day - in a positive way sometimes! I mentally prepped myself for a day of writing, but a Runner job is saw being advertised on Facebook was just too juicy to pass up. Then I did a bit of self-promotion on Twitter and my post exploded - I ended up being invited into a private Discord server that was full of pretty high-end video game YouTubers. Met up with Louis too after lunch to chat about a poster design for an upcoming board game evening I'm organizing for work, I left with a few ideas and hopefully I can make something fun and eye-catching.

After all that, I cracked on with a smidgen of writing, I've set a few deadlines for my next video and that often gives me something to aim for.

Catering for Calories

It dawned on me just before I went to bed last night that I barely ate anything yesterday. I spent most of today making up for lost calories by eating a big breakfast and far too many chocolate fingers at a board game meet up in the evening. Feel right as rain now! Begun planning my upcoming week and how to allocate my time, this film-shoot on Tuesday is slap-bang exactly when I was thinking about carving my miniature army of pumpkins. Between work, filming and personal project, I think I've got a slot for 'Seasonal Delights' eg: pumpkin carving and spooky movies. Wanna do something for Halloween this year, last time I was home alone drinking sickly sweet ales and playing indie games in the dark. I'll have to gauge Rebecca's tolerance for all things spooky and go from there.

Rough and (Not So) Ready

The two way Megabus trip is taking its toll on me. I did a shoot like this last year where I went up and came back the same day and said 'Never again'. Forgot my own advice by the sounds of it though because I only have myself to blame for how rough I feel. Not even too sure why, the shoot was really easy, the crew were easy to get on with and I hardly did any actual running around - I just feel like a husk of a chap. Gonna try and get a handful of my forty winks in en route, I can already imagine the feeling of snuggling up the duvet to my chin as I sleep in my own bed, few more hours and that dream will be a reality.

Pumping Up Pumpkin Numbers

Mentally prepping myself for another film shoot tomorrow. I lucked out a bit with this one, the call time is 12pm so I can actually go from Bristol at a sociable time into London, then head back home once we wrapped. I'll be spending 6ish hours on a Megabus tomorrow so I'll get a case of 'stiff neck' but it'll be worth it.

I'm really going to get my fill of pumpkins this Halloween I reckon. I bought my personal one to carve, then Rebecca expressed a healthy interest in carving up her first ever pumpkin, if I did the guts beforehand that it. I also dragged in a XL pumpkin to work to show off, saying I'd be up for doing one for the cafe provided someone did the design for me. Then a college went and bought one of Asda's 'Monster size' pumpkins which dwarfs the combined size the other three - I'm going to get some practice in this year I reckon.

Runner Evolution

My morning regulars have certainly taken a shine to me, they genuinely sound interested in hearing about my weekend and I return the favour. I think they respect me because I can unironically ask 'the usual?' and nail it everytime - I've got a mental catalog of around 25 people's coffee orders and it always impresses folks when I know exactly what they want.

Rustled up some smash burgers for my dinner and I gotta say, I was pretty blown away with the results. Did a double patty burger with melted blue cheese, siracha mayo and home made pickles, if that doesn't sound good then check out the picture:

I am slowly approaching restaurant quality with my burgers now and I couldn't be more thrilled, my stomach was pleased too.


Best news to come out of today though, I got offered another day's filming in London next week, but not as a Runner this time but as an Art Assistant. This'll mark the first time I'll be on set and someone else will offer to make me coffee! Moving up in the world.

Creative Rut

The best thing about this morning's breakfast? Going out onto my mini balcony and picking some home-grown chives to scatter into the scrambled egg. That, plus the cast iron cooked bacon, single origin filter coffee and some of Rebecca's home-made blueberry muffins, made for a hell of a good meal to start the day.

I waved farewell to Rebecca and her Mum around mid-morning so I was left home alone for the rest of the Sunday. I blitzed through all my short jobs within the first hour and then... I just didn't really know what to do with myself. I watched Green Book which was a real treat, but other than that I found myself metaphorically bashing my head against a wall for a new project to crack on with. Personally, I feel like I'm in a bit of a creative rut right now. Last week I canned a new video concept I had because I didn't believe mankind would benefit from it's existence, by that I mean I couldn't figure out how to give it much of a point. I started brainstorming again today and nothing at all came to mind. Tomorrow's a new day though, who knows, I might end up feeling inspired when I least expect it.

