Interim Days

 Took a chill pill and set no alarm this morning, it's still the Christmas holidays afterall. We had some time to kill before hitting the road once again so Rebecca and I dove head first into some board games, time and time again she beat me every single round. I play games for the thrill of possibly winning, plus a bit of the social aspect, but going up against Rebecca's mighty brain left me feeling truly defeated. Back in Newbury tonight as the holidays and the year begins to draw to a close. These interim days go by so quickly, deep down we never want them to end.

Get me to my Family on Time

A full social calendar today meant I got to do a wee bit of a Stretch Armstrong impression. I got behind the wheel of Rebecca's car and drove us across to Newbury for family day. I was there for a few hours, plenty of time to show my face, help make mulled wine and giggle alongside the younger relatives. We had to slip away as the games came out, I drove us back to London so we could make it to Rebecca's Uncle's house for their family get together. Despite dating Rebecca for 7 years, today was the first time I'd ever met that side of her family - they were incredibly lovely! They kept saying how much they appreciated me being there and I felt very touched. Though I'm very tired now, I'm glad we made the effort to make both social events, and with nothing to get up for tomorrow, we'll reward ourselves with a nice long lie in.

Christmas in the Capital

Nine times out of ten I'm all about taking it slow. That statistic goes right up to a ten on the interim days between Christmas and New Year. We've all had a hell of a year so we deserve a little break, and today I just sloped off alongside Rebecca. We took it easy til the afternoon when we hopped on a train into Central London to go for a stroll along Southbank and drink in the Christmas around the capital vibe... All the while avoiding drinking in any Covid while wearing a facemask everywhere we went. Was nice though, seeing the classic night time skyline over the bridges, next time I see that will be in BBC One as I ring in the new year.

Mini Family Reunion

Heaved myself out of bed, packed my bags and shipped out to Orpington to wish Grandma a Happy Christmas. I totally forgot my Aunt and Uncle were popping round too which was a nice surprise, for just under an hour nearly the whole of my immediate family was sat comfortably altogether. A few more presents were exchanged and a lunch was prepared - it was a real group effort and it went down a storm. We bid Grandma farewell, waving her farewell as we headed down the drive. I hopped out the car only moments later to board a train heading to Twickenham where I reunited with Rebecca and her family. Weary from travel (and a few glasses of wine with dinner) I know I'll sleep well tonight.

Boxing Day and Quality Time

Wouldn't be Boxing Day without a long walk through the still December air. I laced up my, almost forgotten, walking boots and trapsed through a muddy moore, suburban sidewalks and supermarket car parks. Two hours later, my legs and bones were weary but I was glad to have burnt off a little of yesterday's big dinner. A boardgame and a film rounded off the day, quality time all round basically, which is what Boxing Day is all about.

Happy Christmas 2021!

I believe I was the first up this morning so I skulked into the living room and played a bit of Animal Crossing. It was the very model of a white Christmas in the game while outside the real life windows was a drab day. A great excuse to get the fire going and to enjoy the glow of the tree.

My big gift this year was a new SSD drive for my computer (a very boring gift on the surface, but I'm genuinely very excited to upgrade my PC). Plus a board game I'm keen to try out. To my delight, even good old Daniel Roberts turned up at the door to exchange presents and to wish me a good Christmas - bless his heart. 

Dinner followed presents, I check on Mum and Dad a few times as they were cooking it and they remarked in how well it was all going. So much so that Dad forgot to plate up his favourite part of the lunch: red cabbage. Luckily, there were so many other trimmings we all only noticed after licking the last of the Christmas pudding off our spoons.

We ponked ourselves around the TV afterwards. Superworm was the below-average annual animation, luckily Father Christmas was on shortly after, a short I hadn't seen in perhaps 15 years and I loved it. The hours peeled away afterwards, the dreary day was obscured by night and once Mrs Brown's Boys came on we knew it was time for bed.

Felt very fortunate to be able to spend Christmas in the traditional way once again, few things beat my parent's Christmas dinner and the atmosphere of our cosy living room. Hoping everyone had a blessed day too spent with their loved ones.

 Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Christmas Eve 2021

We gathered round the Christmas tree to shower Rebecca and Rachel with their presents. Lots of smiles all round and that made me feel a touch of the Christmas magic. They both had to dash off after lunch so they could spend the big day with their families, while we got ready for a Christmas Eve film. In a kind of double bluff, we chose the younger brother of everyone's favorite alternate Christmas film and watched Die Hard 2 this evening. It's easily the lesser film, but it's a certified romp either way. Sadly, watching airplanes explode on a runway didn't leave me feeling warm and fuzzy in the same way skyscraper terrorists do. I guess the most enduring Christmas films are thanks to tradition and association.

Still bizarre to think there's only one more sleep til Christmas. Looking forward to it though. For everyone reading this on Christmas Morning, I hope the day brings all the merriment you've missed from last year - make sure it's a Christmas you're thankful for.

Remembering How to Christmas

Slowly packed up our bags, presents and Christmas treats ready to hit the short road to Newbury. Mum was excited to see Louis and me, the dream of a 'normal' Christmas is slowly coming into focus. It wasn't until I sat next to our tree and cracked a walnut that I begun to notice the season's glow start to creep up on me. I think there's a strange air to the holiday this year, as if we''ve all kinda forgotten how to do Christmas, but like riding a bike, it'll all come back to us. Sat by the tree, looking at the familiar decorations, it felt like no time had passed at all.

Calico

Made my first ever batch of cranberry sauce last night, all because Rebecca and I wanted bacon, brie and cranberry sandwiches for lunch. May have accidentally made a humongous pot of the red stuff, thankfully I had the bright idea of bringing it along with Newbury for Christmas - it shan't all go to waste!

Shortly after our festive lunch, Rebecca and I exchanged gifts. I wracked my brain for weeks wondering what to get Rebecca, then, like a beacon from the heavens, a cat board game (that was highly rated) appeared before me. Calico is the game's name, as if it wasn't perfect enough, the game also deems that the player who goes first is the most recent person to have stroked a cat. She was thrilled, and we both had a go after dinner, where she promptly thrashed me. I received a bottle of very, very nice coffee liqueur from the distillery in our postcode. Its punchy and will go tremendously well in a tiramisu, can't wait to share the love.

The Power of the Dog

Jane Campion made a film I didn't totally despise, that's the news flash that leads today's blog entry. The Power of the Dog is a post western farming film which is basically a spin on Rebecca, but a banjo-playing Benedict Cumberbatch plays Miss Danvers. Watching him gaslight and torment a poor woman who married into his broken family was oddly entertaining, but outside of that there were several moments that were incredibly on the nose. The film feels like it's boiling, reducing itself toward a breaking point, but that moment never manifests - it's a very understated film for sure but it needed something more in order to resonate by the end. 

 

Jab Nurse

That *should* be the last of this year's Christmas shopping. I headed once more towards the bustling high streets of Bristol to gather up the outliers on my list, scratching them off one by one until I only had a heavy rucksack left to contend with. Back home I nursed Rebecca back to health after her booster jab made her feel incredibly ropey. It was the least I could do after she tended to me to fervently. 

She felt right as rain by the evening though, just as well because Louis and Rachel opted to cook us dinner. Their house has a mouse who has taken lodgings, so they used our kitchen to prep a nice wintery meal. Good time with friends, by the tree and a roaring fireplace, felt like an honest precursor to Christmas Day.

Dressing Down the Car

The final weekend before Christmas is obviously the perfect time to do a slap-dash trip to the high street. As we were driving down, I spotted two familiar figures crossing the road - Louis and Rachel! I bellowed out Louis' name as we passed by and he just shook his head. Classic Louis. Then it dawned on me, we were both probably doing last minute shopping for each other... Made the whole thing seem a lot more awkward in my head than in realy though, we bumped into them again shortly after and they confessed to doing exactly that. Good thing we crossed paths at a good moment!

Cleaned out my car ready for its return tomorrow. In hindsight, it's probably the best of all the hire cars I've had recently. I'm going to be a little sad to see it go. Put about 4,000 miles onto it in 6 months so I suppose it had a good run, I'll miss the sound system most, that car had the best bass I've ever experienced. 

Of course, we did the annual present wrapping session. I adopted my position as tape master and Xmas Music DJ, in doing so I realized just how few Christmas songs I'd actually heard this year. Band Aid and John Lennon's songs are ones that haven't played for me yet, I've only heard Last Christmas less than 5 times too... Got a lot of catching up to do.

Little Hollows

Groggily, I lifted my head from my pillow and rubbed my aching legs. Yesterday did a number on me, a passing gift after wrap I suppose, but it wasn't enough from keeping me enjoying my Saturday to the fullest. Rebecca booked us in for lunch at the pasta restaurant Rachel works at. I have a real soft spot for genuine, fresh pasta and this was perhaps the best dish I've had outside of Italy. Small menu that is expertly curated and brimming with flavour - my soula dn my stomach was nourished afterwards... Though it did make me a bit sleepy afterwards. 

Not to matter though, once we got home we did a small walk and then just vegged out. I probably should have made a few more mince pies I realized, I took to eating the mince meat mixture I made from a bowl, maybe later this week I throw on an apron and make another batch. I mean, I'm a man of leisure now. I can do anything!

Sanditon - That's a Wrap

Golly, there were moments today when I felt beaten. But here I stand, at the pinnacle of Sanditon, all roads point to the very second when filming wrapped. Prosecco corks popped, and post shoot mingling begun, it felt like New Year's with us all chatting and enjoying each other's company before we all moved onto bigger and brighter things. I was run off my feet all day, but still managed to find the time to socialize and be merry with all my team mates. As I left the office, I reached for the lightswitch and it realized, this was it. The day I'd been clamouring for. To look into an empty office, and turn out the lights. Final days are always bittersweet.

