Fragile Coffee

Felt rather delicate at work, the pub opposite our hotel did very well in serving our crew into the small hours of last night. Luckily my morning missions comprised of getting coffee for everyone and tending to a few script amends (which I'm now very clued up in). Only two more days in Cornwall! I can't believe how quickly these two weeks have flown by. As comfy as the Travelodge beds are, I still can't wait to head back to our little cottage in Devon.

What I do for Telly

 Gotta love being the son a of solicitor. Had some more back and forth with our legal team regarding some artwork in our filming location. I was literally scouring family trees and cross referencing orientation of artwork to prove my point in an email that felt more important than my dissertation. Fingers Crossed we'll get  clearance on a hit of art that'll incidentally fill the background of a shot of our kids show for less than 15 seconds. The things I do for telly...

Odd Jobs? Give them to Me

 Got all the odd jobs today. I was back to logging various pieces of historical artwork and chatting with our Canadian legal team about getting them cleared. Previously we've been getting a lot of firm guidance from them but I reckon I've managed to charm them into being a little more lenient - which is great for us! Then I got to put my Photoshop skills to good use by drafting up a thumbnail for the show's podcast. I very casually whipped something up, intending it to be a work in progress draft, but my boss loved it immediately. I told them to give me another 15 minutes to fine tune it and they were stoked with the results. Might just see my handiwork if you even go to listen to the Malory Towers podcast which is coming out soon. I'm also working on the ongoing saga that is arranging wrap gifts for everyone - we think we know what it's gonna be, but we just need to negotiate a deal.

My favourite job of the day was decompressing and chatting with Rebecca once the day was done. Making her laugh with my dumb jokes and hearing about her getting another cat-sitting job really made my heart smile. Though this job has been incredible in many ways, it is sad not being able to share the highs with Rebecca in person.

My Kingdom for Some Cards

A chunk of my day was spent running around the sleepy harbour town of Padstow looking for multipacks of 'Thank You' style cards. The faithful garden centre let us down, Tesco was a no go so Padstow was my last resort. A helpful local pointed me towards a local art shop and I was thrilled to at long last find what I was searching for. After a manic hour or so, the day kinda petered out a bit - gentle way to start the week I guess but I was honestly clock watching towards the end of it all. I did manage to shuffle away a bit and wish Grandma Margaret a happy 90th Birthday - she even said she couldn't believe she was that old now! It was really lovely to hear her voice, shame I had to get back on the clock since I don't really get lunch breaks, I'll just have to call her up again sometime down the line.

Clerk

A bundle of dirty laundry came with me down to the nearby town, destined for the launderette. I didn't have quite enough change to get the washing machine going so I dashed around town to break a note, instead I bumped into the show's director and my old uni mate having a coffee and they tossed me a few pennies to get my wash on. I sat with them while my shirts got clean and basked in the near-Summer Sun. I ate lunch alone at a nearby restaurant - it was a Sunday carvery and a surprisingly good one at that. Rebecca and I spent a lot of time together virtually, playing games and chatting about our week.

This evening I was shattered though and just fancied staying in. A while back I was chatting with the show's director about films and I flippantly mentioned that Clerks was my gateway movie. Funnily enough, a friend of his was doing the finishing touches on a documentary about Kevin Smith (The film was called 'Clerk') and he passed on a sneaky link to watch a near-final version of the film. It was only after the film ended I was stuck by how wonderfully circular my life has been leading up to this point. With Clerks being a firm favourite of mine, guiding my passion which has ultimately lead me to this job, and now here I am watching an unreleased film about how that film has influenced the lives of countless souls. Made me stop and think about my life and smile about how lucky I've been recently.

A Most Splendid Saturday

Didn't wake up with a hangover, instead I was just monstrously hungry. I took a drive to a nearby garden centre/cafe and ordered a huge stack of pancakes of coffee, I felt human again afterwards. Bumped into some of my crew mates there too and shared a bit of time with them, ultimately got invited out to Polzeath beach to hang out. Some of them went surfing, I just admired the coastline and drank Shandys. My group later migrated to a very swanky pub where I had the most expensive meal of my life so far, but in good company and with meal allowances lining my pockets I didn't mind a jot. Returning to the hotel room I chatted with Rebecca on the phone for an hour, we've arranged to meet up in Hartland a few weekends down the line and we couldn't bbemore excited. So eager to show her around the local area!

Where's the Charcuterie?

I can't remember the last time I was so excited for a Friday. The work load was just right, the vibes were good and everyone was dying to get out to the pub after work. After we got kicked out the nearby pub the Canadian DOP asked the group if anyone had a hotel room that was larger than usual, I sheepishly raised my hand as I'm inclined to tell the truth, I only realized a split second later I signed myself up for the after party. So drinks at my room occurred into the small hours of the night. Someone offered to bring charcuterie, left and never returned... So that was the end of the night. Now it's 4am and I've seldom been more ready for a kip.