Rushing for Rugby

Happy to say, the living room floor is actually pretty comfy. Wish I could've slept in it a bit longer but I had to be up early for work, which was deadly quiet to start with but after the rugby game finished it felt like everyone and their cat wanted a coffee. Luckily the A squad was on it with me today and we totally smashed it. Left the cafe feeling good, I bounces into Asda to prep dinner for Rebecca and her mum, rustled up a salad for them both seeing as they had been scoffing their faces with cake they fancied something a little lighter. Looking forward to making breakfast tomorrow, recently I've been loving nothing more than spending a bit if time cooking a great meal to start the day with.

Sleep Well Beast

Prepped the flat for the arrival of Rebecca's Mum, I even pulled out the fridge and scrubbed the floor underneath just in case she had a gander back there. We met her at the coach station and headed to a cafe I recommended nearby. In the midst of that meeting my first feature article for Sick Critic got published after some minor edits. I was buzzing for the rest if the evening! We headed out to the Victoria Park pub for a mighty fine pizza and beer, all the while chatting about the logistics of our house. We finished the night with a fly-by down the road we bought the house on which silently validated our choice even further.

For the first time ever, Rebecca and I are sleeping in our living room while her Mum gets the bed. It'll be interesting to see what the sleeping arrangement is like and how well we sleep. We subject our guests to this every time anyone stays round, hope we haven't been monsters by forcing them to sleep somewhere dreadful.

Joker

The country seemed to be swept up by Joker so I gathered up my Bro, Rachel and Rebecca so we could all go see it tonight.

It's kinda funny, I was totally on board with it for the first 30 minutes, I empathized with the character and their struggles, I was swept up in the music and Phoenix's dancing and it all combined into something entrancing. Then my interest in the film did a complete U-Turn and I daresay I was actually rather bored during most of the second half. It felt like the movie had contractual obligations to remind the audience that they were indeed watching a Batman movie, in turn this created a baggy sub plot that drained focus from the overall story. It's an hour long film drawn out to two and it's a pity because the premise is legitimately interesting and there are flickers of inspiration later on, but you gotta wade through a lot of scenes of Phoenix chuckling into an empty room.

Watch it if you want to make up your own mind about it, for everyone else, I'd recommend watching You Were Never Really Here instead seeing as it is literally everything Joker wasn't.

Singin' In The Dry

Maybe my coworkers readready blog yesterday because by some stroke of luck, I was actually sent home early which gave me the perfect chance to recuperate. Sent off some pending emails/invoices and took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, my mood improved every hour until I felt like my normal self again, a good nights sleep will seal the deal.

But I didn't just lounge around all day! Rebecca invited me to join her to a amateur dramatics production of Singin' in the Rain, one of her old coworkers was in it so I said I'd tag along. I went in thinking it was going to be hard work on account of it being am dram, but it was a really excellent show! Clearly a lot of heart and work went into it and it played out senselessly - for its quality I would have happily paid more for the tickets. Only grivence - there was no rain. We headed to the pub with one of the cast members who told us about the technical problems rain brought so they had to axe it from the show, a very dry rendition of the story, but it didn't truly detract.

Revenge of the Burn Out

At about 9:30 this morning all the late nights and long working days suddenly hit me - I realised I was starting to burn out. Of course, this epiphany occurred at an inopportune time, I still have loads of little jobs I want to crack on with in the week but I know I should try and take it easy for a spell. Then whenever I put my feet up I start feeling guilty about all the work I'm neglecting. I think the answer is to take it down a gear for a day or two, doing small chucks of work when I can and enjoying some free time to the fullest.

Finding Furiture

The dark morning and the cold weather made it especially hard to get out of bed this morning, but I dragged my feet out into the cafe to be greeted to a busy, busy Monday. Couldn't wait to get home to be honest, when I finally did get home I tapped up another news article to keep Sick Critic's editors happy then chowed down to some sofa time. Rebecca has really ramped up her interest in furniture for our new home, she's browsing IKEA catalogs and the like, I do the typical blokey thing and shrug it all off, but I must admit, there is a giddy pleasure to finding furniture. She brought home a big template of the house's layout so we can map blueprints for our dream desk locations, the thought of having a dedicated office space is really making my heart sing.