And so, this marks the end of the busiest work period I've ever had. Back-to-back jobs since August 17th 2020. It's been a sprint finish, I feel much older and much wiser now, it all been such a boost to my confidence too. Now that I know I can just sit back and take it easy, my body has already begun going into a state of deep sleep. I will rest well and rest hard, heaven knows I deserve it.

Facebook Marketplace

 The living hell of dealing with Facebook marketplace to flog off all our surplus made an already stressful day a little too manic to fathom. Buyers I had for a lot of my stuff went silent so I had to scramble round replying to more and more people. Which meant more haggling, more questions from them and more time out of my day. My timetable tomorrow is now stacked with random folks coming to buy little filing cabinets while I'm trying to clear the decks. Last day tomorrow though so anything could happen.

Sharing the Salmon

Shiftin' boxes and posting things off, that was my day. Minus a small excursion out to a nearby school so I could inundate them with coloured paper. Reams of cherry, salmon, buff and goldnlenrod paper all donated to a good cause... If they can dream up fun uses for all that stuff anyway, paperchains perhaps?

The end is in sight now, neither the spirit nor the body is willing. It's just black coffee and friendly faces getting me through until the end now. Thankfully both of those things are in bountiful supply.

Racing Towards the End

Misjudged my starting time rather dramatically, just a little over an hour early for work, but I made the best use out if that time. I took down the kitchenette setup in our office, boxed more things away and called up a few local schools to see if they were interested in our vast spectrum of colourered paper. Everything we own is getting grouped into neat little piles and soon enough those piles will be gone, sold or donated to the lucky few. In between it all I got to ride on a motorbike, someone gave me a lift across our studio and it was great fun. Forgot how cold the wind can be when you're speeding into it, not felt that since I last went on a bike with my Grandad.

Dismantling the Office

Monday packdown is in full swing, it's a bit of a one man operation but that suits me fine for the time being. Nice to know every inch I tidy is my own handiwork, not unlike cultivating a unruly garden. As the day's go by, more and more of it will disappear, swept away, sold and dismantled until there is no trace of us. Minus the giant promenade set in the parking lot... I ain't de-rigging that.

Tomorrow it'll really get going though, big plans to tackle some of the trickier spots. Just keep going and the week will end before I know it.

Living in the Living Room

Headed out early so Rebecca and I could do the Christmas shopping just as everywhere begun to open. Had a really successful jaunt along the high street, getting bits for a lot of our 'harder to buy gifts for' people, ticking several off our list. To commentate a job well done (and to say a big thank you to Rebecca for looking after a Covid-ridden Theo) we ate lunch out at Pieminister... Also, it wouldn't be Sunday without gravy.

I'm in an odd interim stage now where my job is drawing to a close next week, but I don't want to start any new games until my time off. This made me feel a bit non-committal this weekend, but it was a blessing in disguise. It freedede up to just enjoy the moment instead and not rush around to maximize weekend time. It's A Wonderful Life was on telly and I found myself watching all of it, relishing every second. Karate Kid was the chaser film, while I wasn't as invested, it was nice to watch the highlights again while tucking into a cheeseboard for dinner. The living room is a lovely space to exist in right now and it's a pleasure to slow down, recenter and spend quality time there. 

The final work week looms, its going to be one final mad dash... I'm digging deep to find the willpower to push on. I got 5 more days in me, just about.

Best Tree Yet

 Operation 'Get Chrismassy' was put into full swing after it dawned on me I spent most of the Christmas run up isolating in my room. Usually at this time of the month I've exhausted all my festive cheer, now though I feel like I've got some catching up to do. Rebecca and I bought our tree, some new decorations and some new lights to put on it... Then we got home and I quickly realized we bought the wrong ones so I had to dash back to the shops to get an exchange, all the while Rebecca was tapping her feet, impatient to decorate the tree. It's all done now though and I think it's our best ever one. I keep finding myself staring at the tree and basking in the warm glow. That's always a good sign.

Studio Strike

 And so, the great studio get-out begins. Because there aren't any other Runners, it's my job to de-rig basically the entire of the Production Office and the studio by myself. I tallied up the stationary first thing and started putting a few pieces of furniture on the Facebook Marketplace. I made a good dent in it already so I should really hit the ground running first thing Monday morning. Better rest easy though, it's going to be a bonkers week coming up and I'll need to dig deep to find the strength to push forward.

Bye Bye Blue

 The final, final day of filming on Sanditon. Many of us thought we'd never see the day, but still it took us by surprise. I was on my feet the whole day, both units were crammed into a single production bus so I hovered around all the areas of our studio instead. Dealing with request, making coffees and prepping wrap gifts. I was handed some pretty weird and wonderful jobs in that 11 hour shoot day, all of which I nailed, quickly and efficiently. I get by with a little help from my friends though, and the hardest part was saying goodbye to a select few. The Transport Captain and a few members of the AD team were over and out after today. I wrote them all cards and presentedy wrap gifts to them for that bittersweet farewell. We've all been looking forward to the job's end for so long... But another week together would have been lovely... And then another and another. 

To celebrate the end of Blue Unit the Blue Bus Crew all went out for dinner at a nearby Mezze place. It was the perfect vibe for a last meal, lots of sharing platters and excuses for us all to get together and share the job's highlights (and low points). To me, every single person around that table was a highlight, so sad to think that it's all slowly drawing to a close.

Washing Bowl, my Old Friend

 Back in the office, washing up bowl full of dirty dishes waiting for me since Monday - delightful start to my day. I'm winding the whole shebang down now, striking the office and packing down whatever isn't vital to the war effort. Only got a small way through it all though as my focus shifted towards prepping for the real final day (after being told last week that we've all wrapped). Scripts changed a wee bit and more tea and coffee needed sorting, luckily they're both in the Venn diagram of my interests so I did it all happily. In actuality, I'm chuffed my unit gets a real final day now, one that I can actually participate in.

I'm Coming Out (Of Isolation)

 Took another lateral flow test - negative result as predicted. I deemed it ok to leave my mancave for the day and camp out in the living room instead for a change... But first, I had to clean up any remnant of my squalid lifestyle. Burnt through every mug, bowl and plate in the house it felt like so a good portion of the morning was spent washing it all up and packing down the sofa-bed. Feel a lot more human now, though I did feel myself becoming almost overstimulated by the world beyond my four walls. Around midday my eyes were tired and my brain became ratty so I rested in a dark room for a spell. Felt right as rain afterwards, just gotta take it easy when I'm back at work tomorrow. Wonder what the day will have in store for me.

Breaking Quarantine

Balenced my petty cash invoices and upgraded our iPad storage, all in a day's work while working from home. Technically speaking I broke my isolation for but a moment as I dashed out in the dark, dead of the evening to my car to grab something and nip back again. I didn't see a soul on my adventure so no-one was ever at threat, but it was so gratifying to feel the cool, fresh air on my face again... If only for 15 seconds. 

Some of my work colleagues called me up on a video chat to check on me. They kept saying how much they missed me and how I'm a core member of the filming family... Funnily enough this wasn't even my department lavishing me with love and attention. The AD team really have adopted me, and I couldn't be happier about that.

Miss Americana

 Though I'm still in solitary confinement, Rebecca and I have still dreamed up of little ways to spend time together. I tuned in to watch Netflix's Taylor Swift documentary with Rebecca, I wrote it off last year as a self-aggrandizing short-term biopic, at least, that was my thoughts before having seen it. In reality, it does a lot of flag bearing for her, but it does at least begin to peek under the hood of how she's a victim and benefactor of fame. It didn't really want to get its hands dirty though so we only get a glimpse of these things followed by a lot of fan-pleasing recording session clips. At the end of the day, it's a documentary for the fans, for better and for worse.

Some distaced board games were played on my landing too. Rebecca had to move ally pieces but we still got some good matches in of some of our favorites. More than anything, it just whetted my appetite for some real board game nights with friend and family. Just so ready to leave this room now.

The Last Duel

 Rebecca tapped on my door, wakinge up just in time to catch my eyebrows hit the ceiling as I realized I slept in until 10am. Felt like a normal day rather than a weekend being locked in the same room. Rebecca got to go out and enjoy the outside thankfully, she told me all about it and I listened with child-like wonder in my eyes.

We've also recently been watching some things together over video chats, we both press the play button on a movie at the same time and keep our microphones on so we can catch each other's witty banter. A mid day movie was the perfect thing to do in Lockdown and The Last Duel satisfied a lot of criteria to earn the favour of both Rebecca and myself. It's writing and attention to structure was its most praiseworthy quality, it juggles a lot of balls and manages to keep them all airborne while keeping you constantly invested in the fate of the characters. Only Ridley Scott can make chain-mail look this good and a lot of attention to detail brought Medieval France to life - it was almost a shame I watched it on a laptop. Solid film all round, if you peek under the hood you'll admire its craft all the more.

End of Contract

A mammoth bit of data logging stood between me and my weekend. I was asked to use a spreadsheet from accounts to figure out all the companies who have raised invoices through us and log all the names and addresses of those places in a separate document. Long? Yes. Tedious? Yes. Soul Crushing? A thousand times yes. It's one of those things that's kinda meant to be spread across the entire filming job, but now that everything is getting a bit last minute we're scrambling to get it all ready to hand in before the end date. Speaking of, my contract with this job technically expired after today, no word on if they want to keep me on or not. Still got the car so I reckon I'm still on the payroll? Let's see what happens next week and go from there. Some of my colleagues are already planning an informal get together after the non-day everyone had yesterday. Very much llooking forward to saying goodbye properly.

No More Blue Unit... I Guess

Unceremoniously, at about 3pm, my filming unit were told that today was the last day they'd be filming. So... That's a wrap, I guess? Though I was at home, the nervous tension was palpable through the messages I got through all day. Still a lot of unanswered questions and curious decisions being made behind the scenes, but I was too busy coordinating a pizza and doughnut order our director wanted to arrange (fairly last minute) for the crew. With any luck I'll be able to see my team again one last time before the job is all done and dusted, there was no 'last hurrah' so we'll no doubt arrange our own little shindig.

