Boiler Pipes

Whoever thought consolidating 3,000 words of notes was going to take almost a full day of work? Well, a whole day in between making people coffee and doing other office odd jobs that is. Whittled the word count up to 3,600 now, I know that sounds unproductive, but it doesn't read like a finger painting session now.

I forgot to say that the building work on our house has begun as of last week. Lot of disruption in aid of a good cause. We've basically put our entire living room into the dining room, so now there's cosy, cramped canal boat vibes in there (once you're sat on the sofa it's fine). All the work is to ensure we never get damp again basically, especially after we got a bit water blister patch in our living room last year... though our builder chap seems to have found the cause for that: a massive crack in our boiler pipe! Guess it's good to get the issue identified, though every new problem just looks like money walking out of my account. Just got to keep telling myself I'm technically adding property value to the place when it's selling time. At least that helps me sleep at night.

Big Boy Table

Pressed a button as an automated coffee machine poured out an aromatic, but flat brew. About what I expected for a hotel meeting room though. I was there to sit alongside the Director, DOP and 1st AD as we went through a page turn of a few of our episodes. I actually had a seat at the big boy table and I loved every second of of it. Totally shattered by the end of it though, we were basically shut in a meeting room for 8 hours and we just kept on trucking through the workload. I wrote 3,000 words which I'll condense down tomorrow - beats twiddling my thumbs that's for sure.

Withholding... Why?

Did my thumb twiddling routine for the first few hours of the day, then in classic reversal, it got very busy in the final hour. I basically got very gingerly asked if I could do note taking at a page turn with the director and other HOD's. My production team tried to fight for me not to go, 'we might need Theo' they kept mouthing into the void. 'We might need Theo to get us lunch and make us coffee' is what they were really saying and frankly, that's a fate worse than death so any other job is a blessing. I for one, am dead excited for tomorrow. A chance to spread my wings and get away from my 'responsibities'.

Colston

Our sofa proved to be the final hurdle in our mass furniture exodus from the living room. Rebecca drew up a fan plan on how we'd move it into our dining room and it all seemed very feesable... We just forgot to account for the sofa's feet. Two chocs of wood held in by 4 screws wasall that stood between us and happiness and for love, nor money could we get those screws to budge. We'll have to ask the builders nicely for a favour tomorrow and cross our fingers and toes that it'll go one the feet are off - here's hoping.

Despite the sofa drama we did manage to carve out a good chuck if our afternoon towards being sociable. Rachel popped over so we could all see the statue of Colston that got torn down last year. He's currently sitting in a tasteful exhibit at the M Shed. Though that's their big thing at the moment we toured the rest of the halls and I remembered why it was such a renowned museum. Its just a well curated space with plenty to learn about, always local and always interesting. I cooked us all a roast and a dessert in the evening, Louis joined us too as a little break from working on his video game - very much looking forward to trying his latest build once it's ready.

Soaking up Stouts

Did our usual bout of 'adulting' this Saturday morning before diving head first into a days drinking session with an old work mate from Coffee #1. He scoped out an oddly trendy little beer place in our neck of the woods, I filled my 2/3rd glasses with potent IPA's, coffee stouts and ink black porters. The drunkenness only really hit me after I got home and crashed on the sofa - my whole world started spinning and I couldn't help but speak in a New Zealand accent.

Fortunately, the accent lost it's luster and I sobered up before speaking to Matt Winslow on a video call straight from sunny Toronto. He's finishing up the Canadian side of Malory Towers and it sounds like its all going well. We laughed about Matt Hancock disgracing himself and briefly reminisced about the UK side of the shoot. Though we spent basically 2 months living together, I already can't wait for the next time we get to see him in person.

Plate Spinner (and Smasher)

Our other Runner was poorly today so I stepped up to do the work of two. Did multiple post office runs, shopping trips for Birthday goodies, a lunch rush and a petrol run to fill up a jerry can. In between all this I managed to chipy Production Manager's personal mug from home. No bother, I found an identical replacement which I ordered online - I can swap them over on Monday without her knowing. The perfect crime was blown as we started to leave and asked me where her mug was. I came clean, saying the replacement was in the post and luckily she saw the humour in it. Still feel like a numpty though.