Cupcakes and Coworkers

Even though it was my day off, I still woke up at 6:30 out of habit. I didn't get the lie in I was hoping for, instead I got up to crack on with the day, I played some games and pre-made some pancake batter for breakfast, once Rebecca was awake I rustled up some blueberry pancakes and coffee to greet the morning in style. I baked some little coffee cupcakes to take to my work's team meeting this evening, once we were done with the serious stuff my colleges and I headed out to a handful of pubs on North Street to say farewell to a handful of coworkers who were leaving us. Turned into a really nice night out, visited plenty of bars I hadn't been to before and I was keeping a mental note of how nice they all were.

Painting the Town Red

Muscled through a busy Saturday despite feeling less-than-rested after my shooting days. Once my shift was over I headed out with Rebecca to paint the town red. We hit up a nearby burger place for some grub, I ate far too much and then we decided to go drinking, just the two of us and I must admit, it was really lovely. This was our little way if saying 'Yay, we got the house' to each other, we both got home feeling sleepy drunk and Rebecca even fell asleep in my lap as we watched cartoons. Felt like a student again despite celebrating something so adult.

The Wind and The Rain

We were filming down by the wharf all day on a wet and windy one. Funnily enough, that's exactly the kind of scene we were filming. We used a wind machine to stop a lady in her tracks and a rain machine to drench some poor chap. The whole time I wish I brought some better waterproofs with me. We wrapped early though, but my late coach means I actually lost time overall but I'll be in bed before midnight. Got cafe work starting a little later so I'll have a wee lie in before I'm back to it.

Dogs and Derailment

Made my way to the Olympic Park to start setting up for our first location. What I can only describe as organised chaos ensued as a road closure meant that virtually everyone was a little late, a handful of construction trucks also needed to move between us throughout the morning so that made things a little challenging. But I was up to the task, fortunately the shots we had to do were hilarious simple so once we were set up it was just a case of getting the golden shot. Later on I got a chance to work alongside 5 dogs who behaved a lot better than the last bunch of animals I last shot with. It got to wrap and I thought I did quite a lot of steps since I really was on the go the whole day, sadly my pedometer app wasn't set up so we'll never truly know how much actual running I did - watch this space for tomorrow's step count though!

Impromptu Filming Job

Since the beginning if the week I've been kept in tender hooks about being on another filming job. I finally got confirmation that they wanted me on set while I was pouring a flat white, filming is happening tomorrow and Friday so after work I packed a speedy suitcase and coached to London. Its a pretty early call time tomorrow too, earlier for me too since I'm bottom of the ladder. I'm going to get some shut eye so I can tackle the day in style, we're outdoors all day so I'll need all the strength I can get.

Dirty Crockery

Claustrophobia set in at work for whatever reason and I couldn't seem to shake the feeling. Dirty crockery piled up in the corner of my eye and coffee grounds just kept getting under my fingernails, suffice to say I was glad when my shift was over.

I got about halfway through writing another news article when Rebecca called with news regarding the house we put an offer on. Her attempt at surpressing her excitement immediately made me realise what she was about to say: we got the house! By golly I was elated once I heard the news, I just went though most of my close friends and told them one by one. With any luck there shan't be any complications down the line and Rebecca and I will be the proud owners of a little home in the South of Bristol.

Homes Under the Hammer

Staggered through a jolly long day at work while deeply considering my potential housing arrangements. My lunch break was spent making calls to Rebecca and my parents after getting a small update on the house we put an offer on, long and short of it is they want out best and final offers tomorrow, we're amending our offer and crossing all our fingers and toes.

After dealing with ny own housing gubbins, I got a chance to see Mark and Lucy's new house and I gotta say, they've good a good thing going on. I was totally blown away by how lovely their new home was and even though they had bits to renovate and furniture to unpack you could see how they were beginning to put everything together. They both seemed genuinely relaxed too and a lot more at ease with life and it humbled me to know they had officially found a little slice of the world to call their own.

Taxi Booker

Ran around an awful lot at work today, we were busier than we all expected so that meant there was a hundred and one jobs to do at all times. One more thing I can add to my CV is 'taxi booker' a handful of Spanish tourists came in early this morning, bought a hilariously large breakfast, then asked about the best way to get to Bath. I ended up booking them a taxi after checking prices for all the transit links (taxi was inexplicably cheaper for a group for 4). They were chuffed as chips once the taxi turned up, they thanked me profusely and I got on with my day.

At the end of my shift Rebecca and I popped over to the East side of town to celebrate the Birthday of a good friend with board games and booze. Was a lovely night and a great way to spend a Sunday evening.

Happy 9th Birthday to the Blog!

