Putting on the Badge

We were a supporting artist down on set, so guess who had to strap into a police outfit and save the scene? I got chummy with the shooting crew and shared scenes with some fairly famous faces as a heavily featured extra. It certainly makes for a nice change of pace compared to my normal day. I made my team back at base very jealous, like baby birds they all turned to me for nourishing stories about being on set. If nothing else I was a morale injection for most people's day as I got many double-takes and wry smiles from my colleagues.

Return of the Wrap Gifts

Back on wrap gift duty, this time it's a little easier. I shan't spoil the surprise here but I'm doing a fair bit of graphic design work on it to hopefully impress the powers that be. Otherwise I was playing around with the script for a lot of today as the dreaded amends cropped up again. One small clearence issue sent ripples across the entire project so I got to edit it all out before sending it out to the crew, communal groans ensued...

Mr Three Cars

From little workload to a full-on day - that's the nature of this biz! Made multiple trips up to set and stuck around long enough to get roped into putting up some EZups and collecting some lunch orders. Back at base I somehow became the car man, I insured myself on 3 cars and drove each and every one of them - filling them up and pumping up tires when required. I'm poised to help out with scripting stuff tomorrow as me and the Assistant Producer have pencilled in a breakfast date to go through a bunch of stuff so nothing falls through the cracks.

Genuine Italian Espresso

I promised myself this blog wouldn't turn into a London Traffic grumble spot, but I will round off this saga with one more light moan. It almost took me as long to drive to work today as it did driving from Bristol to Twickenham yesterday. That is all.

Back on the truck to an oddly easy day. My job notoriously gets a bit easier once filming actually begins so it was unsurprising to see the workflow slow down a bit. It got so slow I managed to pop out to a nearby cafe in central London with an authentic and refurbished Italian espresso machine from the 1950's. The machine was only there for a limited time and I was stoked to get to try a drink there. Twas a very European little lunch break and a sincere treat. The coffee itself had all the punch of espresso, plus that warming fire feeling you get when drinking hard liquor. Very unique and very delicious.

Tender Cake

As is now customary for me mid-shoot, I did some baking. A classic coffee cake to be exact which I couldn't resit eating a slice of it before serving to my colleagues tomorrow (I got to do quality checks!) I think I have outdone myself here in terms of cake moistness thanks to barely mixing up the batter, it was very tender throughout and the lack of gluten development is likely to thank. Very keen to see what everyone makes of it tomorrow, keener moreso to take home whatever is left!

I drive back to London tonight ready for another 5 days of mayhem and giggles. I didn't answer any emails today but I did take a peek at my inbox so I knew what was brewing... I could be an interesting morning tomorrow.

Understairs Underworld

Come hell or high water, our shelves were going up today. I put a bracket on the wall a bit skew-whiff so I had to re-drill new holes and mount it all again. That was the easy part compared to what came next... Inexplicably the shelves that were under our stairs originally suddenly didn't actually fit between the walls - perhaps a layer of paint made the fit a bit too snug. So I had to shave off some wood. Initially I thought I could just sand it down but that yileded no meaningful results within a decent timeframe, so I instead got sawing. Rebecca kindly bought me a little hacksaw for the job on my request, but in hindsight I should have gotten a big boy saw because it took bloody ages to trim down a bit of wood with my rinky-dink saw. My iron-clad resolve was the only thing that soothed my tired arms and eventually, we had a shabby-chic looking shelf that could squeeze into our understairs cupboard. 

This was the culmination of my weekend. A job well done despite being hit with one roadblock too many.

SIX

A morning of DIY was on the cards after catching up on some sleep. Since the dining room is getting damp proofed next month we started derigging there. All the board games, notebooks and nick nacks were uprooted and tucked away, once light shines on them once more they'll see a gorgeous new room to call home. The masonry drill I got for my Birthday got put to very good use today too as the were some shelves that just looked out of place  sitting on the floor. 

Once all the noisy tools were put away Rebecca and I headed to the Hippodrome to see SIX - the Broadway musical about Henry VIII's wives. Been a while since I saw a theater style show, and minus the audience participation parts I had a good old time. It was a light 90 minute show without an interval, the pace was fast and the show had a clear pulse that was hard not to respect. My favorite parts where sneaking glimpses of Rebecca's face. Everytime she was grinning from ear to ear.

Endurance Test

Marched through the rain, worked an 11 hour day then elected to drive home to Bristol. I've had more relaxing Fridays that's for sure, but at least the week is behind me. Can't wait to sit back and enjoy another 3 day weekend. I'll mostly be doing housework that has fallen by the wayside, but when I'm not doing DIY I'll be on the sofa vegging out.