The Long Straw

The other Runner on my current job really drew the short straw today. He had to driver to Dorset and back again to drop off a Birthday present for a director. I held th fort, bought lunches and Happy Hippos for the office. Got a peek at the work being done on our house too, seen the bricks underneath the render - they look like crooked teeth all smiling as they think about how much money they're gonna cost me to repair.

Goodbye Granny Sue

I got a call from Dad about halfway through the morning to tell me that Granny Sue passed away last night at home after coming back from the hospital. I felt slightly numb for the rest of the day, all I could think about was how I always associated Wednesdays with her.

Growing up, Wednesdays were always the special days when Granny Sue would come to visit. After school she'd give Louis and me some pocket money and a few sweeties from the corner shop - (usually Polos or Rolos). We'd drag her into the living room whenever Art Attack was on and have supper with her in our small dining room at Shaw Road, then we'd say 'Cherrio' as we waved her off down the road. We'd next see her on Sundays for a roast dinner at her house.

I keep thinking about the various bits and bobs she knitted for me and Louis. A wollen Gromit, a pair of slipper socks, the PG tips monkey and a plethora of Christmas tree decorations. Each time I hold them now I'll no doubt be reminded of her.

The last time I saw her was only a few days ago over the weekend, though she was physically frail, her mind was still all there. She kept telling Rebecca an me that she wanted to leave the hospital to see the garden. I'd forgotten just how fond she was of the garden, but when I close my eyes, that's exactly where I see her. Sitting in her summerhouse with her nose in a Su Doku and a cup of tea by her side. She'd see you coming from about halfway down the lawn, smile and wave before offering you a seat inside for a chat. What I wouldn't give for one more of those summerhouse talks.

Gimme Glory

Feels like this entire film shoot is sponcered by Pret A Manger, especially after I spent £120 on sandwiches today. A lady had to go into the backroom to get a special, novelty sized giant bag to carry my virtuous salads. Delivered them all to the chaps on the recce though and they were delighted to see me (a complete change in reception to how my department act when I carry in armfuls of baguettes). The Art Director said 'Thanks Theo, that was a triumph', a quote I carried with me right up to the point where I'm writing it in here. I'll be working a similar detail tomorrow so hopefully I'll get more lashing of glory.

 

Pret Baguette

Waitrose was my starting point at work, had to get some fancy nibbles for the meeting with the exec producers. Apparently our Production Coordinator doesn't think much of the Asda stuff I typically swear by. Then again she puts two sweeteners in her coffee so the problem may be closer to home than she realizes...

Got get lunch not once, but twice today after someone scoffed all the vegetarian options, leaving someone without a Pret baguette. That was the code red moment of my day. That and contesting my weeks rate after my payslip looked a little thin last week. Thankfully that's all been resolved now, I can delete the sassy email I had drafting in my brain.

Regular Spotter

Lateish last night I bpight myself a pair of shoes online, I was only a little bit disturbed to find them on my doorstep 13 hours later. Been a very long time since I've had a new pair but I've got a new set of everyday shoes that'll do me very, very well while I'm working. Took them out for a test walk up North Street to visit the Sunday market (snagged some very snazzy looking sauerkraut kimchi too) before heading into my old cafe and saying 'hi' to my old work chums. Even bumped into one of my favourite regulars I hadn't seen since before lockdown - I was flattered they recognized me even with the mask on. Funny to think I was basically a member of the North Street community back then, now I just make telly.

Some chores needed tending too latterly. Rebecca kindly packed down the living room and kitchen before the works started, I just had to lift everything upstairs. Our spare room is looking rather crammed now while the living room echo's when you sneeze. Already I'm yearning for normality.

Grayish Blues and Bluey Greys

With a bellies full of gluten-free crepes, Rebecca and I headed East to Newbury. I drove on the way there, Rebecca's knuckles only turned white a handful of tines while driving her car but naturally we made it there A-OK. We visited Granny Sue now that she's back from the hospital, while she didn't have much energy it was good to see her again. 