So here we are, standing at 9 years of blogging and I find myself lost for words. So much has happened in my life over those years and it's bizarre to think that they've been chronicled here in some capacity. To me, writing a short blog post before bed has practically become second nature, in fact, I get a bit restless if I ever miss a post, its become a part of my daily routine and whenever I think about this blog in earnest it makes me immensely proud that it's continued for this long. Once again, I'd love to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's kept up with the blog for all these years, your readership means the world to me and it's forever a humbling experience to hear anyone say to me that they enjoyed one of my recent posts. Thank you all again for your continued reading and here's to making it up to 10 years!

In stark contrast to the last house we put an offer on, Rebecca and I found somewhere we both truly considered to be a dream house. Mum came around for the viewing and even she agreed that it was a great little home. Giddy with excitement, Rebecca and I put an offer in late this afternoon and crossed our fingers and our toes that we get accepted. Funny to think that on the Blog's Birthday another life-milestone may be in the works.

Terrible Tiramisu

Considering I've made tiramisu a handful of time you would have thought I'd have mastered it by now, if anything, the one I made this morning turned out to be the worst batch I've made yet. For whatever reason, the creamy layer wouldn't coagulate or set like its supposed to, instead my tiramisu was so wet you could use it to waterboard someone in Guantanamo Bay. Fortunately, the flavour wasn't torture to endure but once sugar, liqueur and mascarpone are all mixed together its pretty hard for it not to taste great. Better luck next time.

Mum popped down to Bristol to see Louis and I, we've got a house viewing tomorrow and Mum is chopping at the bit to come see it with us - we've got high hopes for this one.

Spicy, Spicy Coffee

Carried home two freebies from work, first was a kilogram bag of coffee that was almost past its best before date, gonna have a caffeinated month if I want to get through all those beans before they spoil. Second present was much nicer, a customer last week offered a hot chili pepper to me which I foolishly bit into, he was obviously impressed by my attitude towards al things spicy because he brought in a massive whopping bag of these chilis for me. They're all from his allotment too so they are insanely fresh and delicious looking, just need to figure out what to do with all of them now! Maybe a chili jam?

Wrote yet another news piece for Sick Critic which you can read here if you are so inclined. I've gotten pretty good at doing news articles now, certainly wasn't a skill of mine a few months ago.

Far From A Dream House

Once I finished up at the cafe Rebecca and I did two more house viewings, both of which were decidedly not our cup of tea. Spent the rest of my afternoon editing and proof reading a retro review for Sick Critic, got some great screenshots too and reading it back I think they'll be pretty pleased with the piece.

Homes Homes Homes

In between developing concepts for my next video Rebecca and I did two more house viewings. First was a brand new place that was nice but we both decided wasn't for us. The second viewing was a return visit to a place we really liked the look of over the weekend and in all honesty, it looked even better on a second visit. We've got a handful more homes to see tomorrow but after that it's crunch time, we'll have to make a decision if we want to put down an offer or not. I'm still massively on the fence about making such a big commitment, I'm not even 100% certain if I need a house just yet, but with the market ever inflating it makes sense, plus it would be nice to truly own our own space. Have to mull it over a bit more...

Cracking On, Smashing Goals

Last night I wrote up a little list of all the things I wanted to get done today and I'm happy to say that I smashed all of those goals. I walked to Wildseed so I had my own space to work and ended up developing a little concept running around my brain and I wrote up a news article for the website. Once home, I tided the flat and treated myself to an ASDA pasty which was better than it had any right to be. Brewed up some good coffee, did a bit more work then played games til Rebecca came home, this is the kind of day off I can only dream of having and with any luck tomorrow will be much the same.

If you want to see my new article you can click here. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training is finally making a comeback and it looks pretty cool.

Embrace the Lazy

Remember yesterday when I said I said I couldn't wait to cook again with my new cast iron pan? Well this morning I found another excuse to do just that by frying up some bacon for breakfast. Served next to some creamy scrambled eggs and some freshly brewed pour-over coffee, it was a literal breakfast of champions. Today has been my first full day off in two weeks so I made sure to be a lazy as possible so I could feel the benefit. Rebecca, Mark and I all played some games in the morning and shortly after we went for a short walk once the rain died down. I had a staff meeting with Sick Critic this evening about how they wanted the website to move forward, basically they want more articles, guess I'd better get writing. Fortunately I have a few days off this week, very eager to start up again on some personal projects again.

