Tiramisu for Tomorrow

With New Year's Eve, Eve upon us, it was time to return home to Bristol. Tomorrow night we'll be off to a New Year party at Mark's place but we didn't want to come empty handed so I made a mammoth portion of tiramisu using my fool proof recipe... Only I learnt there's still some imporments to make on my method. I tried for nearly an hour to pull a good shot of espresso using my, somewhat alternative, coffee machine. In the end I sacked it off and used my trusty Aeropress for a strong brew to dunk sponge fingers into. It's always better the next day so I'll see how the pudding has set then, but if licking the spoon gives any indication of flavour, then we're in for a treat.

California Roll Christmas

 Despite being plyed with drinks while with Rebecca's relatives, I woke up feel fresh as a daisy. Perhaps the last week of merry-making has prepped my body for the worst, a fact I'm not actually proud of. I was pleased to have a sober day during Crimbo Limbo and what will likely be my final full day away for the holidays. I drove us back down to Newbury to sit around the fire in the living room once again and enjoy an idle our with my family. Rachel was with us too and since we were all craving something that didn't taste of gravy, stuffing or poultry we walked into town for sushi. It's been a hot minute since I've enjoyed some sit down California rolls so tonight was a real treat. Better yet, we all bundled back home afterwards to watch The Holdovers, a Christmas classic film in the making I'm sure.

Lamb Sagwala

I thought it would take ages to shake the habit of naturally waking up at 5am. But the Christmas hols and not having a hungry cat at the foot of the bed over the last few days has knocked my sleep pattern back into social hours. So I was plenty rested to catch a bus to Richmond to meet up with some of Rebecca's old school chums. After that was another check off the old 'post Christmas meetups' with a house visit to Rebecca's Aunt and Uncle. We had a fun debrief about the wedding we went to in June followed by chats about life, movies and Japanese fiction all around a classic Indian takeaway. It's nice that I've been so warmly received by Rebecca's extended family, they're all great people and good company as the nights get colder.

Family Hat Trick

Now that the relatively chill days of post Christmas our of the way, it's time to get out of the living room and go see family and relatives. I drove us all down to Orpington to spend a bit of time with my Grandma who is still smiling. Then we went off to my Aunt and Uncle's for dinner before I caught the train over to Rebecca's family. Throughout this hat trick of visitations I was just pleased to be able to spend some time with everybody. My availability is gradually becoming a premium and being able to slow down and see my family properly is something I value more and more as I get older.

Boxing Day 2025

Only a couple of days into the Christmas holidays and I've already forgotten what day of the week it is - that's sooooo Boxing Day. It was a day of rest in the most humble terms, I helped mum start her Christmas jigsaw puzzle and we ate up a bevvy of leftovers from the past few days. I finished up a game that I got hooked on recently and we watched two new-to-us films which is a hell of a feat on a slopey day. I did try to do a bit of 'work' this morning by prepping my annual top games of the year list, a task I semi enjoy doing every year. Right now it feels like a lot but I'll always be glad to have written it once it's done.

Christmas 2025

Grapefruit prep was my first job of the day, assembling it alongside the other usual breakfast suspects of gammon and fried eggs. From there the Christmas day rhythm fall into place, opening presents being next on the agenda. I unwrapped a very elegant ceramic coffee dripper alongside a lovely new jumper, no doubt I'll amass plenty of compliments for once I'm back at work. By far, the most surprising gift was from Louis in the form of a framed digital painting of our cat which Rebecca was truly bowled over by. We'll have to figure out a good place to hang it back at home because it is genuinely excellent.

Christmas dinner soon followed, which we shared alongside our Ukrainian Lodgers for the third year on the trot. All the trimmings, plus some bonafide pigs in blankets were dished, then snaffled up. Dad and I brought the Christmas pud in to ignite table side to the delight of everyone - no singed eyebrows either which is a big win. Full on gravy, turkey and two puddings we retired to the sofa, catching Some Like It Hot, a film so good we had to watch the whole thing. Then, the main attraction, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowel - the latest claymation escapade from Aardman which is just what Christmas Day called for - perhaps it was a bit too gentle for my tastes, but it was a fun ride.

Another Christmas down now, the boot of my car will be brimming with great gifts that'll ensure I start 2025 off in good stead. Once again, I hope everyone got the Christmas they deserve.