Feels like the she family weighed in on the conundrum of what colour to paint the outside of our house. Mum took us to B&Q to gather swatches of all the colours that took our fancy. The exercise was meant to narrow things down but we may have complicated things further... Still, we have a shortlist now, ranging from greyish blues and dark yellows. Its hard to imagine my home without the grungy brown pebbledash - pretty soon that's all goingti change.

Historical Accuracy

Actually got given a meaty assignment first thing today. I sat in with the director, art department, costume and makeup while we listened to a historical military advisor tell us all about what soldiers wore, act and behaved like in 1820. I wrote up the minutes for the meeting and converted them into an extended reference guide for other crew members. I've written essays at uni that were shorter than the bulk of my writing today - think I did a good job too, so much so that Production are worried the directors are going to steal me.

Suffering Subway

Infamously my least favourite part of my new job is having to get the whole office their lunches. Now imagine how tightly my body seized up when I head them all mulling over getting Subway... So yes, I was recruited in to getting a few people customs built sandwiches while holding up the whole queue at the shop. Then I had to make a separate trip out to a different place to get the other half of the office a Pret A Manger lunch. I'd complain more, but that was only the part of my day which challenged me, the final three hours were spent trying to look busy which I hate doing. It just feels like there isn't a whole lot for me to sink my teeth into at the moment. So instead I looked at recipes online and remembered how much I used to enjoy cooking. Maybe this weekend I'll dare to make something I'm passionate about.

Covid Vaccine 1 of 2

Got in line for my Covid vaccine today, its an unoriginal statement now but it really was like a military operation in terms of how well it was run. Headed straight to work afterwards fully expecting to get zonked by the side effects but nothing really materialized. Head felt a mite stuffy, but I think that's just my hay fever rearing it's ugly head again.

Rebecca got her jab too today so we planned to get a takeaway to celebrate (also in case we both felt too maff to cook that night). We waited an hour and forty five minutes for a dinner that never came. A stroppy phonecall later netted us a full refund and a hearty amount of in-app credit but it wasn't enough to fully save the mood. Thankfully, my happy-go-lucky side kicked in and cajoled Rebecca into enjoying an oven cooked fish and chip dinner - it's like takeaway... 'Cept it ain't!

Cardboard Skipper

 Had a bit more to do today, in particular I was tasked with filling up a skip with carboad before our insurers came snooping around. After that I was just driving around for a little wand making way for the hat trick of emergency services, guess something was going down somewhere. I managed to sneek watch Nintendo's E3 presentation without sound at my desk. Just as it finished everyone got up to go anyway so I needn't have been so stealthy. Some friends popped round in the evening which was incredibly pleasant - reminded me of pre-lockdown days. Rebecca cooked an amazing meal and we drunk plenty of red wine. Hope I'm not feeling too groggy for my vaccine tomorrow!

Am I an Intern?

Inexplicably, I had even less to do at work today than usual. I ended up deleting 1,500 emails off my account while I waited for something to fall onto my desk. Thankfully a coworker from my last job joined the team today, though they'll only be around in drips and drabs, it was good to talk to a friendly face. I made them a coffee (which they verbally appreciated) and we briefly laughed about Malory Towers. Then it was back to the silence in the office while I tried very hard to look busy for 4 hours... That's what I used to do when I was an intern.

The Walk Redux

 It was the last visiting day for Rebecca's parents, which can only mean one thing... We do 'The Walk'. The infamous trudge along Bristol's Harbourside, the same route we've been doing for the past few years or so. I don't even think any of us particularly enjoy The Walk anymore, it just makes us feel a little better after a weekend of restaurant food and nightcaps. 

Once Rebecca's parents hit the road we took a brief trip up to see another friend in her garden. Thankfully the sun calmed down a bit then so we just chatted in the soothing afternoon breeze. Now that I'm in bed I can already feel myself getting too hot to sleep. To this day I've never sussed a good way to keep chill on nights like this. Last two nights were ropey, fingers crossed I'll sleep better tonight.