Cast Iron and Coffee

After work Rebecca and I went out for not 1, but 3 house viewings. The first one we saw left an impression, especially since the chap who showed us around was a regular I serve at Coffee #1. He gave us a really lovely tour round and I offered to buy him a coffee next time he came in, I knew he was an estate agent so I felt like it was only a matter of time that I'd bump into him, but it still took me by surprise.

The labour of my cast iron seasoning finally came to fruition as I cooked my first ever batch of burgers in my Birthday pan and I can say confidently, and I know I say this regularly on this blog, these were the best burgers I've ever made. I knew the cast iron pan would give me an edge but I didn't expect the improvements to be so dramatic, got a really nice crust going on around the outside of the meat but the inside was still juicy and tender. Can't wait to cook more things in it now.

Holy Haluski

Felt like the whole of Bedminster just 'popped in for coffee and cake' at 9am today. I just couldn't believe how many people we served, literally the tiniest amount of rain coaxed them all into the cafe and it got to a point where some of our regulars couldn't find seats. We bossed the rush though, I remember when a frenzy like that would've flustered me but now I just take it as it comes.

Louis and Rachel swung by for a Bake Off catch up night, I made them my interpretation of haluski and Rebecca served up some homemade blueberry muffins - a really delightful meal! About halfway through the screening I got a message saying that the filming dates for an upcoming shoot have been dramatically changed so next week is a lot more free than I was expecting. Nice though, time to catch up on sleep and crack on with some more job applications and personal projects.

Pretty Pumpkin

Who's this handsome little fellow?

Someone ordered a pumpkin latte since it's the season for all things Autumnal, I thought I could try and give it a little personality so I tried my hand at making a grimacing pumpkin and for a first try, I'm pretty pleased with it. This is why they pay me the big bucks.

Once I left work I took the afternoon off to recuperate after a hectic work schedule. Tried my hand at seasoning my new cast iron pan too, I put two coatings on it and its just about to come out the oven, I can't wait to cook something in it now, maybe burgers, maybe gammon...

Schmoozer

Absolutely smashed the same cond day of filming. Everything went ridiculously smoothly and everyone was super grateful of all my hard work. I was even tasked with showing the work experience kid the ropes and he was very receptive to everything I taught him, think he had a good time too, problem was that we were all so on it there weren't many jobs we could give him outside of tea and coffee making.

Once we were wrapped I went to the pub with the crew and we had a mini wrap party. I found myself talking favourite movies and passion projects with this shoot's director and we got on really well. People all started to leave just as I had to dash off for the bus and now I'm belted up and en route home to Bristol. May have even bagged one more filming job next week with the same guys as a result of my schmoozing.

Flat Pack Fellow

If you roll with art department, chance are you're gonna be building IKEA flat packs, and I won the jackpot today since I got to make 4 of them. Then, once they were done in camera, I got to dismantle them and repack them, getting them all back in their respective boxes was the real challenge. Joking aside, the shoot went incredibly well today, really nice crew and we all worked our absolute socks off, can't wait for tomorrow now.

Link's Awakening Review

On the Megabus out of Bristol I really drew the short straw in where I chose to sit. I wanted to be up front for this trip just because its a bit nicer, but the seat I got didn't actually have a gap underneath for my feet to go under. No biggie I thought, I can muscle through it. There was no-one sat next to me so I was ensured a fairly comfy ride as long as no-one sits next to me after calling at our only other stop... Guess what happened next? Swathes of loud first years got on at Bristol UWE, clearly they were all from London heading home because the moment the coach set off and they were out of earshot of all their mates who came to wave them off they started badmouthing Bristol. Saying how rubbish their night out was and ending it by saying 'Can you imagine living here?!' I let it pass, I wasn't about to get into a tiff with a group I'd have to share a space with for the next three hours, but I was nearly pushed to breaking point when one of them asked around for headphones, when no one offered her a pair she proceeded to watch two episodes of Peaky Blinders through her phone speakers. I mean, come on.

Fortunately I'm tucked into Twickenham now and ready for my shooting days tomorrow. My review of Link's Awakening also got published on Sick Critic and I'm immensely proud of my first proper review for a small gaming outlet. Check it out here

My War Face

Prepped myself to go to war with the cafe customers today since it was a perfect storm of bad omens. Rainy weather, weekend, back to school, all signs pointed to a busy day. In reality though, the day dragged because it felt like no-one came in. My adrenaline was put to good use later in the day as I finished up my review for Link's Awakening, my editor is taking a look at it now and with any luck it'll go live on the website soon.