Christmas Eve 2024

For the first time in about a dozen years, (not including Covid), the Durrant's did not host a Christmas Eve party. That's not to say our day wasn't filled with food prep and house zchuzing because the event was simply downsized into a sit down meal affair. I was back at it chopping up the Persian 'micro salad' while Louis prepped puddings - we both somehow dodged putting up the outside Christmas lights which I'm very grateful for. In fact, overall it was a lot calmer Christmas Eve overall. There wasn't a cascade of hotplates being loaded into an oven as each and every dish was timed to the minute for when it needs to hit the table. Just low-key, chilling vibes which is exactly what the holidays are all about. A part of me misses the big parties, end of an era perhaps but only time will tell.

Hope everyone gets what they wished for from Santa tomorrow and that your Christmas day is filled with warmth and cheer. Indulge in tradition & bit too much food and drink, I'll be right there with the rest of you in the sofa watching Wallace & Gromit.

Love, The Cat

December 23rd. The day we ship out of Bristol and start our Christmas holidays proper. But before leaving, Rebecca and I had to exchange gifts under our Christmas tree. The past few months I had a great gift idea for her: whenever we go to our favourite brunch spot she comments on how much she loves the mugs there. So I found the brand and ordered a set of them online to be delivered. Tragically, the parcel arrived while I was just getting out of the shower so Rebecca received it... While reading all the branding on the outside of the cardboard, thus giving away the surprise of what's inside. I palmed it off jokingly at first but Rebecca knows exactly what she'd be getting from me this year... Or so she thought. A colleague at work gave me a great idea of not addressing the gift from me, so instead I wrote down that our cat had brought it for her. Yes I know, it's a very 'cat person' thing to do, but it saved a non-surpirise present and turned it into something a little bit cute. Rebecca loved it either way and I was lucky enough to get a bottle of bourbon to make dozens of Old Fashioned cocktails with, a tipple I enjoyed moments before seatbelting up on the road back to Newbury with a car boot full of presents. Let the holidays begin!

Present Wrapping Power Hour

I lied when I said that yesterday I had completed my Christmas shopping. An emergency final sweep into town to get the very last bit: a bottle of extra hot siracha sauce, the kind you can only get in Asian supermarkets. Hopefully Rebecca's Dad will be pretty pleased with it - feels like I get him a new hot sauce each year but this could be a good, repeatable gift if it takes his fancy.

We did the great present wrapping power hour in which Rebecca did all the actual wrapping while I cut off bits of tape and DJ'd festive music. We had a few less people to wrap gifts for this year round so it actually went by pretty swiftly. I secretly did Rebecca's presents and slid them under our tree with the promise to exchange them tomorrow morning. I don't know if I got any knock out successes for anyone this year, but Rebecca will no doubt like her little haul.

Bristol Ice Hockey

Returned to North Street for a final bout of Crimbo shopping, I think I've got a full house now. Only step left is to wrap it all up now which will be tomorrow's job but that's a gig Rebecca and I enjoy for the most part as it's become another part of the Christmas tradition. 

On the other hand, a new venture for Rebecca and me occured tonight, which is Christmas adjacent in temperature only: a trip to see an ice hockey match. The Bristol Pitbulls were playing in the city stadium so we went and cheered them on... Not that they were lacking in fans mind. It felt like we were stepped onto a foreign planet with all the new chants, in jokes and side activities - we parsed a lot of new information but had a blast the whole way through. Every goal Bristol scored came with the opening chant of Chelsea Dagger as the whole crowd did the monkey. Rebecca and I felt a bit embarrassed doing it at first, but by the 6th goal we were dancing our hearts out with the other fans. A different way to spend a Saturday night, but fun to commune with a big crowd this close to Christmas.

On Set Christmas

 The festive cheer rocked our crew to the very core. A Christmas jumper competition and fiver Friday were announced on the callsheet and we honoures those in full - someone came to work dressed as Joe Pesci's Wet Bandit from Home Alone which blew us all away and the fiver Friday was wonderful by the person who was gunning the hardest for it to be a thing. But my favourite part of the day was the Christmas music playing on set while we're were setting up for the day. Everyone was on board and ready for a  real, but we all wanted to show some love to each other. You spend months forging such intense working friendships and Christmas is the perfect opportunity to express that warmth. I've never fully experienced that in set and I'm so lucky to have that.