Health wise, I'm doing better today. The naffness has migrated towards my head and ears mostly, throwing me off balence and simulating the torturous feeling of tinitus all day. It's my muscles thoigh that are proving to be in the most pain, purely due to misuse. I had to ask Rebecca if it'd be ok to go up and down the stairs a bunch of times to get them back into the swing of things. Might make a habit of doing that a lot more over the coming days.

With or Without Me

Still here in my little room, beavering away at some small jobs work has passed onto me. Our last day of filming is tomorrow and one of my group chats very sweetly pointed out that it's all going to fall apart without me on the day. Very flattered, but they'll be just fine without me, though I have a hunch the printer will break down almost immediately for them - good thing I said I could be on call for the day. 

Feeling a little more chipper today overall, think I've broken through the heart of the illness now so it's just a long road towards the sunlight.

My 4 Walls

Minus a few toilet breaks, I spent the day in one room. These 4 walls have seen a lot of me, I just wished they could talk to me, or at least play Smash Bros. Work gave me a few jobs to crack in with and in my down time I played some games, finishing one of them a little earlier than I had predicted. Think I'll turn my hand back to writing when I get the chance, I got so comfy with it last year and I don't want to fall out of step.

I think it might just be the blocked nose, but my sense of taste and smell is beginning to wane... Really hope that comes back.

Feeling 'Positive'

 Well folks, we had a good run. Almost made it to 2022 without contracting Covid. After being a primary contact with someone at work, two lateral flow tests and a PCR confirmed that I have Covid. Back to isolating from Rebecca in the spare room (at least I have a proper bed this time) and missing out on the last few days of shooting. My blood turned cold when that second little line turned up on the lateral flow test kit and I still feel like I'm spacewalking. Luckily I had the day off, I'd planned to go out and buy wrap gifts for a few people but instead I just silently played video games by myself in a bid to pass the time. I'm feeling a little ropey, a cold basically: bunged nose and tired eyes mostly. Just hope tomorrow is ok and I haven't passed it into Rebecca.

Who Doesn't Love A Freebie?

Slow Sunday's always push Rebecca and me towards the Tobacco Factory market, and this week was a real delight. We low-key went in looking for some early Christmas presents for friends, we left with a full rucksack of goodies after snacking on plenty of free samples. We built such a rapport with one of the chaos there he actually ended up giving us a free packet of stuff! Granted l, we bought a lot of stuff from him but my inner miser smiled brightly at the idea of an unexpected freebie. 

I re-learnt that the fastest way to make Rebecca grumpy is to beat her at board games. A few weeks ago I trounced her at Chess, now I had a slam-dunk victory at Root and she wouldn't stop grimacing. She can be an atrocious loser at times, but then again, so was I when I was younger. Everyone's gotta lose though. Tough love lesson of the day.

Winds of Winter

Bins being blown up and down the street, this was the noise that woke me up first thing this morning. There was an almost visual chill in the air, even just looking out the window you knew you didn't want to be outside for long... But weekend plans always dictate that some time in the great outdoors is mandatory. Back to B&Q for a curtain rod and some grocery shopping was enough to convince Rebecca and me to stay indoors for the rest of the season. We're ready to hibernate now... At least until I run out of coffee.

Slow Wave 'Goodbye'

Down a few team members so I stepped up to help the day run smoothly. Drinks for the cast, food orders for base, hot chocolates for the director - you name it, I'll sort it. On the periphery, we were all saying a near-tearful farewell to our very lovely 2nd AD. I realized that I'd virtually spent the entire of 2021 only a few desk spaces away from her, she was on Malory Towers with me and we both quickly jumped onto Sanditon afterwards. We leaned on each other through all the rough spots of each job, especially in the first few weeks. We exchanged wrap gifts and, funnily enough secret Santa gifts (though neither of us said, we both drew each other's names out if the hat). Feels like the job is winding down and the gang is slowly dispersing - feels like friends are going off to get married. That's the bittersweet curse of long jobs - you can't wait for them to end, but you never want to lose your teammates.

Gin Gem

Midweek break in filming meant I got to stay iny pyjamas for most of the day, but that's not to say I wasn't busy. I had a wrap gift to buy for a team mate who's been working with me since Malory Towers back at the start of April. We've been through it all together now and tomorrow is her last day, I know she a big fan of Gin so I went to Asda... I quickly realized the present I wanted to get wouldn't come so easily as the selection was ropey. So I sourced a local distillery and bought a 'Made in Bristol' gin from a nearby place, I went to pick the bottle up and I was bowed over by how lovely their venue was. It's a cute little taproom just off an industrial estate at the end of our park, only been open 6 months so it felt like I uncovered a real gem. 

Additionally we got our oven fixed again, just in time for me to bake a cake for work tomorrow. Real espresso went into the batter and if the off-cuts are anything to go by, it's going to be a spectacular bake. So while I could have very easily stayed in my PJ's all day, I'm glad I got proactive and spent my time well.

Grub Coordinator

Unit Base was in the center of town today so our food options expoded with possibilities. Pinkman's became a requisite so I coordinated a big doghnut run for our production truck. Moments later our producer expressed a desire for a pad Thai, sorted him out there too. Then in the middle of all that I had to get a birthday cake collected. In hindsight I realize just how much every Runner's job revolves around food - at least everyone was super grateful for the grub!

It was our 1st AD's Birthday too so I scheduled in a table at Pizza Express for 30 people. A massive banquet style arrangement was set up for us on arrival and we all had a jolly good evening. I always enjoy showing my face to the crew whenever I can and it was nicer still to see them all outside of work.

The Fun Jobs

 Got not one, but two of the fun jobs that you only get in my role. A member of cast wanted to buy the whole crew a little wrap gift and enlisted me to source close to 100 bottles of wine. In the meantime, our 1st AD is having her birthday on set tomorrow so I was tasked with sourcing a cake. Trouble is, she's a very fussy eater... So we got a plain Victoria Sponge, no cream, smooth jam and extra fresh fruit on top. Luckily, my go-to place we're willing to do a little favour for me - just hope they like it when it arrives! These tasks kept me occupied for the day though, it's always fun writing up little reports/debriefs for these types of things too. Booked the Birthday girl a table for 30 at a nearby restaurant too, guess I'll be one of many on a massive banquet table tomorrow.

Credit Number 1

Logged onto BBC IPlayer first thing this morning to see my first ever TV credit! Malory Towers is officially out and I immediately scrobbled through right to the end just so I could see my name on the big screen next to a lot of familiar names. I showed it to all the folks on the truck and got a mini applause, all that hard work has at long last come home to roost.

Keeping it Local

 Part two of our Totterdown exploration begun with a trip around Arno's Vale Cemetery, a spot Rebecca and I have always wanted to visit but lockdown etc made it very difficult. I've never seen such a wide spectrum of headstones and monuments, really unique and beautiful spot to walk around too. Next up was a lunch at the infamous Totterdown Canteen, a well loves brunch venue in the local area that's previously been too busy for our custom. Today we squeezed onto the last table and loaded up on salmon and hollandaise sauce while beaming from ear to ear. Mum was chuffed we kept the weekend so local, most of our money went back to the community which is one well worth supporting.

This afternoon was all about town center though. I organized a little work shindig with the other AD's and Unit Drivers. We went bowling, rode bumper cars at a nearby fun fair and ate a Mexican dinner to top the night off. An early start tomorrow morning loomed over all of us so we called it a night fairly early... I've just set my alarm for 5am so I can get into Wales in good time.

Totterdown Arts Trail

Mum came down to Bristol to potter around the Totterdown Arts Trail, a community art sale all run from people's living rooms. Lot of postcards, pottery, prints and jewelry basically, all by local talent. Secretly I think Mum enjoys nosing around other people's houses more than the art, but we all had a nice time wandering the nearby streets and connecting with our neighborhood. Walking around all afternoon meant we worked up a mighty appetite, a curry could only cure our hunger, so we re-appraised and old curry house favorite and we're delighted to find out it's still a winner. Mum inexplicably got the spiciest dish, it even left Rachel winching from the heat. She muscled through it though and is now camping out on our sofa bed - always nice to host an overnight guest.

Hiding Amidst Horses

Trundled to set a few times this morning, it's lovely that even though the crew rarely see me, they all give me a warm welcome when I step into the floor. Lots of horses today, in narrow passages so I had to duck and weave my way around them to get signatures for risk assemements... All in a day's work for me. Back at base the Friday feeling ran rampant. Until a nasty batch of script amends came in, rocking the calm if Friday afternoon. We all just craved the weekend so bad, of course something dreadful was coming our way. That's Monday's problem though. Right now, I just want to sleep and sleep and sleep.

Tarot Masters

With only three members of cast in and no supporting artists, we could all afford a little breather today. With manic back to back days it was just so nice to just enjoy a day and have it a bit easier. We even got the callsheet ready for wrap today, I got to leave early... That never happens!

I can't recall if I mentioned this here, but the Base Runner and I are slowly building up a reputation as mystics. A deck of tarot cards was passed down to us and we studied the accompanying handbook and are now junior fortune tellers. We're making out way steadily through the vast majority of the base crew - it's been a great laugh too. Been a good way to pass the time and interact with a few departments that passed us by..

Script Super

Took the initiative and asked to shadow our current Script Supervisor on set for a chunk of the morning. So I pulled up a camping chair up by a set in monitors and learnt the ropes while watching a scene unfold. I took in a lot of really insightful information and practical know-how in how to draw tramlines across a script and what to keep a real eye for while a scene is playing out. Sadly, a printer meant my time with the scripty was cut short by a few minutes but it was a great initiation into that world. New career path possibly...?