Rushin' for Reviews

Yesterday I (rather foolishly) opted to review a game for Sick Critic before looking at how busy my schedule would be next week. As a result, I figured that after an eight hour shift I should play and write a 1,000 word review for a game that only came out yesterday. By some miracle, I think I did it, I still need to proof-read and finish up the intro and conclusion, but I hit my word count and I'm fairly pleased with it. Luckily, the website went down this afternoon too so I actually have a legitimate excuse for not posting it in a timely manner, not that there is a strict deadline on this one, but sooner is always better. This'll be my first ever review for the website too, I tried to make it professional seeing as it'll be a portfolio piece down the line, I'm excited to put it out in the wild. 

Small Weston World

Took my first ever trip along to Weston Super Mare to work a cover shift in a different Coffee #1. Seeing as it was an all expenses paid trip to a holiday maker's paradise, I took the opportunity to walk around the pier on my lunch break and even dipped my feet in the ocean. I didn't go down to Bournemouth this year so this was the closest I got to visiting the seaside this Summer so I soaked it all in.

Funnily enough, one of the other team members of the cafe grew up in Newbury and even knew Louis from some house parties they went to together during his 6th form days. Small world it seems.

Things got even weirder though when a chap popped into the cafe and mentioned how he'd appeared recently on David Walliam's Instagram, here's the picture:

David Walliam's was in Weston Super Mare with an old uni friend of mine filming for a new show. Just feels a bit crazy how these coincidences kept rolling in today. I thought I'd arrive and leave Weston as a stranger, but I had more connections there than I was expecting. 

Not on My Watch

Man, I can't thank my colleague enough for swapping shifts with me today. I would've been a tired wreak this morning if I had to get up at 5am, instead I had a full night's sleep and had enough time to do a bit of shopping for Louis' Birthday presents and card. I ended up getting him Kingdomino and some very posh coffee which I custom grinded to suit his coffee maker - he was chuffed as chips with them too so that's a result.

In keeping with the Birthday vibes, a lady called up the shop today asking if we had anymore Portuguese tarts for a Birthday treat, I told them I could bake some to order if they were popping in so we agreed a time and I set them up in the oven. They caught me in a real good mood too, I had a bit of change in my pocket so I pre-paid for the Birthday tart so I could give it away as a freebee, customer was over the moon when I presented it and I just stood and smiled. No-one has a bad Birthday on my watch.

Kicking Up the Running Game

Arrived on set bright and early to hear some slightly unfortunate news, the other Runner I was working alongside got mugged on her way into work. Luckily she wasn't hurt and nothing too serious was stolen but she was naturally pretty shook up and excused from work today. An opportunity to step up my game was handed to me and I accepted, effectively I did the job of two runners today and people were very appreciative. Felt good in myself too, I felt like I was on standby a lot yesterday but today flew by. Client was happy, shots looked great too so it went pretty well. I'm on the bus back home now, looking to get a bit of shut-eye, wrapped a little early too so fingers crossed, I'll be in my own bed before midnight.

Studio Fairies

Admittedly, I arrived on set a little early. This gave me ample time to grab a nice breakfast and a coffee before facing the day. First few hours was all set up and they flew by, I felt really on it too, especially since I bumped into a few people I'd shared jobs with before. Second half went a lot slower though since I was scrounging for jobs.Perks of working in a studio: you sometimes have some little 'Studio Faries' who silently swoop in to clear up any mess - that's usually my job though so it was a blessing and a curse. For a small bit I had the glamorous job of dusting the plastic plants, luckily it was time to wrap shortly after. Do it all again tomorrow!

MegaSlog

Worked the morning shift at work, served both Rachel and Rebecca at different points this morning too and seeing them both pop in put a smile on my face. I walked Rebecca round the harbour during her lunch break then I rushed home to pack for a London coach. Done this trip a lot recently and even though it was technically early, the trip still felt long. I'm getting a super early night, not because I've gotta be up at the crack of dawn, but because I know I'll need every ounce of sleep to push me to be my best. Got my first running gig in a while and intend to make a hell of a good first impression.