Reality Retail

 Though we had a late call time, I still woke up far too early sheerly out of habit. Not much to do in a hotel in the middle of a retail park as it turns out. I strolled into B&M and realised I wasted my time pretty quick, I was actually eager to get to work! Turned out though today was a bit of a punching bag day as our team kept receiving knocks and jobs that sprung out of the woodwork - some have been resolved, others have been stowed away in a big dark box labelled 'tomorrow'... Guess that's what I'll be dreaming of.

Rounders

Day at work totally flew by today on account of how busy I was. What happened after work though was where the day sparkled. Locations suggested a game of rounders on the beach and apparently word of mouth spread far because almost half the crew turned up for a match. I bought beers for everyone so I was already considered a 'bit of a ledge' but once the game started people got to see me in action. It was quite liberating, everyone sees me as the chap who quietly sits in the office all day, but I scored three rounders as my team went wild. The Key Grip even laughed about how I was still wearing a nice jumper while doing sport! After the game we headed to the pub attached to our Travelodge for drinks and I got to know the crew even better. Think I earned a lot of favour tonight which is always lovely.

Prideaux Paintings

Core job of today: liase with the ownerif a stately home and look at their artwork. Once again I was checking portraits for legal purposes (artist needs to have been dead for 100 years for us to gain clearance). We're filming in Prideaux Place near Padstow and thanks to our lovely locations team I got unfettered access into the house plus a private tour with the home owners. Fascinating stuff really, I got everything I needed and then some, all without a National Trust membership!  

Trials and Travelodge

As impressive and precious every sunrise is, they're just really annoying when your trying to drive without a pair of sunglasses. We all got up extra early to drive 90 minutes to our next filming location in North Cornwall. Though everyone made the trip alright, the mood today was just a bit odd...

I was mostly tasked with helping the chaperones move out our younger cast's belongings between hotels, which turned out to be a much bigger job than anticipated. Still clawed out a bit of time to step onto set and watch a big scene being played out, incredible location too! Though there's plenty of struggles in this lone of work, there are more than enough perks.

No longer in my lovely cottage, I'm in a Travelodge enjoying the company of myself. Somehow I landed a HUGE room on the top floor, just got to make the most of it for the next two weeks I guess.

Root

Shared a 'Sunday, Scrambled Egg Special' with Rebecca. Its almost become a little ritual now where we get up late and enjoy a cooked breakfast while watching rubbish morning television - I wouldn't want it any otherway.

I recently treated myself to another batch of board games, one of which I was very excited about called Root. Despite it's Calvin and Hobbes, Woodland Warriors atheistic it's an oddly complex game. I spent most of the weekend ingesting the rules so Rebecca and I could play a tester game. I think I overfilled Rebecca's brain while explaining the rules, but the fact she could play as cat characters thankfully kept her invested. After about an hour though the game clearly clicked for her and she stormed ahead to victory. 

I bid Rebecca a sad farewell as I motored  back to Devon. Its hard knowing you'll be away for so long from the person you hold dear but hopefully we'll arrange to meet in Devon sometime soon. I'll actually be getting up at the very crack of dawn tomorrow morning to travel to Cornwall, first early morning car trip - see how that goes.

Chasing the Sun

Popped back to Newbury this weekend mostly to see Granny Sue. A recent health diagnosis has meant the wind has been taken out of her sails significantly. Thankfully when we arrived she seemed in high spirits, a roast pork lunch too boosted everyone's mood - especially the crackling! We sat around in the garden for the whole day, inching into Sun-lit patches of grass as the Sun set behind the house. We left there on an optimistic note, promising that if Covid settles down we'd try and host Granny Sue in Bristol - fingers crossed we'll get that opportunity.

Behind the Scenes Shooter

In addition to my usual duties I was asked to do a bit of Behind the Scenes style photographs. This gave me the perfect excuse to actually step onto our film set and see how the crew operate a bit which is always quietly thrilling for me. The shots I got I was fairly chuffed with too, the Associate Producer thought so too, may get asked to do it again at this rate.

A big unit move was the objective of this evening, our whole office needed packing down which was no small feat! We filled every cupboardwith stationary, Covid tests and coffee til the cabin was at it's breaking point. We finished the day knowing the week went well though, my compatriots headed to the pub while I drove home for the weekend. Been two weeks since I saw Rebecca and her hug was a comfort I almost forgot existed - very grateful for her love.