Striking off the Storyboards

The penultimate day before Christmas was ran like a well-oiled machine. We had a storyboard and we stuck to it like glue, there was even a big version of it on set which we ticked off together whenever we completed each set up. It was busy for sure but it felt organized and structured which makes a nice change of pace. I realized I actually worked fairly hard today, I should have really crashed out on the sofa when I got back but instead I made another two dozen mince pies. In bed now and it's the first time I've stopped all day, so the tiredness is hitting me all at once.

Who Wants a Mince Pie?

It's such a treat to be back in Bristol town center for filming - I get to walk to work and take my time in the mornings. We did our very last exterior scene of the year and the rain marked the occasion. In spite of that the crew were in good spirits, lots of Santa hats and Xmas jumpers already. I brought the cheer by sharing mince pies. I only had about 9 of them to go around about 50 people so I was super selective about who I offered them to. But I learnt that they're quite a marmite treat, most people I offered them to said a polite no. I literally couldn't give them away at one point! I cut my loses and hit the pub after work with a couple of very old work chums and friends of friends. It felt right to spend this time in the run up to Christmas bonding with total strangers, talking fondly about music, movies and the past.

Lo-Fi Christmas Jazz

My current favourite thing to listen to is an 8 hour video of lo-fi Christmas Jazz. It was a pleasure to bake to this weekend, but it turns out it is a little low energy for a car ride into work as my passenger was nodding off while listening to the twinkling piano and soothing woodwind. It was our final day in Brean thankfully and the weather looked just about kindly upon us with only freezing winds to contend with. The Christmas spirit is in full flow on set though, plenty of Santa hats and jumpers are already coming out. I'm saving my get up for the final Friday though I might bring some mince pies in tomorrow.

In the evenings Rebecca and I are working our way through a detective video game which ends up using the final two braincells I have left after a long day. I am already done in for the week but knowing a nice long break is in the horizon keeps me going.

Driving Home to Brean

Through gritted teeth I woke up at 5am to drive towards Brean, a location I've somehow avoided since Sanditon and The Last Bus. And yet, the roads there still felt familiar, not dissimilar to driving home for Christmas. Any joy evaporated once the day itself started as it was a busy old day for us all. But we're are all counting down the days til our next break.

Furthering my mini quest to watch a new Christmas Carol version every year Rebecca and I watch the first ever talkie retelling called Scrooge from 1935. The joy of seeing any adaptation of A Christmas Carol is how they present the three spirits, especially in these older iterations. This version's Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is so lo-fi but so effective that I'm shocked I haven't seen the trick repeated anywhere else. Otherwise this was a brisk and cosy retelling thanks to how legitimately 'Victorian' it still felt - a sooty, snowy postcard of a film.

Bake Off Bloke

Once every December I find myself shackled to the kitchen, doing a ton of baking... Guess what today was? Limonchello, cranberry sauce and a hefty batch of minced pies were all produced this afternoon, the latter being the most taxing. Every year I think I've cracked the recipe, and while I've certainly improved, I keep falling into the same pitfalls each and every time. Pastry too thick, pastry too thin, not enough flour in the work surface, overworking the dough, overbaking them, overfilling them - there's so many variables. Thankfully this lot came out pretty good, if I wasn't trucking up a mountain in the coastline tomorrow I would have brought them into work, guess I'll just have to have a few 'quality samples' until then.

The Train

Had a solid run into town with Rebecca grabbing a couple of extra presents for people. The Bristol Beacon has been a regular pit stop for us this season and now the venue has opened even more of it's rooms to accommodate even more market stalls. Plenty of ceramics and jewelry, but in the midst there were some legit fun and creative little bits. I locked in my secret Santa gift too and we even hit up a local gin distillery for some posh booze. The real highlight of my day was catching old movies on the telly. I'll always stick around when The Lavender Hill Mob is on and that rolled right into an oldie I'd never seen before - The Train. Because nothing says Christmas than outwitting the Nazis.