Honk Honk Honk

First day ever doing a shoot day in Central London. Left my base at 8:30 and only arrived there at 10:15, it really is gross driving amidst the winding lanes and aggressive motorists. Thankfully I was told I wouldn't need to drive home so I just left my car at work and I'm now on a leisurely train. The work day dragged a bit, I basically finished up all my ongoing jobs so now I'm being reactionary. It'll no doubt pick up again so I'm enjoying the calm and the free food - if I keep making everyone teas and coffees I stay in everyone's good books too.

Midday Tip Midnight (Almost)

Day 2 of the shoot was a split day, I only headed into work at 12 noon after catching up on Bake-Off. Late starts mean late finishes though and we kept going until 11pm tonight. Once all the phone lines close in local business that gives me ample chance to catch up on all the busywork I keep putting off. Get to do it all again tomorrow, but next time I'll be in the very heart of central London, wish me luck.

London Traffic

There is no middle ground with London traffic. You are either 30 minutes early or 90 minutes late, and I got to experience both ends of that spectrum today. Flew into work, barely seeing another soul on the road. Loaded up the truck (which is the exact same one I used on Sanditon) and got on with my day. Halfway through though I had to do the dreaded lunchtime rushes run as a one off favor. Getting stuck in heavy city traffic then discovering the route you wanted is cordoned off is a horrid feeling. Getting held up for over an hour at the edit house exasperated the issue until I was just really grumpy... But we completed the day so that's a success in my mind.

State Funeral

Sounds of church organs, bagpipes and marching seemed omnipresent as I made my breakfast and lunch. Watching the State Funeral was really the only thing I did today, once the precession was over it was time for me to grab my coach back to London. Due to obviously London road closures I had to go a slightly different route which took a lot longer than I expected. All I wanted to do was get into a bed and sleep in it because my alarm is set to go off at 4:50am tomorrow. That's a time I haven't seen in a little while...

Shoot Day 1 tomorrow, I feel ready!

Is It Jumper Weather Yet?

Rebecca's parents were once again in Bristol so we met up with them for a Harbourside Walk. I wore a jumper for the first time in months and loved every second of it, even if I got a bit hot while walking out in the sun.

Rebecca and I sat down tonight and made a long list about all the things we want done to the house over the coming months. There's a big damp-proof and painting job to endure next month plus a host of smaller projects that all are due some love and attention. It'll all make the house better though, it's effort at the time of course but it's always well worth the effort.

Happy Birthday Louis 2022

Rebecca clearly didn't feel my absence so strongly after this week. I know this because she hogged both the duvet and the mattress as if she wasn't sharing a bed with anyone, she was all elbows and diagonals. Rather than waking her I decided just to get up, feed the cat and got on with my morning. Rebecca felt rotten about it afterwards and to ay sorry she let me cook her porridge... I still think I got he short end of the stick though.

This evening was all about Louis and his Birthday which was a low-key affair (as he typically prefers). A trip to Acapella for a great pizza plus we got to drink up all the leftover beer from my shindig last week. He looked comfortable stepping into the shoes of a 27 year old, slightly subdued but altogether fully mature - I hope I projected that kind of energy two years ago.

Away From My Desk for Two Minutes...

 Was thrust into the bustling (and somewhat Autumnal) streets of London to go pick up a hard drive of some camera tests we filmed yesterday. The idea was is that I'd pop out during a quiet moment. Instead, the second I sat down on the bus I got 3 phonecalls, 4 separate Whatsapp messages and 2 emails in a 2 minute window. That, dear reader, is Sod's Law epitomized. Dealt with it all though since I'm a pro now and manicured my first ever shooting script before pushing that out into the wide world. It's all getting real now and we're in a decent place for filming on Tuesday.

On the coach home now, very glad I got a National Express and not a FlixBus, the latter of which got delayed by two hours. I invisibly waved farewell to the grumbling travellers and fell immediately asleep on the coach. It's been a long week but I'm so glad to finally be almost home.

Uber XL

Everything we could possibly need for our short shoot was collated  by me and lugged down three flights of stairs. Admittedly it was a paired down list, but it still filled out and Uber XL, now I've got to squeeze it all into my Ford Fiesta... That's tomorrow's problem though, for now I'm totally shatted and ready for one more sleep until I'm back in Bristol. Rebecca is starting to miss me more and more and even the cat can't substitute for my wit and charm. I'll be back home soon though, a d that thought makes my heart smile.