Crew Cream Tea

Field trip to Bideford for me today. Our next filming location doesn't have provided washing machines so I needed to get plenty of coins to operate a laundrette. Spent 40 minute waiting at my bank while the tellers tried repeatedly to restart their system, all I could think about was my parking expiring. Can't believe how quickly this week has gone though, almost Friday again and everything is still running like clockwork on the shoot (which is great). Our Production Truck was flowing with the sounds of old 50's swing music, it's toe-tapping tunes put everyone in the highest of spirits. Our Producer even stated dancing! Just as the day couldn't get any nicer, a complimentary cream tea was arranged from on-high, the whole crew stopped for a moment or two to enjoy a scone. Magic.

Delivering Smiles

Playing the postman is apparently the best way to make friends on a film set. Every day one of my jobs is to track down all the parcels that get sent to us, several go rouge as our base is massive so its my job to hunt them down. People are always delighted when I go and do the legwork, ironically its one of my least favourite jobs though...

The only other funny job was handed to us by the Exec Producer: go take a cast member out to the pub as he's feeling a bit lonely. So we did just that! Watched the sun set and toasted to another successful filming day.

Printing Pinks

So the thing about filming, especially in TV, is that the scripts are in a constant state of flux. You dish out a final shooting script but that doesn't mean people won't want amendments for a multitude of reasons. Right now on this show we have 26 different scripts to juggle. I printed them all out for our core cast in the prep weeks but my work is never truly done. Amendments came through today which means I bust out the pink printing paper. New pages are printed on that colour and they are rebound into the existing master copies of all the scripts. It turns into a printing and logistical rat race to get everything out correctly and into the hands of the right people. After pinks comes blues, greens then yellows... there are more colours but we're trying desperately not to go too overboard with stuff like that.

My printing hard work was rewarded though. After the day drew to a close I was invited to go have a look at the roof of our filming location. It's all covered in scaffolding for the next few weeks so getting to go up there was a real treat. Not only could we see for miles but you could almost reach out and touch original roof tiles. Perks are strange on this job, but you gotta take what you get.

Pub Beckons

Monday came and went fairly painlessly, just kept my head down a pushed through everything I had to do and came out smelling like roses. Getting on well with one of our directors who we share the production truck with. He pops in for chats when he's not in the clock and always seems very curious and interested in British culture (he's Canadian). The whole production team went out for a very quick beer at a pub today too in honour of them serving again today. Nice to sit outside and be with people informally again.

Clovelly

Farmers market, that's what my morning consisted of. I picked up some fudge and hot sauce while taking stock of all the other fine meats, cheeses and jars of honey for the next time they're in the neighbourhood. We couldn't linger round the market for too long though as we had a takeaway roast dinner appointment to keep! Just as we were about to tuck into our outdoor dinner though it started snowing! Thankfully it held off a little bit while we poured lashings of gravy onto our roast from our Chinese restaurant style plastic containers - we all couldn't believe how well the food traveled in honesty.

To walk off the meat we took a wee trip to Clovelly. While negotiating the narrow, cobbled streets we bumped into the lady who runs our cottage (small world). Once at the bottom we just basked in the ocean breeze - very lucky to get into the village for free during Covid times, normally it's £8.25 entry fee! 

While the weekend draws to a close I actually don't mind the idea of heading back into work. Forged some good bonds with my team over the last two days and that'll make the prospect of work that much more manageable and, dare I say, enjoyable.

A Longer Than Expected Hike

Sprawled out on the sofa of our cottage and enjoyed some 'me' time for the first few hours of my Saturday. Got so deeply invested in the current game I'm working through I almost lost track of the morning. My only objective today was to go to the supermarket, which in the middle of nowhere means a one hour round trip. While loading up the fridge with my groceries I hopped into the classic Saturday gaming session with Mark and Dan, despite being limited to the horsepower of my laptop we had a grand old time (while my cottage's wifi held up at least).

Felt square-eyed by the late afternoon so an invitation to go on a walk with some of my team-mates. Turned out to be a mini adventure. We picked wild garlic, hopped over fences, mingled with lambs, accidentally trespassed and jumped over a brook. In the middle of it all I even tried to scale a grassy cliff face, unfortunately my East Berlin sunglasses were a casualty of my fool-hardiness as I slipped and steadied myself with the hand I was carrying them with. Looks like we'll have to go inter-railing again just to get a new pair of cheap, H&M sunglasses! With the fresh air in my lungs, I'll surely sleep well tonight.

Friday Cottage Buddies

Played postman once again and delivered another batch of flowers to a lucky cast member. Beyond that I was diligently looking at the clock and waiting for the weekend to strike. In a totally non-selfish way, I am glad Rebecca and I agreed I didn't need to drive home tonight - my first Friday in three weeks where I didn't have to do so. I filled the time playing video games with my cottage buddy and chatting about how the job is going so far. Nice to kick back with them and enjoy a night in.