Mr Radio

 Committed the cardinal sin of not reading the callsheet properly so I ended up at the wrong unit base. Thankfully, it was still just a short walk over to location so no harm done but I felt like a prime Muppet. Once in set though I very quickly got roped into being the voice for a radio presenter in our scene, reading in for someone that'll be ADR'ed in later no doubt. The whole time though I kept getting pats on the back for doing it so consistently and with the diction of a typical radio guy. We had some fun today for sure but I had to leave my VO duties behind for my dentist appointment, which was really more of a war room chat. I got all the info I needed to learn what would happen with my braces etc, it's looking like it's gonna be pricey and it'll take close to a year of braces... So I drowned my sorrows in dim sum from a new restaurant on North Street. We took Louis and Rachel out for food as a way of saying 'thank you' for always looking after the cat, we are very, VERY lucky to have them around.

Comfort and Joy

Just as I started to learn every 6am curve in the road to my new route to work, we're on the move again. A lot of us are jolly glad to see the back of this particular location but we all know it's being replaced with a somewhere even worse. We are all gritting our teeth now til our Christmas break in just over a weeks time, I for one will be using that time wisely to catch up on all the hours that have slipped down the back of my mental refrigerator, never to be seen again.

Only other cool thing that happened to me was I hit 100 new films watched this year. Bill Forsyth's Comfort and Joy rung in the milestone, a Christmas adjacent flick that was calm in all the right ways.

Hand warmer Haven

Back during my days in Production I cursed having to buy crew hand warmers. 'Surely people can just wear gloves?!' I recall thinking, unempathetically. Well today I was eternally grateful there were a couple of boxes of them floating around because the cold was biting in the morning, I can barely operate my iPad when my fingers start to go numb so the hand warmers were a godsend. Because there was an awful lot of blocking going on today, I spent a good chunk of the day quite literally with my hands in my pockets, but that gave me a chance to shoot the breeze with the crew and chat about Christmas plans - I cannot wait for our break.

Stunts in Standby

Another day of stunts means another day with me on standby to a large degree. Thankfully I was plenty busy helping a mass reference footage for our double bank unit and inputting script amend info into our database. The crew is all a bit sick of this location now as it's all cold rain and chilly breezes... But then again that's just Winter really.

December Drain

Wake up at 5:30 to be at work for 7:00 to stand in a cold field til 18:00. There must be something more, but it's Monday so what should I expect. I actually entered the day with a fully recharged internal battery - I'm over my cold and had plenty of sleep, but right now I'm feeling pretty drained. Moreso when I consider all the Christmas shopping I've yet to do all while I'm just trying to get by at work. In short, I've already hit a December slump. Perhaps I need a steady diet of Christmas films and food to reinvigorate my spirits...

Despairing Departure

It was a little hard packing up our bags to leave London. We had such a terrific weekend with our chums that we frankly didn't want the good times to end. We took a stroll up their local high Street and played one more board game before we had to hit the road. Rebecca pulled a sad face for most of the drive home while I just thought about what next week will bring... A lot of early mornings and late finishes is the gist. Only 2 more weeks til the holidays though, I can grit my teeth til then.

A Cosy December Day

Storm Darragh brayed at the windows as Rebecca and I woke up, it was clearly a day best spent indoors. In fact, we only braved the outside briefly to go with our hosts to collect a Christmas tree. It's a hell of a thing to walk a pine tree through London in the middle of a national weather crisis... I'm not suggesting everyone should give it a go but we we saw the humour in it. Once home, it was all hands on deck to rig it with lights and guild its branches with delightfully ironic decorations. This marks the first Christmas our hosts have spent in their new home and once the tree was all in situ, I stood quietly to myself and hoped there'd be many more cosy Decembers with them to come.

That feeling continued as another old uni friend joined us as we hopped between board games and bottles of wine. Some carrot & marmite soup lined our stomachs for lunch and homemade turkey burgers and meringues joined the party for dinner. The food was so good in fact that we all begged for the recipes to be shared. Just as we collapsed onto the sofa, thinking the day couldn't get any better Die Hard was on Film4. A perfect Saturday.

Big Old Stunt

Big stunt day for us, which for the continuity team just means a lot of time waiting for all the rigging and safety checks to take place before we do anything. It took a good few hours but everything was conducted very safely and above board, but I couldn't help thinking how I could have spent another couple extra hours in bed. But it's the weekend now! Rebecca are 95% of the way to London to go have a super low key weekend with some chums. I was invited to go on a Park Run with them tomorrow but I'm a mite out of practice, which is a great excuse to stay in bed.