A Cappella

 Had a fairly foodie day with Rebecca and her parents. Packed up a picnic and took it up the the Downs, I basically had a little nap in the sunshine before being cajoled into heading to a nearby coffee shop. I suppressed the urge to eat a little cake while I was there as I needed every inch of stomach real estate to get through my pizza tonight. We visited A Cappella just up the road from us, they boast award winning pizzas and they weren't lying. Totally unpretentious, good atmosphere and bring your own alcohol policy meant the meal was cheap and delicious. Rebecca left with a doggie bag of pizza slices which I'm only a little bit jealous about...

Will Work for... Anything

I think they ran out if jobs for me to do today. Though my day was 8 hours long, I think I only really worked for 3. Otherwise I trucked through reading the scripts and begun culling my personal inbox, a good opportunity since I don't think they'll be setting me up with a business email anytime soon. Mad considering how much I'm getting paid. Is this just the calm before the storm?

Cabinet Build

Had a slightly more involving day at work. Morning was spent making signs to direct people to our new office space, this wasn't my first signage rodeo so I think I smashed it - even got to employ some 'you've gone too far' signs to help people out a bit. The entire afternoon on the other hand was spent building two filing cabinets. Anyone who's done any kind of all metal flat pack building will shudder at the previous sentence, without a doubt, it was the worst self-build I've ever done. Everything was friction fitted, but every mid step would undo my work, there's nothing more demoralizing than having to retread steps on a furniture instruction manual. 3 hours later, they were all built and set in the right spot. They'll stand as a monument to my patience.

Baby Cactus

Think about all the times you've ever seen a small potted cactus in a shop. A fair amount I'm betting, me too. In my mind, they are ten a penny in virtually all faintly trendy homeware shop. How was it then that I couldn't for love nor money find one in the entirety of the shopping centre I visited?! I was mostly sent there to get stationary bits but the plants were extra curricular, normally I'm pretty good at sniffing things out like that.

Ah well, at least I have a desk now!

Deskless

Book my Covid vaccine! Getting my jab this time next week so that's something to look forward to. My work day was spent building a lot of notoce board on wheels to go into our new office space. Once I was all done my boss noted how me and the other Runner didn't have desks and kinda laughed it off. I stayed silent as they chuckled to themselves and I think that registered as a little bit later they at least offered me a temporary desk. It wouldn't be a nice wooden one with a drawer, instead its an IKEA no-nonsense table. Consider my blessings counted.

I arrived home to an uncharacteristicly groggy Rebecca. Moments after I asked how she was she leapt up from the bed and was sick in the toilet. I acted as her ward for the evening, rubbing her back, making her tea and readying the bucket for any late night vomit visits. Hope she feels better soon... And that it's not contagious.

Slow First Day

First day on my new job - it went... OK. I'll reserve my judgements a little for now, but because our production team is so big it was a little tricky to elget the measure of everyone. I've also never been paid so much to do so little. I printed a single script, made 6 hot drinks and bought lunch for the team. Then there was a little office reshuffle, then it was somehow time to go home. Guess we'll see how it pans out, gotta build that trust first though I guess.

Dump-Coaster!

8am feels early on a Sunday. Earlier still when you're bundled into a car to drive to the dump before the masses wake up, only to find thatthe masses all had the same idea and the queue is non the shorter. Almost one hour sat in the car to throw away some paint pots and an extractor fan, felt like I was in line for the most adult roller coaster of my late 20's.

Lunch was a much more 'Sunday' affair. Louis and Rachel invited us to the park for a picnic. This provided the perfect opportunity to give my new picnic blanket a test drive - it's superb. Coronation chicken sandwiches and jumbo scotch eggs were passed around and then we just played on the ground and chatted the day away. 

Once they left I begun the process of mentally preparing myself for my new job starting tomorrow. Its a feeling none of us really get used to, despite me doing it almost three times now in under a year. I've loaded up my bag with the essentials only - blank slate is always the best way to head into a new production. I'm a little nervous as this is easily the biggest team I'll be working with, but I'm oddly excited at the same time. Let's see how Monday goes. 

Emma.