Fast Florist

A critical mission was handed to me first thing today: source a florist and get a bouquet ready within 90 minutes. Closest place didn't open for an hour and was a 30 minute drive away, I pre-ordered a batch and hoofed it the whole way there and got back in the nick of time. Popped the flowers inside our cast members trailer just as the stepped onto our unit base - she was none the wiser. After that I was doing the usual stuff, deep down we were all thinking about quitting time. We've designated Thursdays as 'Thirsty Thursdays' where we can all go meet up after work and have a natter about the week. Good for the soul, we all need a chance to let our hair down after 12 hour working days.

Pots of Fine Coffee

First day of the shoot went by in the blink of an eye, in fact, we even wrapped 45 minutes ahead of schedule! Because of all the ground work we've done it felt like the day itself was actually quite simple for me. I just updated my logs and did a whole lot more printing for people... plus making coffee. Already word about my fine java making skills are rippling through the production truck and more and more people want in whenever I make a fresh pot. Beyond simply making good coffee, I think my main role is just raising morale... feels like that's what I've always been good at in a way.

My New Production Truck

Sat inside my new production truck today, the chaps who supplied it told me to they basically build all the trucks themselves, this one is rocking the 'secondhand canal boat' vibe which I feel very cosy with. We covered a lot of groundwork today and got everything nice and ready for the first day of shooting tomorrow. We've got an incredible team it feels like so fingers crossed, everything goes swimmingly well.

Wait, it's a Bank Holiday?

Back in Devon and back to work. Thankfully today was generally more gentle than other days, but there was still plenty to do. As a nice surprise though I bumped into not one, but two people I met on my last job - it really is a smaller world than you think, even out here on the coast of Hartland. I made a slap-dash effort to reconcile £1.5k worth of petty cash purchases too to I could have enough money on my card to rent a big van tomorrow. You have to put in so much fiddly paperwork before you can pass GO for more money.

Big day tomorrow, the even before the shoot starts. Everyone's going in for a Covid test and I'll be shuttling endless bits of stationary into my new production truck, aka: home for the next two months. Can't wait for the shoot to start, things should get a little easier for my team then and the twinkle of 'movie magic' will remind me why we all put ourselves through the stress.

Happy Easter 2021

Though I knew Mum and Dad were visiting today in Bristol I didn't really know what the plans were. When they announced they wanted to spend the lion's share of the day in our garden I felt relieved knowing I spent most of yesterday clearing up the cat litter there - Mum and Dad waltzed into the cleanest our garden has ever been. Louis and Rachel turned up too and we all enjoyed a socially distanced garden picnic together which was incredibly pleasant. We'd planned to go on a big walk but we all ended up talking for so long all we could muster was a quick stroll around the park before popping back for homemade cakes and scones aplenty.

It wasn't a traditional Easter Sunday by any means, but at least I got to see my family this Easter and for that I'm very grateful. Dad's Birthday too today, double whammy.

Moxie

House chores were all done by midday. Shopping sorted, garden gathered and carpets hoovered. Once everything was sorted I had a free license to enjoy a day of leisure, which for me today translated into watching a pair of films. They Live is a 50's sci-fi with 80's social and production values attached to it. While I enjoyed the themes and message tremendously, even at 93 minutes it felt a little long. Final 60 seconds though were perfection.

Moxie was film number 2, Amy Poehler's high school movie which champions feminism, and I gotta say it was pretty successful at what it strived for. It shone a light on the ingrained sexism within US schooling, calling it out the issues and exploring the unwillingness of the institution to resolve things. Maybe it could have pushed a little further in that respect, but importantly, it's agenda never felt superficial. As a pure 'high school' movie its only OK, but as a feminism film it's an approachable and often laugh out loud funny watch.

Making Good Time on Good Friday

Couldn't believe my luck when my boss said I could clock off early today, made Good Friday resemble somethingof a holiday to me after all. I finished up all my work then jumped in my car for a later afternoon jaunt home, with no one in the roads it was a long, Shawshank Redemption length drive, but I was bubbling with excitement about the prospect of being back and seeing Rebecca. The shoot starts next week so I'm going to really try and make the most of my home time this weekend while I can. 

Is it Easter Weekend Yet?

For the most part, things quietened down for a me today. Got one curveball that read more like a bad April Fools joke but I managed to parse that onto someone else to deal with. All I can think about now is the weekend and spending some more time with Rebecca and, later on, my family. Feels like years since I got to properly see Mum and Dad, even if we're just sat socially distanced in a park it'll be a welcome sight for sore eyes.