Ah Yes, 2nd Unit Shenanigans

Back to walking to work territory even if it's only for a day. We've entered that point in the job where 2nd Units and Double Banking is starting to manifest ever rapidly and since I have *most* of the show in my head, I come in handy when it comes to continuity. So I sat in today with the soon-to-be full time 2nd unit team to see if I can help out a lil bit, it was a pretty light day overall so we all had a bit of fun with it. Calm before the storm though, tomorrow I'm back with the main chaps and we'll be shooting on an astronomical amount of cameras. The final boss before the weekend.

No Go Low Load

A day with a low-loader typically means a day for me to catch up on my paperwork - there's seldom any video feed for me to monitor and seating on any type of follow vehicle is a premium. Instead they realized I'd be better off stationed with my favourite gang: the drone team. We're thick as thieves now having done many, many days together on this job and their material always manages to impress me. But no matter how good they are, when filming outside in December we're always going to be chasing sunlight and this evening we had to wrap a bit earlier due to the sunset. At least that meant I could get home quicker to do some Baulder's with the Boys after a long stint away. An activity worth running home for, I only wish I wasn't so tired from the week/illness so I could play for longer tonight.

Over Wrapped

After taking heed to the numerous words of warning about how chilly it was going to be today, I found myself BOILING in my big coat, gloves and scarf. I had to strip down to my fleece after the sun set because I was so warm in spite of being outdoors in a small tent all day. I did manage to make it through the whole day without any form of painkillers which must mean my cold is officially on its last legs - I honestly can't recall what feeling normal is like yet I still crave it. A two hour drive at the end of today managed to sap out the last of my strength though but a later get up time and an earlyish night should be just the ticket.

"Nice Haircut"

Got complimented on my new haircut a couple of times today. In reality I had just shaved my beard...

While the days in Cornwall were chilly, the frost is starting to set in on us now. Standing still is lethal and going out in the wrong gear will cost you... So it was a good thing I totally misjudged the weather and spent the next 10 hours cursing myself. Tomorrow is all about the bundles and layers, I gotta be the envy of the crew when I'm all bundled and toasty.

Taking Inspo

Still on the tail end of this cold, but that's a great excuse to stay indoors! I bought a hearty handful of games in the Black Friday sales and I've been slowly making my way through them. Once I had enough sofa time, Rebecca and I hit North Street for the Sunday shuffle, mostly to start gathering inspiration for Christmas gifts - a prospect that I've still yet to dedicate much mental bandwidth to. As the day went on, my symptoms softened (especially after my midday nap!) so begrudgingly, it seems like I'll be healthy enough to do Monday. One more early night and I'll be back to it all.

Bushy Tree and Bushier Beards

Our social calendar is booking up quick now so this was the only weekend Rebecca and I could go out and get our Christmas tree. By all accounts, it's appallingly early - not even December and I'm out buying decorations! We set it all up in the house, wired up the lights, put Xmas music on and hung up all the Doo dads. I will admit, it was a mite difficult to summon much festive cheer this afternoon, especially since I'm still on the bad end of a nasty cold, but the living room does feel cosy and 'Christmas Ready'

In other news, I decided to shave off my beard. A bunch of work colleagues did Movember so I thought I'd loosely join in by growing out my facial fuzz. It was fun while it lasted, by with a sniffly nose and an appetite for soup, it was just getting in the way. Back to smooth cheeks now after a mighty battle to tackle a beard with nothing but a safety razor.

Ciao Cornwall

10 hours sleep. That's all I needed to feel good and healthy enough to tackle our final day in Cornwall. The wind and the rain seemingly followed us everywhere we went and today was no exception, but we got it all in the can in record time - enough time for another dose of my painkillers before hitting the road for a 3 and a half hour drive back. Bleary eyed, but feeling fine, it's so good to finally be back in my own bed with the cat and Rebecca. Now to use the weekend to recover fully.