Out of the Park

Tiramisu was a smash hit, Producers all filled their boots, one even asked to take some home with him, I'd say that's a hallmark of success. The rest of the day though wasn't spent basking in praise, but rather being on my feet and dashing around. We were a man down today so it fell to me to pick up a bit of his slack on a day that was already busier than usual. After having three days off to recharge it already feels like I'm ready for another weekend.

Tons of Tiramisu

 Hardly knew what to do with myself on my free morning. Had enough time to really enjoy some sourdough toast before settling into some hushed video games, Rebecca goes on work calls next to me so I had to keep my viceral whoops silent. The one thing I did plan to do today was make a LOT of tiramisu. I got a lot of little take away pots from the caterers at work and portioned out 21 pots of pudding. Altered my technique slightly and opted to do the double sponge layer for the tiramisu - every sponge was dipped in real espresso too for that extra authentic taste. The end result is perhaps the best tiramisu I've made to date... Only problem is I very slightly overfilled each pot so now the lids smoosh in the beautiful layer on top. A visual set back, no doubt the taste will mask any blemishes; can't wait to share them with the team tomorrow.

Crimbo Cake

Coffee and scrambled eggs - the classic Sunday combo. That lined my stomach for a bracing, if familiar, walk up to the SS Great Britain with Rebecca's parents. People are out and about again in town now, I forget just how little Covid means outside of my filming job where they take it so seriously. 

Since it was a smash hit last year, we once again geared up to make our Christmas cake. I was on fruit duty, zesting lemons and oranges to ensure a harmonious citrus balance within the cake. Every now and then while boiling it all down I got some in my fingers - a taste test couldn't be avoided by a mortal man and I'm already looking forward to sampling a slice of the final product. For now though, my kitchen smells of the holidays and that suits me just fine.

Clevedon

Visited Clevedon for the first time ever, seen it on a hundred road signs so it's kinda nice to finally see what all the fuss is about. Turns out, it just a very picturesque little town by the shore of the Bristol Channel. We strolled up and along Poet's Walk, an incredibly beautiful hill overlooking a church and the cliffsides - one may even say it was somewhat soul-stirring. We went with Rebecca's folks and ate out at a small cafe by the pier. It was such a nice day one would be forgiven for forgetting it was the middle of November - it was getting dark by the time we got in the car to head back. The Autumn leaves were gorgeous on the drive home too, the orange hues warm the cockles of my heart.

Ginger Amends

 Back on lemon and ginger tea making duty. Never, ever claimed to be an expert in making that stuff but the cast can't get enough of it. I was also back to my good old friend, script amends to go another round. Usually it's only a few pages that get tweaked these days, but almost half a script got tweaks today. Didn't quite get the chance to budget my time around them as it was all systems go after lunch. Went into a little on bit of overtime too, on a Friday too which was a killer, but now if got a lovely 3 day weekend ahead of me! Can't wait to lounge about in style!

Hot Choc Shock

 One of my now routine duties at work is making our director a flask of hot chocolate. The Base Runner and I have been doing this consistently for the last month and today,callsheet to spice it up. According to almost every recipe including chocolate written after 2015, the addition of a trace amount of coffee will boost the chocolate flavour. Naturally, this advice speaks to me (and in various cooking tests, it is true), so alongside the hot choc I brewed a pot if coffee and put a little over two tablespoons of coffee into the silky chocolate mixture. I sampled it before passing it on and I thought it was delicious.

An hour passes, and in passing I bumped into our director so I asked what she thought of her latest batch of hot choc, I was jolly proud of it after all and I wanted to bask in positive feedback. Instead, I was mortified to learn that she HATES coffee and could taste it lurking in the back of the flavour profile. We had a little joke about it but I just wanted to die when I found out. Won't be taking the initiative again until my ego has made a full recovery.

Attention to Amend

That was the day that was. No surprises or anything special to note, I managed to point out a little flaw in some new script amends - flexing my attention to detail there to the chagrin of our scripting coordinator. Made another popular batch of lemon and ginger tea too, I'm now looking up alchol free mulled wine recipes online to get ideas for new hot drinks that'll bring some cheer to the crew. More than anything now though I just look forward to sleeping in the evenings. A lot of truck swaps recently have made me get up for the crack if dawn when really I just want to be hibernating with Rebecca in the mornings.

Kermode Back on the Menu

Rekindled my relationship with The Kermode and Mayo's Film Review podcast. What was once a staple part of my weekly audio diet has recently been put on the back burner due to long, busy work weeks. Podcasts also proved to be a little too distracting while driving for me, at least when I was first driving solo. Truth be told, I'm just bored of listening to music on the road, I wasn't to stimulate my brain with discussion - so I looked inward and returned to my true north: my love of film. Though it's been over a year since I tuned in, it feels like no time has passed. Plus now that cinemas are slowly trickling out good movies it feels lovely to be part of the conversation. Just so chuffed right now.

Lemon and Ginger

 The punk sunrise lingered over our unit base, guiding me towards the catering truck, towards a bowl of mediocre porridge and yogurt. This was all the goodness I needed to push on through the day, though early in I got locked into teamaking duty. I've been getting into making fresh lemon and ginger tea to I made a big pitcher of it for the office. One cast member spotted it and next thing I knew, everyone wanted a cup! Wish people just stuck with drinking my coffee... So much easier to make...-

Potter Paint

 Bathroom fully painted now and looking better than ever! Yet another little weekend project with a big old tick next to its name, not too many DIY jobs left to do now before it gets to cold and wet to do anything. Rebecca and I (but mostly Rebecca) have done some much it feels like, everything we do makes the house more and more our own, very proud of us. After washing out all the paintbrushes we just collapsed onto the sofa and channel surelfed on the first Harry Potter film and ended up watching a lot more of it than we expected. It's a wholesome movie now, I can see why people feel so nostalgic towards it.

Paint Smearer

 Next housework job on our hit list: painting the bathroom. I typically make good use of the big paint roller when Rebecca and I split up the duties, suits my personality better I think - big immediate results with the roller. Though, I did managed to totally bodge the ceiling somehow, too much paint in the roller meant I applied too much Jasmine White and ended up smearing around the place rather than actually applying it. The first coat I did was embarrassing poor, luckily we managed to rectify it before I had to sleep knowing I'd messed up our bathroom beyond all repair. 

Wasn't all work this Saturday: games with Mark and Dan took place and a takeaway burger was quickly consumed. Feeling a little decompressed now, all I got to do is have a good Sunday, then I know I'll be fit to fight another Monday.

Bonfire Night 2021

Down a Base Runner today so I helped fill in the gaps. Mostly just put food orders in for the cast and crew and did some extra leg work - all while de-rigging our truck for the location swap. A lot of elements to juggle and I daresay I actually felt a little overwhelmed at one point. I'll chalk that up to the overly-hot heating and the overly-potent coffee playing with my senses. Took myself away for 2 minutes and came back ready to take on the world.

We wanted a little bit of Bonfire Night action so Louis, Rachel, Rebecca and I all went hunting for smoke and fireworks. We trudged for a while with nothing to show for it, until we unwittingly stumbled into a battlefield. Chaps were lighting fireworks only a few couple yards from us, the bangs were intense. Even better, another group in the school were popping off a few of their own fireworks just behind us. We kept looking over our shoulder to see who had the better display. What was almost a disaster night turned into an organic evening that couldn't have happened anywhere else except our nearby park.

Independent Union

What a beautiful morning! Driving to work was legitimately soul stirring, leaving the confines if the city to head out towards the countryside in Autumn was such a pleasure. The day's work was steady and everyone was a lot chirpier which made everything nice and easy. An email came out saying everyone would need to work on a Saturday on short notice though - a threat to disturb the new peace... Instead all of the crew literally laughed at the email and just said 'fat chance'. Apparently we are our own union and we may have wriggled out of a weekend workday.

Car Park Curry

A decidedly better day was enjoyed by all. Warmer attitudes aided by a manageable shooting schedule perked us all up. Funnily enough, my new gloves won the hearts of many of my coworkers and we're the unfettered talk of base for a hot minute this morning - maybe they were the good vibes we all needed.

I actually had a steady stream of work to get on with too which always helps, but I still had enough time to perform a Tarot reading on our 2nd AD. Someone recently purchased a Tarot set for our truck and it fell to me to digest and memorize all the cards, it was well worth it though because the lady I did the reading for left with a brand new lease on life. Maybe I got myself a nice little side hustle. 

Just before the sun set I was invited to share some homemade food with some of the Unit Driver's. One of their wives made a delicious curry with the most perfect level of spice I've ever experienced. As I stood in the Unit Base car park, huddled with the cool kids eating curry out of an open boot I felt very accepted. Those guys are big sharers and I'm delighted they want to always get me involved.

C'mon Team

Another slow and somewhat rocky 12 hours for me. My work load is diminishing by the minute and I keep thinking I ought to be helping out more. Not much I can do though, filming is in the hands of the higher ups and the best I can do is try and keep morale up with tea, coffee and the occasional mockery of myself.

Off-Day on Set

Morale took a bit of a nosedive across the board on set. The bad weather never helps and the long, dialogue-heavy days are always the hardest to get shot in the day. I wished I could do a little more to help as I had some long spates of naff-all to do, then again, even I was dropping the ball a little today. Nothing beyond repair thankfully, but just not operating to my usual standard which makes me a bit frustrated in myself. We all have off-days though, I've already told myself tomorrow will be better and that's half the battle already.

Happy Halloween 2021

Got an extra hour to enjoy Halloween, but accidentally slept through my extra time. My big plans for playing scary video games all day were dashed by my sleepiness, but Rebecca and I still got some spooky games crammed in during out down time.

We had just the one guest round for Halloween this year. Because it's an easy dish to cook and as it feeds into the whole Day of the Dead thing, I made fajitas. If Mexican skeletons really did walk amidst the living today they'd all queue up to give me a boney slap because I butched the dish. Both the chicken AND the guacamole came out inexplicably overly salty... Probably on account of all the salt I added. Dear oh dear. We watched the 1999 version of The Mummy as the scary film of choice - it was a poor man's Indiana Jones, but that hardly a hot take anymore. It was kinda fun, but kinda forgettable too but gald I've seen it now. It's forever been a chunk of 90's media I avoided growing up and now when people ask me if I've seen it I can say 'yes'... And not much else.

