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