North Circular

Managed to catch up on Bake Off by cramming in a whole episode across my time standing on the Waterloo bound train. Trying to stay in the loop so Rebecca doesn't speed ahead of me and spoil who's in and who's out. Our Production meeting was also going on today, I half tuned in on my headphones but I was pulled away a few times by couriers and other bric a brac jobs. After a long day of work I got to travel to East London so I could drive my new hire car all the way round to the West side. I got chummy with the North Circular just as I was warning up to another new car. Got it back in one piece but all I want to do now is sleep.

Topsy Tuesday

My unofficial duties as a script coordinator continue to grow as I was asked to write a memo for the new draft that just came out. Basically, this is like a changelog, you document all the additional, amendments and omission between the versions so people can glance at the changes. I e seen hundreds of script memo's before but if felt odd to finally be writing one. My good friend Matt Winlow does a mighty fine job of it and I wanted to channel his professionalism. I also helped our Coordinator 'tone down' her sternly written email. We got hit with some bad news, the kind that would rightfully tick off anyone in our position. My teammates' original message was a vengeful knee-jerk reaction, but she asked me to give it a bit if decorum so as not to burn any bridges. Never thought I'd rise up into a spot to start dictating emails to my superiors, guess it was a bit of a topsy Tuesday.

Return of the Pret

Just when you thought you'd done your last ever Pret lunch run for a job... My main goal today was asking 29 people what they wanted for tomorrow's lunch remotely. It was a fiddle but I think I got them all in... Guess we'll see how that goes tomorrow after my proxy collects it for me. Otherwise it's business as usual, though with a little more of the sense that we're sitting on our hands. With only a week to go before filming starts there's an ungodly amount of work still to be done, yet because there are one too many unknown factors everything is taking longer to sort.

Victorian Courtship

Scaling a mountain of washing up was first on the Birthday Boxing Day agenda. Rebecca and I rolled up out sleeves and put the house back together after a boozy board game night - every empty can and glass a fun reminder of the night before. The day was our to veg out too, plus I still had a new monster sized board game to learn and teach Rebecca how to play. Turns out a game about Victorian courtship and stately home management is quite involving... And riviting! Despite knowing the ins and outs of the game once again Rebecca beat me by a measly 3 points. We all know how to maximize our efforts for next time and the intimidating 'first play' hurdle now looks like a molehill in hindsight.

On bus back to London now, mentally preparing for the final week of our preproduction. Lots of nails to hammer in still but hopefully more and more things will slide into focus after tomorrow. Still tough saying goodbye to Rebecca only 3/4's of the way through a Sunday but we really make the most of our weekends together these days so it's something to look forward to on the other side of this week.

Happy Birthday to Me! 2022

As if waking up in my own bed wasn't enough of a treat, today was also my Birthday. 29 years of age and still getting excited about unwrapping presents and facing the day. I went down North Street with a spring in my step - an Arts Market was being hosted near the Tobacco Factory and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than take a walk with Rebecca to one of our favorite places.

Since I couldn't make it down to the Newbury Beer Festival this weekend I thought, 'why not bring it to me?' Ahead if time we bought a crate of craft beers and announced we'd be having a fun beer and board games evening with chums. To show my appreciation to all my friends I wanted to cook everyone a banging meal. My nachos made the rounds again, once more accompanied by some salads made by Rachel - they're a killer combo that always makes people come back for seconds. Chatting and games followed with 8 of us crowed into my dining room as we made merry, drank fun beers and got competitive.

Bless Rebecca's heart - she baked me two cakes. One was a coffee cake she didn't think was presentable enough as a main cake so she did her signature Victoria Sponge too. I never dreamed I'd be worth of two cakes but I'm honoured to be loved by someone whose willing to go through all that trouble.

Credit to Lucy for getting this great action shot.

 

This was one of the best Birthdays I've had in a long while. I humbled to have so many good friends that all contributed to making the day so special.

Palace Pilgrimage

Used my mental protractor to ensure everyone's script was 'just so' for our read-through. Served tea and coffee to BBC execs and made myself useful right until the moment they were ready to go. That was my chance to sit quietly in the back and catch up on emails... Until the Producer beckoned me over and asked me to get my phone out, stand in the corner and film the whole thing. Almost an hour of standing still later, I returned to my inbox and back to my work, rubbing my poor, poor legs all the while. The read-through itself went by without a hitch, a testiment to how well planned it all was. Their always like prepping a mini wedding and come at an awkward time when people are stressing about the shoot - but the cast love them and it gives them all a chance to meet everyone.