Chillax to the Max

 Operation Chillax to the Max was engaged all day. Rebecca and I walked in the rain to enjoy a very bougie brunch of eggs Benedict spiked with capers and picked cucumber (trust me, it really worked). Felt like we'd already had a days worth of good vibes, but once we got back home we jumped back into our pyjamas, hopped onto the sofa and played a new co-op game together, making plenty of bonds along the way. We both needed a day like this, one where we didn't need to be adults and could just do what we wanted. I feel as light as a feather now and I'm betting Rebecca feels even better.

Board Games at Work

Said 'Happy Birthday' to one Co worker and 'Goodbye' to another. I was gutted about the latter because they worked on my first big job in the industry alongside me and we got in like a house on fire, but he's moved onto greener pastures. We did manage to sneak in a cheeky few rounds of board games while still at work though which was pretty funny. Script amends came through while we were playing and I literally couldn't care less at that point because I was having a grand old time. 

My pumpkin competition got judged fully too, our number one cast made a special 'winner announcement video' to go alongside it which made everyone chuckle. I'm just glad we got a few more people involved, hopefully it made them a little more invested in the spirit of the season.

Is That a Pumpkin?!

 My pumpkin competition at work is beginning to bear fruit! Got around 5 genuine submissions now, each with their own quirks, charms and shot at the crown. Truthfully it hasn't got as much momentum as I envisioned, but you can't force fun - I'm just glad we got more than one entry now! 

Dashed to get home as the replacement piece for my coffee grinder finally arrived - I wanted to give it a whirl but didn't really want to drink a coffee so late in the day, so instead espresso martinis were made. Sipped in mine while playing some late night games with Mark, Dan and Dan's Sister. We went ghost hunting again and seriously got the chills investigating the new campsite level, really made me feel like I was back at scout camp, fumbling around in the dark to try and go to the loo without waking anyone else up.

Long Day, Long Drive

Long drive, long day, long drive home. Just got to grin and bare it through to the test of the week. Wish I had a little more to say aside from hoping tomorrow is a little more stimulating.

All Hail the Unit Drivers

Joints ached as I walked to the car, drove the car and ran around at work. Got a pain in one knee in particular that really slowed me down, I had to hobble around of of unit base - not ideal when Runner is literally in your job title. Felt a little broken down overall it must be said, to my delight though, the unit drivers bought a select few people some Indian Street food from their favorite place. I was invited to grab a naan from the boot of their car and dive into some curry's. The first mouthful nourished my soul and gave me the strength to push up through the rest of the day. We're lucky to have some true gems in our transport team - very giving and personable.

Sugar Skull

My fingers were permanently poised over the 'Print' button for the day's entirety. Just as I thought I'd done all the scripts and amends, another beefy round of them reared their head. To top it all off, one of our cast members brought their dog into work, and all he did was bark and whine when they went into set. I was embarrassed for them. 

It was pumpkin carving night when I got home. Mum very graciously drew some stencils on for me and Rebecca, all we had to do was gut and carve our pumpkins. It's always the smell that takes me back to my childhood, the second I crack into the top and start scooping seeds out I'm reminded of watching my Mum do intricate designs while making pints of jelly in our old kitchen. I've always loved it and I'm glad my enthusiasm is infections - Rebecca started carving them after meeting me.

Anyways, here's my one this year - a gently elaborate sugar skull. Lot of small fiddly bits, but the results speak for themselves.

The French Dispatch

Mum very graciously helped me and Rebecca pick out our perfect Halloween pumpkins, then drew the stencils on for us with our ideal designs. I'm going sugar skull/Day of the Dead while Rebecca is going cat... What else did we expect though.

After Mum left it was cinema time once again, this week, The French Dispatch - Wes Anderson's latest feature. Some of his films I'd put in my all time favorites, while others I think are vastly overrated, no one was happier than me when I left the cinema beaming from ear to ear. This is peak Anderson, it is his asthetic, style and themes realized more faithfully than any of his other works. It's a kaleidoscopic journey of absurdity, but whenever it looks like it's taking the joke too far, it pulls back with pitch perfect sentiment driven by its eclectic characters. While the production design is perhaps some of the best I've ever seen, it's the writing that got me sweapt up. Told from the perspective if multiple journalists, the voice over was introspective and embellished in a way that only a journalist could muster - I secretly love this style and I fell in love with how it committed to its language. The film wears its episodic format elegantly (truthfully, I think this approach suits Anderson well too) and I was surprised that each mini episode maintained a benchmark of quality. There wasn't a standout best story because they were all worthwhile. Most importantly, the film enraptured me, not once did the film break its spell in me - this is one if the highest praises I can offer. If you yearn for something entertaining and eye wateringly beautiful, this is the film for you.

Lazy Lump

The crack of dawn seemed like a reasonable time for me to wake up this Saturday morning. My cicadian rythem has defalted to 'early' after so many filming days. Intentionally tried not to leave th house today, because baby, it's cold outside. Goosebumps were all over my arms while playing games and watching TV with Rebecca. I didn't envy Mum who did a 10 mile walk around all of Bristol today - I just tucked into the cake she brought home when she returned. I realize this post will make me sound like a lazy lump... Well, I think I've deserved one day of indulgence.

Beach Squad

Strong Friday vibes from the crew today, everyone was desperate for a weekend after another draining week. The eye of the hurricane presented itself for a short moment though and the base squad took a field trip down to set on Brean Beach. The wind chill was absolute murder, but worth putting up with for the views and the on set company. Everyone is always stoked to see us and that reminds me, once again, about what a great team we have.

Mum is staying with us in Bristol this weekend, first time she's stayed over at our house. Fingers crossed she has an alright night's sleep!

Never too Busy for a Beer

The shooting day went by in the blink of an eye. The first three hours in particular, I felt like I didn't do anything on my to do list, yet I didn't even really get a chance to sit down, it was all systems go up until lunch. Then it calmed down... Then it got busy again. Finished up the day feeling alright though, not too tired, especially after getting invited to some easy-breezy drinks with the other Runner and one of the Producers. Talks about old jobs and tragic ends to family pets were discussed over Guinness and gin without a moment of silence in between - just reminds me what a great group of people we got on this job.

Bean Smuggler

Forgot all about needing to do our truck swaps. A good portion of my afternoon was spent orchestrating and coordinating where bits of colourered printing paper ends up and dividing up bags of coffee fairoy with the other unit. Secretly I left them all the naff tasting stuff and hoarded the good beans for myself - can't get the cast to sing my praises if I'm not offering premium coffee! When I was done I noticed how tired I felt, going to try and get plenty of kip tonight to make up for lost hours in bed.

Plot Guru

Same old stuff this Tuesday, though the day went on so long some of us thought we were halfway through Wednesday by the time we wrapped. Script amends, coffee and stapling - this is the life I lead at the moment. Though last week was super busy, the last two days have been painfully slow. I've filled my time by reading the scripts so I'm across everything story wise. I like the idea of being the plot guru on the truck.

Lebkuchen

Grey skies today, deep inside that's how everyone was feeling too. The cognitive dissonance after a 3 day weekend was strong and you could tell that not a single soul wanted to be at work today after sampling the sweet delights of free time. Alas, all good things must come to an end and with it comes a boat-load if script amends.

To make the day a little brighter I incited a cast and crew pumpkin carving competition, even made a little poster to hype people up for it. Think the message made a few people smile at least and I'm looking forward to seeing what people can rustle up. When I got home I found a very confused Rebecca trying desperately to bake some lebkuchen in our trusty oven. The cookies didn't rise, go hard or even get hot, then we noticed the oven wasn't so trusty after all. Looks like the heating element shorted out (Rebecca said there had been powercut too) hopefully we can get someone to have a little look, then we can get back to that sweet, sweet lebkuchen.

No Time to Die

Our standard 'Sunday activity with guests' is to take them down North Street for a coffee and to see the market, but today felt like we were going down a once familiar street for the first time all over again. We headed into our nearby zero waste shop to have a browse and a Scandinavian homeware shop for decorating ideas. Once we got to the market I became smitten with a pair of mittens I simply had to buy. A delicious coffee from Sweven is always the icing on the cake, our guests really had the best of Bristol this morning.

 After waving off their Megabus Rebecca and I headed to the cinema for the first time since the beginning of Lockdown to catch the latest Bond film No Time to Die... And it was totally fine. I forgot just how much baggage the 'Craig Canon' Bond films come with. In Specter names of characters, organizations etc ballooned into a mental mind map that was frankly, tedious to keep track of. Here they understandably tried to put a neat little ribbon on all the plot threads, the problem being it's hard to remain invested in the story after a 5 year gap - especially when those elements are boring to begin with. Occasionally there was some fun action, the first hour was full of car chases and shootouts that had good energy. But then the film remembered it had to tie up all it's story elements from the previous film and got bogged down in Bond Baggage. It'll sit comfortably in the middle of the Craig Bond films.

Troopers Hill

Visited the nearby landmark of Troopers Hill with our weekend guests. We'd never been there so it was a good chance to experience a little bit if the urban/rural divide. The hill was a little smaller than expected, but the woodland walk in the surrounding area filled me with good old fashioned Autumn vibes. A swift trip out to the suspension bridge put a smile on our guests face, but not as much as a pizza from our new favourite pizza joint. Throw in a few boardgames during our downtime and you're got a recipe for a grand day out in Bristol with Theo and Rebecca.