Felt more tired after waking up than when I did last night - worst of all, that feeling persisted throughout the day. First thing's first though, Rebecca and I gave our downstairs cupboard a deep clean in preparation for all the handiwork that's being done soon. Bagged up old paint cans, bits of wood and general other bits of tat and got them all ready for a little trip to the dump tomorrow... After all, we'd rather go to IKEA than the dump, naturally! Bought some nice new bedding there plus a nice new shelf to put above my desk, I'm already dreaming of all the clutter I can relocate there.

Film today was Emma., the 2020 version which hit all the right note for me... at least, after a wonky first 15 minutes which exhibited some unfortunately poor editing. Thankfully, that wasn't indicitive of the whole piece as it really won me over, thanks to it's character's and its tone. Increasingly modern adaptations of Austin's work manage to wring out plenty of their baked in humour, Emma. occasionally dips into pantomime territory, but snapping back the moment it becomes indulgent. Every few minutes I like this film more and more. A cut above standard costume dramas, Emma. has a pulse and genuine passion behind the production which permeates on screen.

Wingspan

The familiar sound of a new hire car being dropped off pulled me out of bed. (Technically, it woke Rebecca up as she was the one who got up to answer the door at God-early in the morning). Got me a little Ford Fiesta now, haven't had the chance to take it for a test drive yet, but I'm looking forward to driving in something a little more zippy and compact.

A perk of lockdown easing is a fuller social calendar. For the first time in seemingly forever, Rebecca and I headed over to Mark and Lucy's for a classic dinner night. Mark's slow cooked beef tacos were something to behold, and luckily, that's also what he considered his belated Birthday gift from us. We got him a copy of the board game Wingspan which he pumped his fist with glee upon unwrapping. He was such a keen bean we played a game right there on the spot which took us into the small hours of the evening. Felt so incredibly normal to be doing the things we love with our friends once again - such a good little evening.

Japanese Horror

Inadvertently whittled away my day off while engaging mostly with Japanese horror. I'm currently playing through the new Resident Evil which took Rebecca and me down a very uncomfortable journey of psychological horror, culminating in a monster that I hope I won't see in my dreams tonight.

After lunch I sprawled out on the sofa to watch Woman In The Dunes, really more of a thriller than a horror, but it still kept me on the edge of my seat, especially at the beginning. A schoolteacher with a penchant for bug collecting visits a sandy region, gets carried away with his studies and misses the last bus back home. A local invites him to stay the night with a villager: a woman who lives in a literal crater of sand. Her shack is slowly being engulfed by said sand, every morning more of the floorboards dissapears while the stuff sticks and glistens off the characters like itchy glitter. Fun premise that goes pretty deep in exploring some territories I won't spoil. Maybe a touch too long, but that was the style in the 60's. If you're looking for a breath of fresh air, this is it.

Farewell Malory Towers

Hunkered down at my desk and blitzed through the very last of my jobs on Malory Towers. Submitted my final petty cash form, polish my last spreadsheet and photoshopped one more person into the crew photo... Then as quickly as I started, I was done.

Where did those last few months go? It feels like only yesterday I was driving up to London for my first day in the office. I remeber so vividly sanitizing my hands on the tube, buying Tesco meal deals for lunch and gingerly trying to guage the personality of my co-workers. Funny old profession really, you work so hard in something for months, treating it like the be-all, end-all of everything, but once it's in the can, that's it. You just walk away. My work on Malory Towers is done. Tomorrow I'm going to have a cold beer at lunch and ponder my next gig.

A Summer's Night Stroll

Begun tying up the last of my loose end on this job while working from home. Only had some very small bits to crack on with really, most of which I polished off at a leisurely pace while brewing many cups of coffee. One more day now and I'm already drafting up a cute little message to put on the Production team's WhatsApp group as a little farewell. 

Because I've been fairly housebound the last few days, Rebecca and I figured we could go for a walk with a friend across the Downs. Saw the Suspension Bridge across the way and remembered why I dig Bristol so much. The long warm Summer night felt like a taster for the months ahead. Good vibes and seeing friends again - can't wait.