Escape the Wild West

Woke up on a sofa bed, had a croissant, then headed off to conquer an escape room. Mum arranged for the family plus girlfriends to do a Wild West themed locked in a room adventure, it was my first one of these and I gotta say it was a damn good time. We all managed to work together perfectly, escaping the room with 44 seconds left on the clock, we left feeling smug and with a new appreciation for each others puzzle solving skills.

Louis nursed a hangover for most of the afternoon buy mustered up enough energy to play some back garden Kubb. Tea, coffee and chatting ensued afterwards and before we knew it, it was time for us to head home to Bristol. Had a really nice weekend in Newbury enjoying the company of my family, it was great to get a bit of time off work to see them, especially since the next few weeks are going to be very busy for me.

Dancing in the Moonlight

Finished up a super short shift at work before heading to Newbury to enjoy the Newbury Beer Festival once again. In addition to drinking plenty of fine ales, the festival had a try ace up its sleeve: Toploader were performing at the end of the evening. We held tight well after the sun set so we could see them all perform live, though they are obviously best known for Dancing in the Moonlight, I gotta say, they have a better catalogue of music than I expected. We danced long into the night and headed to Rio's, a long standing favourite Burger place, for dinner. Good night out.

Plastic Spiders

Gosh, I don't actually remember going to sleep last night. I said goodnight to Rebecca, then my alarm went off. There was no time or space in between. Regardless, I felt well rested and ready to face the day. Apparently the cafe got kitted up with Halloween decorations after I left yesterday, I know this because I kept having to do double-takes on several plastic spiders dotted around the place. I moved all the sneaky ones just so I wouldn't jump out of my skin when I couldn't afford to - last thing I want to do is throw hot coffee on someone because I was fleaing from a toy spider.

I'm Newbury bound tomorrow for the annual Beer Festival, got a quick shift at work to finish beforehand but after that its smooth sailing on a hoppy, malty, boozy sea. Looking forward to seeing my family again, Rebecca always says how much she enjoys going away to Newbury since its so chill - I couldn't agree more.

Self Inflicted Jet Lag

I realised that I've recently been burning the candle at both ends through a series of early starts and late nights. After finishing work I actually wound up in bed moments after writing up another news article for a little nap. I seldom sleep during the day however so the whole experience really threw me and I effectively ended up giving myself jet lag since I lost the concept of time and felt groggier than I started.

I eventually nreturned to my senses and went for another house viewing for an unfurnished place which made for a nice change of pace. House hunting is hungry work though, so Rebecca and I popped into a nearby fish and chip place for quick grub. I'm going to bed again now, hopefully I'll get more than 5 hours sleep tonight.

Pride and Prejudice... Sort Of

Once a swift day of work was over, Rebecca and I headed to the Bristol Old Vic for the second time so I could finally make good in a Birthday present I got Rebecca well over a year ago: a paid trip to the theatre, the show: Pride and Prejudice... Sort Of. I've never properly engaged with any piece of P&P media so I didn't know the story, nor was I 100% certain a out what I was about to see, fortunately it didn't matter because the show was not only very forgiving to newcomers, it was jolly good. It was basically a witty retelling of the story, striking a tonal valence between Miranda and The Play That Went Wrong, plenty of big performances from a talented 6 woman cast with neat perfect comedic timing. Again, even though I personally wasn't familiar with the source material, that didn't keep the smile off my face.

I'm 26!

Cheekily woke up just a little ahead of my alarm because I wanted to savor every moment of this Birthday. Rebecca threw a suite of presents at me while I was still in bed, she got me some new pyjamas and a very nifty coffee brewer which I've had my eye on for some time. My folks sent over a pair of games I'd requested too, including a souped up version Rayman Legends, a game I got for my 20th Birthday and playing it again this morning brought back some fond memories.

In fact, playing games was kinda this morning's theme. In an ironic 'rejection of my age' (as Louis called it) I had a Saturday morning breakfast of sugary cereal and cartoons. After an easy morning Rebecca and I headed out for lunch and to the movies a bit later to see Bait, a great little Cornish film about a fisherman who is struggling to modernize with the world. It was in black and white, 4:3 and had entirely dubbed audio, normally that would make a film pretentious but there was more than enough substance here to make it come across as inspired - perfect Birthday watch.

In the evening I met up with Mark, Lucy, Jenny, Louis and Rachel for a BBQ in the park and to watch Bake-Off. I really did make the best out of every second of today, eeking out as much as possible for this Birthday that tipped me over into the other side of a quarter-century of life. Here's to an even richer and fuller year than the last.