Banking It

Day one of my three day weekend, fells good to write that here. Caught up on a little bit of housework and life-admin mostly, went to the bank for the first time in 20 months to pay some money in. Had to walk into town for that too, I almost headed into some shops to do a little browsing, having done all my shopping online for so long though I just couldn't be bothered to head into a brick and mortar shop. I spent my free time at home instead, flaunting my day off to a very-much-working Rebecca. Felt like lockdown all over again with me pottering around in my dressing gown.

In the evening Rebecca and I drove to collect a pair of friends who are coming to stay with us over the weekend. Not really had guests staying with us for an extended period for a while, haven't forgotten how to be hospitable though! Tomorrow morning we'll put out a mighty fine breakfast and see what we want to spend our Saturday doing.

Printing myself Out of the Woods

I've positioned myself at the in-house printer repair chap, a title I never really asked for but hey-ho. Whenever someone can't print or something goes wrong I spring into action, or at least, I call the tech support hotline. I've chatted with that guy so much now I almost feel obliged to write him a Christmas card - he really helped us out of a bind today though and I'm super glad he did because it meant I actually got to leave a little early today! This is the end of my second filming week now (3 day weekend yay!) We've got all the big days out of the way now so it should be pretty smooth sailing... Famous last words perhaps. When it gets a little quieter next week I'm thinking of starting up a crew pumpkin carving competition, something to bond everyone together so we can all have a bit of a laugh.

Chummy with Cast

Making some real bonds with a few of the cast members. It typically boils down to the coffees I make them, one in particular is just enamored with them and openly declares they wishes to buy me some kind of present for all my beverage serving. Not really knowing what to say I just suggested some beans would be nice. He told me to dream bigger - that put me at a real loss for words!

We also have an older lady amidst the cast who called upon me today to help out with her Ipad. Then it strangely shifted into a chat about how she'd like the script to be changed a little bit. It was way abovey pay grade to authorize anything like that so I emailed the head of our story department, a few hours later they materialized as real script amends. In doing so, I realized I've become what I hate.

Final hurdle of the day was when our printer ran out of ink. With no other optio. I had to drive across Bristol to our offices to get the second wave of printing done for tomorrow. I made a thing of it though and took Rebecca with me. I showed her around the sets and she was gobsmacked with the attention to detail of our Art Department. Really glad I finally got to show her some of the show before they tear it all down in a few months time.

A House on Sand

I walked into my day with a pretty clean slate. Not much to do but make sure things were ticking over ok. I should've known by now that whenever that feeling comes it because there's a storm brewing in the background. I got hit with all the remaining scripts for the final episodes so I got to print and prep them all for cast. So I printed, hole punched and bound over 2,000 pieces of paper, it always takes longer than you anticipate, but it's great to see we at long last have all the scripts we need. Some more important paperwork came out later too which threw us all through a bit of a loop. Feels like all we do is prep towards things that are ever changing - like building a house on sand.

Extra Halloumi

All hands on decsignal again, making coffee for the masses. Secretly I love it, technically I can even say that I've made coffee for royalty now as one of our cast members fits the bill. Today marked our last day for a while at this one particular location with really shoddy wifi signal, we're all glad to see the back of it so we can actually crack on with some work once again. 

A well documented thing on film sets is that it's always a good move to be chummy with the caterers. Today all my good natured efforts paid off as the head chef presented me with a polystyrene box full of spare halloumi. I shared it all with the peeps in my truck for extra brownie points.

One Day of Respite

My day of rest. I popped up to Louis' house to pick up a parcel I got delivered there (a new board game for me and Rebecca which we played quite a lot today). Then I mostly just let myself deflate a bit on the sofa - a well earned respite! Caught up with my Mum on the phone and Dan over some games, sometimes I forgot there's a world outside of my work so its nice to get a bit of a reality check. Rebecca arrived home too after spending some time off in Spain. She's got a very gentle tan, she'll be the envy if all her colleagues for sure. I'm just glad for her company again, working long days to go back to an empty double bed is a novelty at first, but it wears off quick.

Surprise Taxi

 Drove past the swathes of people enjoying their Saturday as I mentally prepped myself for another day of work. It was a 6 day week, culminating with today, possibly the biggest challenge we all had to overcome. Spirits were pretty high going in, but a freak accident involving a large wheelie bin, a downward slope and someone's car quickly let us know that today would throw us a few curveballs. Luckily the coffee truck made a cameo appreance again and I got to have another go on the machine to make a round for our office. When the day was over we all had a good laugh and wished each other a lovely Sunday off, I drove home feeling good about the rest of the shoot knowing that if we could conquer today anything was possible.

The second I parked up though I got a message: a cast member is due to be stranded in London without a taxi to get them home and I was amoung the few who were still awake to help. I tried our dedicated London cab company but they were fully booked. I queued up Uber on my phone but luckily our transport captain pulled some strings and figured something out. NOW I can go to bed and enjoy a little time off.

Please... No More Curry

 Despite having a late one last night I got up at an unwelcome time and couldn't get back to sleep. So I caught on some of the latest episode of Bake Off and very slowly prepped myself for work. I do love my job, but this morning I almost couldn't stomach it, every minute that slipped through my fingers at home felt like a horrible defeat. The moment I got into work though it was totally fine... Minus the fact the printer was almost irreversibly jammed before I'd even stepped into our truck. Ended up video calling the technician and cracking it open with a screwdriver to find a rouge, crinkly piece of paper hidden inside.

I told myself I wouldn't eat so much today either, I've been gorging myself again the last few days just because I can. This evening though I let myself down and pigged out on some hot dogs. Then our transport captain came in with homemade curry and naan and it would've been rude not to dine with him. Gotta eat less tomorrow.

A New Civilization Discovered

I take sincere pride in prepping the sides for everyone each day. I whiffle through the script, pick out the relevant scenes and print them for everyone ready for tomorrow. This morning I get the classic email that a fresh batch of script amends are in and they change the first scene if the day. Luckily I was already coming in early to help make a shed load if teas and coffee for cast but it meant I was dashing around like a headless chicken for the first 90 minutes.

A weird smell was prevailing around our truck too. Smart money was on the fridge, but I cleaned it within an inch of it's life a few weeks ago with little effect. I decided to bite the bullet and pull it out to inspect the shadowy underbelly of the 'fridge nook'. I saw our culprit. The fridge's drip tray was teaming with rancid... Everything. Honestly, it reached the point where mould was growing its own mould. I felt like Gordon Ramsay inspecting disaster kitchens for the disgusting storage habits. Cleaning it out was perhaps the nastiest thing I've ever had to do on a job, butbit was worth doing right if it meant neautralizing the stench. Just feel like I need to bleach my skin now.

Return of the V Car

Rebecca bid me farewell as I groggily threw the duvet back over my eyes. She's off to Spain for the rest of the week, well timed with my night shoots really because I'll be a social zombie for the next few days. I couldn't quite stomach a second day of chicken nuggets so a continental brunch did me well, it gave me all the energy I needed to push out lashings if coffee for our high cast numbers today. Costume Department cashed out a lot of their favours today by asking for a lot of last minute requests. They're always very grateful, bless them, but my heart always sinks when I see their emails land in my inbox. My last big job of the day was arranging taxis via V Cars. Everytime we use this company they always find new depths to slump into. In some fairness, we are in a tricky location to find, but when I ask for a car to hold 4 people, why in earth did they send me a vehicle that can only hold 3? I always say never again... Then just end up using them the very next day.

Drowning under a Rainbow

First day of late night shooting, it always sounds so manageable on paper, but by the end of the day you're always knackered. Printing was once again my main duty today as I battled against the colourful wave of script amends that have been threatening to engulf our first few filming weeks. Just about got on top of it now (though my desk looked like someone threw up a rainbow). Only other downside to working on split days is managing my sleeping and eating pattern. Had lunch at 1pm today, then dinner, then a supper much later - I shan't be hungry until this time tomorrow now.

Bumpy Shoot

 I've had smoother first days on film shoots, that's for sure. Our three week filming hiatus is over so I'm back in the truck, filming with all the gang again. This time with a new director and some other new faces - these new folks weren't even slightly the reason for the speedbumps though, just bad luck with the weather and a sudden family emergency for a high-ranking crew member meant that our wings were a little clipped. Even I felt a bit rusty today, I thought being back at work would be like riding a bike, but I forgot how to use the gears. We're getting a lot of sudden script amends that are having big effects on the program, in the short term though I'm suffering because I'm the one running around printing them all. Getting through my coloured paper a lot quicker than I'd anticipated, just got to pray there isn't more incoming.

Swiss Meringue

The good Lord may have rested on a Sunday, but I sure didn't. I promised everyone at work a coffee cake to enjoy on Monday, because I wanted to try an experimental icing I ended up making two coffee cakes, one is my classic butter icing beast, the second is a coffee-infused Swiss meringue icing. It was a right faff to make, but it produced a much lighter and delicate frosting which some may prefer. I just hope it travels well!

In the pouring rain, Louis, Rebecca and I all tried to squeeze a sofabed into my car. We just about got it in, though I had to push the drivers seat all the way forward - my knees were basically in my nostrils for the ride home! Our spare room is officially complete with it's inclusion, though there's an ongoing debate about its final position. I got the masonry drill off Louis too so I got to relive the trauma of putting up my coffee shelf again. Thankfully it was a lot less sweaty this time around and it wasn't much fuss. Now that it's back in action it fills my heart with so much joy. I cleaned all my coffee equipment too so it's all shiney and lovely. Taking a lot of pride iny home at the moment and that makes me silently content.

Coffee Butter

I was kitchen-bound for a large chunk of the day. I'm planning on making some coffee cakes tomorrow but wanted to try a new style of icing to top it with, one style calls for coffee-infused butter which I made myself this afternoon. Simmered a bunch of beans and some butter together for an hour and strained it off to make a compound butter that smelt like toast, hopefully it'll play nice with tomorrow's cake bake.