With a little over an hour to kill before my coach home I figured a walk instead of a tube to the station would be nice. My London geography is terrible and I was only halfway there when I realized my GPS was taking me straight up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. I was never planning on paying respects to the Queen, but since it was on the way it seemed like the right thing to do. 

The Queen is Dead

News trickled round the office that the Queen's health was rapidly declining. We got on with our daily tasks and stresses, but the thought that our monarch could pass away today was an unspoken truth almost too big to mentally grapple with. Sure enough, a few hours later everyone crowded round the Producer's laptop to listen the the official announcement. The Queen is dead. I almost couldn't believe it when the news finally broke, the whole evening felt like a dream. While riding the tube and train back it seemed like everyone was carrying the same secret.

All the while in London it poured and poured and poured.

Urban Sardines

Got chummy with my good friend the printer once again to rattle off numerous copies if the script for our read-through on Friday. Lots of moving parts over the next few days and trying to stay on top of everything is a challenge but we're managing quite well. Tomorrow will be the real litmus test to see just how well our organising is going.

I'm not the first, nor the last person to have this thought... But working in Central London is pretty awful. In particular the travel costs to and from work, I wondered why my bank account was looking a bit peaky, I guess that's how it'll seem when 10% of my weekly wage is spent on getting to work and home again. Is it a privilege to not have a seat and get squished into a filthy train? I'm taking a vow here and now to never do a long stint of work in London again unless totally necessary.

Looks like I forgot to post yesterday's blog - must have crashed out!

Smiling Ducks

Yet another 9 til 7 work day in prep - there's still plenty to do and like little ducks we're smiling while paddling fiercely! Seems like I've also become the unofficial script editor for this one as I'm literally rewriting the script whenever the Producer asks for changes - that's a hefty amount of responsibility that we all kinda laugh about since it really isn't in my job description. A few last minute updates forced us all into the office after all the senior team had left, it's lovely little Production team this time round, just don't want to burn out before the shoot even starts!

Mon-daze

Thunderstorms in London kept me awake so I was a bit groggy catching the tube and train into work. The Monday daze never really lifted either, especially when the whole work day was a one-note drone of emails, busywork and spreadsheets. I was rinsed when I was done for the day, and train delays made me disassociate myself from my physical being - I was looking at myself in the 3rd person thinking, 'Wow, this guy needs an early night'. That's what I'm doing now, just trying to take it easy and reserve my strength for the rest of the week.

Dreaming of Next Saturday

After breakfastest Rebecca quietly announced that today would be a pyjama day... You heard no protest from me. A greatest hits of our favourite things was on the cards basically. West Wing, games, late dinners and crumpets. Zero obligations meant I felt a true lack of stress, even heading back up to London I felt remarkable chilled out. It was a little sad saying farewell to Rebecca for another 5 days, but I had a near-perfect weekend at home with her to keep me going til next Saturday.

Blockbuster on a Budget

 It's lovely to be back home for the weekend. My own coffee, my own bed and my own pace of living. Only thing that could make it better would be a trip to the movies... And seeing as it was national cinema day it seems rude not to go. Rebecca and I paid the low-low price of £3 each to go see the latest Spider-Man film at (what would be) one of the more expebsive picture houses in town. Felt right going to see a blockbuster on the big screen with the booming sound. All the trailers were for upcoming superhero films that looked a bit naff, then I suddenly realized that's exactly what I was about to watch. Ah well, Spider-Man was just ok. We both left with mixed feelings about it but glad we went to the cinema nonetheless.

London Groove

Getting back into the London public transportation groove now. Barely even have to check my gps to figure out where to go now since I've got the route down pat. Signed off a handful of bits at work and crossed things off my list, only to uncross them as new issues keep rearing their heads. All I want to do is disassociate myself from the problems, but I know deep down that I'm one of the few who can actually make a difference. Good old Mark very generously offered me a lift back to Bristol, it was nice to have a road buddy and just chat for the whole ride home. Back in my bed now, where I intend on staying long into the early hours of Saturday.

Ping Pong Pub

Climbing that Stairmaster today. Work ramped up already to the point where I literally said 'How is it 2pm already?!' Just a lot of nitty gritty stuff to iron out and I'm well into the weeds now. Best part of my working hours was successfully appling for a parking suspension in a London Counsil, thought it'd take 14 days to turn around but the team were surprisingly responsive.

The best part of my actual day was meeting up with Mark for some London drinks. Just me and him decompressing about out jobs, talking TV and playing ping pong. I smashed him at the first game and the encroaching rain saved me from losing the second match. Felt a bit like a dream spending time with him there, hanging out in a non descript London pub, just one of those fun scenarioa you don't really ever imagining happening in real life.