We hosted a cute little dinner party for Mark and Lucy tonight too. Now that our house is done up we can have guests round without suffering from 'home shame'. I whipped up a platter of filo pastry salmon parcels and made a self saucing chocolate pudding for dessert (I've been keen to make this for Mark for almost two years, lockdown meant I had to shelve that dream until today, luckily it was worth the wait.) Then in classic fashion we played board games into the small hours, I thwarted Rebecca's attempts at victory to her chagrin, all the while Mark bided his time to steal the crown. A sweet night for sure.

Pies of Praise

The Friday before filming starts again is always manic and I accidentally made a small rod for my back in the midst of the frenzy. Yesterday I bigged up Pieminister and offered to coordinate a lunch run for this lunchtime. I almost proved to be more trouble than it was worth, but when the pies all landed back in the office I was showered with praise. Good to know they were all grateful for a lunch that wasn't from Pret. 

All the while I was trying to print scripts and beat the post. Because I started early I managed to finish with a bit of time to spare. When I went up to announce I was posting scripts I was told there was a new batch if amends that also needed to go out, I broke into a cold sweat because I only had 20 minutes to print off everything and get it in a postbox. Stressful few minutes, but now we're all just about on track to start shooting again on Monday. Doesn't seem real, but here we go again... I guess

49 Bagettes

Arrived at work early to do the finishing set-up touches for our big production meeting. Laid out all the pastries, coffee and biscuits and set the guys up on a Zoom call which, in my mind, would last ni less than 4 hours. I then headed out to buy lunches for the meeting, plus food for costume and makeup (not going to lie, they took the Micky a bit with their orders.) After wasting an hour and forty minutes to food shopping I returned with a mountain of bagettes all ready to appear at the meeting. Once I got back though, the meeting room was empty, and had been for nearly two hours apparently. I was so put out, literally my entire week revolved around getting this meeting in place and everyone just decided it was a waste of time. Luckily all my food got eaten, but it still felt like a slap in the face.

Passing Comments

My new jumper came out in full force today and amassed plenty of positive comments. Even the 1st AD gave me unprompted compliment that made me smile. Those good vibes carried me through the gargantuan lunch order and supermarket snack run I was requested to buy. A higher up member of the team took notice of all the food I was buying and said exactly what I was thinking: 'I think some fully grown adults can live without this many snacks'. I couldn't agree more, but sadly, I just do as I'm told.

Nice Weather for Me

Rain got everyone down today, 'cept for me. Rebecca and I have an in-joke that I'm a duck because I love bread and the rain. When it begun chucking it down I gained a second wind in the afternoon and looked forward to driving to the supermarket. At least that was more enjoyable than the limp office vibes today. I was feeling a little morose about it towards the end of the day, then I bumped into some chaps from Art Department and I ended up having a really lovely chat with them. Shortly after I caught up with the gang I shared the Production Truck with and had a laugh too. I think it's just my department that are a little lifeless, can't all be winners I know, but I just want to be able to put my finger on why I'm not clicking with one or two of them as I should be.

Foodie Demands

 Another familiar face joined the Sanditon family today. A Floor Runner I worked with on The Last Bus got a haircut and joined us in prep. Seeing his face was the warmth I needed to push through the day. We had a mini production meeting which needed a lot of extra prep work this morning, somehow it all landed on my shoulders to do this leg work. Everytime I started working in it though, I was dragged away but the most mundane requests. We need more milk because someone just knicked out full bottle, I can't eat my pitta bread because there's no plates left, I don't want salmon I want a cheese toastie. Again, notice how all the requests are food related. Would the entire group of people just strave without me? Heaven forbid I leave someone hungry because they needed a plate to eat a pitta off of. We're meant to be a group of resourceful and adaptable people, not proud housecats.

Nomadland

Getting to bed at 4am the night before means I got a great big lie in this morning. Rebecca had been up, eaten breakfast and watched an episode of something all while I slumbered deeply. Once I was up though, the day quickly got into full swing. We did the second and third coats of paint in our kitchen - the results are tremendously pleasing and makes the room look so much lighter! To reward ourselves (and because we didn't want to use the kitchen) we got Korean fried chicken for takeout and watched Nomadland. If there was ever an easier film for the academy to issue and Oscar to I'd like to see it. Effortlessly good direction and gorgeously photographed landscapes made it a joy to watch. During long stretches of the film I noticed I became totally enraptured in its world and people. A solid film that easily gets my recommendation.

Paint in my Hair

Missing today: paint the kitchen. Rebecca and I have been silently dreading this one as our cooking space is full of nooks and crannies that are aalmost impossible to push a paintbrush into. Perseverance was key and eventually we got the first few coats done with only minimal paint spatter on my coffee equipment. Part 2 is tomorrow's job, afterwards we can bask in the glory of a beautifully painted kitchen.

Since the pandemic I've been sorely missing board game nights with groups of friends. We did a few over Zoom back in the day, all great fun, but it could never compare with a face-to-face gaming session. Mark and I headed out to another infamously lengthy board game night at our good friend's house. I had so much fun I only checked my watch properly when I left, it's was 3am... No regrets whatsoever. We had a tremendous 4 player game of Root (a game that's notoriously difficult to teach to a group) but everyone grafted to it so well and it ended up as the highlight of the night. So nice to spend time with old chums that I'd only seen over webcams over the last year or so too.

Double Doughnuts

Somehow dodged having to do two lunch runs and I've never been more chuffed. Our other Runner happened to be up by Pinkman's Bakery around lunchtime so we all put orders in for sourdoughnuts. Seconds after he paid, the other Runner came into the office brandishing Krispy Kreme doughnuts... I've never seen an office groan so loudly at the arrival of expensive doughnuts. Felt so guilty.

Our big fancy Production Meeting was meant to be in full swing for Monday. We laid out the tables, bought the snacks and printed name placards. Then in classic fashion the folks upstairs wanted to schedule it for a different day. Mood in the office was predictably a bit stale thanks to that unpopular decision. But the Friday spirit couldn't be quashed quite so easily, I was so ready to head home and now I'm looking forward to enjoying this weekend to it's fullest.

Affordable Tech for Hire

 Instead of paying almost 5 grand to host a production meeting in an upmarket hotel with an audio/visual company helping out with tech, we're going to have our meeting at base, using my streaming webcam and mic. Budget cuts are rearing their ugly head and the Line Producer only wants to pay for biscuits for this meeting so I graciously offered my kit up to help the cause. They've gotten a lot of mileage out of me, historical games advisor, supporting artist, now tech supplier. They'll be asking me to redisign the logo next.

My day was made exponentially easier now that my colleague is no longer self isolating. The next few days should fly by with their help... Until the other unit stole them from me. Of all the Production Runners in this show, why is it that I'm the only one who's never had a sick day?

Feeding Time at the Zoo

Picked up 45 breakfast baps and made 4 large cafetieres of coffee for the folks heading out on our Tech Recces. The moment they sped away in their minibuses my next job was their lunch. The classic Pret lunch was promised to them so thaty exactly what I went and got. I think I've been officially bumped up to 'Cafe Regular' status at the nearby Pret. So much so that because their card machine was down they let me walk away with 30 bagettes for free today because they knew I'd be back tomorrow to cover the costs. You can't buy that kind of trust!

I delivered lunch and folks were delighted with the spread. I saw our new director picking around at the selection looking for her favorite thing... I kept it hidden in a bag so no one else would swipe it. Let's just say I earned a LOT of brownie points when I showed it to her. Being Mr Food has its perks when people are grateful for your efforts... Then again, this is exactly why pets are conditioned to love their owners.

Mr Food

I was told I had to help set up for a meeting this morning, but no one mentioned just how big and important it was. First hour I spent scrambling around making coffee and putting out pastries, scrimping together anything that even remotely resembled a ceral bar to add to my tea table. Brunch sorted, lunch to go. Collected everyone's lunch orders as per and drove to the cafe. There's a message on my phone, it's from the Coordinator on the other unit, low-key begging me to do a favour for them which MUST be done in the next hour. Guess I'm leaving my team, and my director hungry for an extra hour...

Nipped off to sort that job out, eat my dinner wn lunch then I'm off to the shops to buy more food. It's our tech recces tomorrow, this means that Production teams historically (and uncharacteristic) try to look loving and nurturing for the next 72 hours. Decoding this further means they get a lowly Production Runner to buy a full trolley of shopping so big wigs can snack on something during their minibus rides. No word of a lie, I was sent back to the supermarket after hours to buy Mars Bars for people's snack packs tomorrow in case they start flagging. I'm getting up early to pick up 45 breakfast baps for them to munch on. Slowly I begin to realize my entire job revolves around making sure a Producer can't turn their head without accidentally chomping on a Jaffa cake.

Hare in the Gate

Been a hare in the gate for the past week at work and today I saw my first slither of action. Basically everything I'm working on over the next two weeks hinges on one decision. Now it looks like everything is starting to come together a bit, I sent a few 'lets do it' emails to get the ball rolling. I'm arranging breakfasts for people again, at least I don't need to worry about sorting lunches.

 10 minutes later I was asked to sort lunches too... Just 9 more days til we're back to filming, that's what I keep telling myself..

Grilling Under a Rainbow

Anticipating a BBQ meal with family at Louis and Rachel's house, I was a little shocked to see a grill in Dad's hand as I opened my front door. The BBQ was apparently to take place in our garden, thankfully we had everything basically ready to go. As we all laid out all the food we'd each prepared for today I noticed everyone brought their A-game. Dad whipped up a miso aubergine and brought along special sausages, Rachel and Louis produced gorgeous salads made with tomatoes from their garden. I made up some burgers for us all after popping into a local butchers. Everything was perfect... Except the weather. Just as we were about to put the first sausage on the grill, spittles of rain spoilt our outdoor fun, we just moved the party inside which actually worked really well. 

Some great food was shared with greater company. A lovely family day out (and in). Plenty of leftovers too so the good eating can continue long into the week.

Alone Morning

With Rebecca out in London for the day I found myself in the rare scenario where I had most of the day all to myself - it ended up being rather productive! I did a tidy up of the house and myself, hoovering from top to bottom before brewing a great cup of coffee and settling into some well deserved video games. I got a call from Louis asking if I could rustle up some of my trademarked burgers for the family visit tomorrow. Louis' new BBQ grill and my burgers sounds like a match made in heaven - I'm already dreaming of the flavous.

Happy Birthday Louis 2021!

 Tore away from another painfully slow day at work I hurried back to join Louis for his Birthday evening celebration. We tucked into Korean fried chicken, played a Japanese inspired board game and drank fresh Chinese tea... Only now am I noticing the Asian influences across the entire night. It was a lovely little night though, very chill and a lot of laughs. Rachel's homemade raspberry and rose brioche with cream cheese frosting and pistachios was the literal icing on the cake. Felt flguilty asking for seconds, but thankfully she put some for me and Rebecca in a take away box to enjoy all over again.

Indecision Nation

It only took me 6 hours into my day at work to realize I've accomplished absolutely nothing. In partial fairness, the jobs I'd recently been given very much rely on people above me making actionable decisions... But those decisions are now sorely overdue. Now I've just got a handful of drafted emails ready to go out but I'm just waiting on the go ahead. It's frustrating for my entire department because they love to plan everything in advance but it feels like plans are only made at the precipice of deadlines. Then we do a second rate job because we have no notice period and it all reflects badly in us - it's a lose-lose situation that I've also only just realized this sole issue has been the heart of every major issue people have been having since filming began... Today I learnt that even my optimism has limits.

Logging Mad

Prepped a few cafetieres and rigged up a tea table for a meeting for the next block of filming. Our new director was beside herself with the snacks I laid out and thanked me personally for the hospitality - already started very much on the right foot. Then I was put on logging duties, Production's favorite kind of busywork. Water coolers, Ipads and suppliers (all things that should have been done months ago) landed in my court as Jobs to tackle as and when. I spent this whole job dodging this mundane responsibility but it's finally caught up with me.

This evening Rebecca and I headed out to a friend's brand new house (they got the keys 2 days ago). It was still in that fun phase where there wasn't any furniture in place so the house's future was unwritten. We ate our dinner on camping chairs by candle light as they pointed out where their TV and bookshelves will go. It's a little bit of a fixer upper, but I'm very excited to see the end result.

Tepid Tuesday

Arrived at work a little early to help set up a budget meeting. Then I heard it got cancelled so instead if brewing coffee I derigged all the chairs and tables. We're all patiently awaiting the scripts for our next block, then I can really spring into action and begin helping out again. For now though, it's back to Pret for group lunches, topped off with 20 minutes of cleaning the Production Office fridge. While I was happy enough to do it, it did dawn on me that I hadn't even been in that office for 2 months... Did they all just patiently wait for my return to throw out that really old yogurt? How do they even function without me?

Meaty Monday

Experienced a real sense of cognitive dissonance as I stepped back into the office. Going from a film set, where every second counts, back to the production office where time stands still was a gear shift to say the least. I was back to buying people Pret lunches and looking busy, my heart yearned for something reactionary and rewarding, instead I got asked to clean out the fridge. 

The saving grace came from the usual place: Mark Stopher. Another friend cancelled on his dinner plans so he had a mountain of slow cooked beef tacos he needed help eating - Rebecca and I were happy to oblige. Meaty Monday ended well, with tacos in my tum and board games stirring my soul - those things and the good company reminded me that I did indeed have a pulse.

Beeses

Returned from Newbury via Beeses, AKA: Bristol's best kept secret. A small nature reserve that runs along the river Avon, eventually leading to a cute riverside pub. Though we didn't get anything on this visit it's been marked for future reference. After we got home Rebecca and I just felt exhausted from the weekend, me especially, but then again it's probably just me catching up with sleep. I'm back in the office tomorrow, not really sure what I'll be getting up to. My hours should be a little more normal though so I'll make the most of this rest period.

Beer Festival 2021

Second weekend in September, gotta be Newbury Beer Festival! Dad, Rebecca and I all trapsed down to grab a few beers, they were also serving gin this year which made for a nice change of pace. After carefully studying the selection of ales I quickly singled out what unanimously became the best beer of the show, and also the weirdest. As is tradition with myself, I gave the oddest drink a fair shot - this year I got a chocolate stout, brewed with 20kg of Coco Pops and it was predictably terrible.

The final wave of Birthday presents came tumbling in too, a board game expansion which I was very excited for and a little hand coffee grinder. I used it a little bit today but I'm very excited to get it home to really put it through it's paces. Plus it'll look delightful on my coffee shelf.

Happy Birthday Me! 2021

 My plan to get up early to play video games were dashed somewhat by a late one last night. I still had a very easy breezy morning unwrapping Rebecca's presents and drinking good coffee - I even managed to squeeze in some gaming before heading out to enjoy brunch with a handful of my work colleagues. We ate posh eggs Benedicts and drank grapefruit mimosas and chatted about all of our favorite moments from filming so far. About halfway through a small brownie with a Birthday candle inside appeared and everyone started singing Happy Birthday and dished me out even more gifts. I was very touched and left a little speechless, I'm very lucky to be part of such a thoughtful team.

28 doesn't feel much different to 27, but I did enjoy a day if pampering. It was exactly what I needed after working so intensely hard this last year, I looked back once again and took stock in how far I'd come. So many well wishes kept coming at me from throughout the day, every single one put a smile on my face.

Crepe Check

I didn't fully believe the crepe van existed until I saw it parking up with my own eyes. For 48 hours I was incredibly anxious whether it would turn up an deliver on it's promise (the lead actress wanted it so it added extra pressure). But there it was, at the golden hour of mid afternoon. As people stood in line for Nutella pancakes I stood like Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, and admired my handiwork. The crew loved it too and I was over the moon. I gave the pancake people a little tour of set afterwards as my way of saying 'thank you' and they were bowled over by the collective manpower it takes to get things filmed. 

We wrapped on Block 1, or the first half of my filming time on this project. I even produced a multitude of beers for the shooting crew to mark the occasion. The. We all hit the pub, and later a nightclub. I technically wrang in my Birthday in the company of crewmates while dancing to Whitney Houston... That's another thing ticked off the bucket list.

Rancid Milk and Free Ice Cream

Got into work early so I could assess the damage caused by the other unit after inheriting their truck - I spent most of the day hunting down the source of a 'rancid milk' smell with zero success. Bit of a messy start to the day but we got through it all, thanks in large part to an impromptu arrival of an ice-cream truck, courtesy of the cast. A bar has been set with these sweet treat vans now, hopefully my crepe van goes down well... although I just head it'll likely be raining for most of the day.

Painting the Front

Busted the shorts out once again to get me through the sweltering day. I chased down a few more pancake places, eventually settling in a cheap but wholesome looking one who looked just right for us - lead actress was happy with the result too so that's all that matters. 

Back on the ranch, Rebecca let the painter finish up doing the front of of the house. I almost didn't recognize it when I headed home tonight! I'm dead chuffed with how it turned out - ignore the scaffolding in this picture and hopefully you'll agree its a smart colour.

Pancake Punter

Couldn't believe 9 months later that I'd find myself back in Brean. I'd been there any n the dead of Winter at the height of Covid, now I'm there on a bustling, stonkingly hot day. Not that I got to enjoy the lovely seaside because I was properly busy today, running around doing other people's jobs again. Just as I thought I cleared my to do list, then I got a request for the ages. Kris Marshall is ordering in an ice cream van for the crew this week, not to be outdone, Rose Williams also wanted to treat us all to a crepe truck... and I was asked to souce it. The search didn't start well, the favorite was away on holiday and it turns out finding a quirky caterer to feed 300 on 3 day's notice is a bit of an ask. Hours later though, I found two ideal contenders who locked in their availability. I presented them up the food chain and I got lavished with gratitude. Just need to seal the deal with them all tomorrow, then I can forget about all the stress and look forward to crepes this week.

Mirai

A sore head was the only symptom of my night out on the town, nothing a paracetamol and a bit of moaning couldn't cure. Had to be fighting fit for the BBQ lunch Louis and Rachel were whipping up. I've never eaten so much home made hummus in my life... Then came the grilled aubergine and blue cheese burgers in freshly baked ciabatta rolls. Those guys are always upping their culinary game, don't know if I can ever match their hospitality.

Bulbus with grub, we retired to the living room for a film. Mirai was a movie I'd heard generally good things about and it seemed to fit the vibe. A young boy's life is changed upon the arrival of his baby sister. The dynamic of the household shifts and the boy is left to accept new truths about his family, as dispersed through a time and space bending oak tree. Tonally, it plays it very close to films like Eternal Sunshine, Mr Nobody and The Tree of Life. The pitfalls in making a film about the collective human experience is sometimes you miss the mark when moments fail to resonate - you can also fill your film with too much esoteric imagery. While Mirai is still guilty of a few of these, when it works, it really works. Special shout out to the attention to detail in how the children behave and move - the lead child is occasionally bratty and to the film's credit it doesn't shy away from this. It's an honest and occasionally whimsical coming of age story with just the right amount of fantasy peppered in. At times it can feel a mite directionless, but thankfully it sticks the landing.

Make Way. I can Run the Machine

So there I was, working in a Saturday. One of my team forgot they were working today, while another at least had the decency to give me a heads up about their absence. As a result, I did the job of 2.5 people. I ran around a lot more than expected in and booked in a taxi for a member of cast, all went well though and the day went very smoothly. As we were working a Saturday, the folks upstairs splashed out on a coffee machine for us. After getting one round in I asked if I could have a go on their machine, they happily obliged..  perks of being a barista once upon a time.

 

 

 

On wrap a handful of us were invited to drinks with the cast. I was one of the lucky few who ended up enjoying pints with people I'd never expect to be drinking with.