Asteroid of Phlem

 A tickle in my throat developed into a full of bout of nastiness overnight to the point where I don't actually know how much sleep I got. I was constantly swallowing and agitating whatever infection had taken seat there so I just neverbfelt comfortable enough to sleep. Fast forward to the morning and I coughed up an asteroid of phlem and felt like I was jet-lagged and on death's door. The medic checked me over and we all agreed it would be best to take the day off. But nothing is ever simple as our accomodation kicked us out at 10am and the next place wasn't taking people in til 15:30. Luckily I'm chummy with the Base Runner and they pointed me to a 3-way truck where I could curl up onto a 3/4 length sofa. I feel like I got over the worst of it all but I didn't get much of an opportunity to have a good bit of rest today, so I'm bedding down now and treating myself to double digits of sleep. That'll sort me out for sure.

Strangers to Friends

 After wrapping a day of filming in our little Cornish village it was announced on our crew Whatsapp chat that there would be some goodbye drinks hosted at a nearby pub. What I wasn't expecting was the town mayor to give a speech saying how wonderful the film crew have been over the last week and how we walked in as strangers but left as friends. It is true that we're all going to miss this sleepy town, the pubs and the people were super and tonight we got to raise a glass to them.

Staving Homesickness

As our time in Cornwall draws to a close I decided not to take for granted how easy my commute into work has been most days. We've been wrapping at 4:30 most afternoons and my walk home is 60 seconds. Granted I'm up early doors, but I will never, ever get a better accomodation deal on a gig. In spite of that, I'm ready to be home in Bristol now, so I can enjoy my house, the company of my cat and the companionship of Rebecca. I took as many creature comforts with me as I could but they couldn't quite stave off a few crumbs of homesickness.

Wine and Cheese with the AD's

Another Monday, another callsheet. We were back at it in Cornwall, albeit without the cold and the rain at play today which made a lovely change. In fact, our first shot was almost silhouetted against the sunrise which was a nice treat to see. Talks of a boardgame, cheese and wine night was on the cards at the AD's group house so naturally I made a guest appearance. Twas only a short but sweet evening as it was a school night but it was fun to do a bit more bonding with those guys. Only a few more away days before I'm back in Bristol which I'm gradually feeling increasingly ready for.

Fairy Tale of Cornwall

Thought I'd treat myself to a lil' early morning games session, only to find my housemate and another member of crew totally black-out asleep on my accomodation sofa. In fairness, they cleared off pretty quickly so I got some time to myself but it was still pretty funny. Following that the day was very low-key. Rebecca and I played some Left 4 Dead together despite being nearly 200 miles away from each other which was a real treat. Shortly after my housemate and I got summoned to the pub. What we didn't expect on entry was to come face to face with our number 1 cast member buying beers for all the crew as an Irish fiddle band we're doing incredible covers of up-tempo music. A Guinness was thrust into my hand as Fairy Tale of New York started playing into a PACKED pub who all started wishing each other a merry Christmas. This job man, once you think you've seen it all.

Dashed On the Rocks

After a very, very late one last night I tried to get plenty of sleep in... But storm Bert and my mighty thin net curtains had other plans for me. So I stirred myself awake and slowly figured I should find somewhere for breakfast and coffee. I turned the first corner and bumped into our crew, after that I was on track for a 2 hour lazy brunch at a nearby pub followed by a trip into the nearby shops. Being in the eye of a storm in a costal town, it was hard to resist the urge to head up the coastal path to see the full force of the sea. We found a remote spot off the beaten path to watch the water dash the rocks, hardly seeing anyone else the whole time. That is until we bumped into a member of cast out for a little walk so we got chatting with them for a spell - this last week in our new location has been remarkable in many ways and getting a chance to finally kick back and enjoy where we are had been incredible.

Penguins in Puffer Jackets

 While there was no rain, the cold was still biting today. It tore through our wide shots and was enough to make us huddle together like penguins in puffer jackets all to keep warm. On wrap though, we all piled into nearby pubs, gathering beer blankets to stay warm. It'll be wet and stormy all weekend they say and right now. Getting some sleep for some rest and relaxation sounds mighty good.

Lashing on my Windows

The sound of the lashing rain on my window at 5:30 when my alarm was due really put into perspective exactly how comfy I felt underneath the blanket. Meeting up with crew in that hour before work we all side-eyed each other, 'will the bad weather mean the day will get called off?' is what we're all thinking. Of course, the show must go on and we wisely moved a scene into some shelter to help us cope with the nasty ness. Eventually the weather improved and the day naturally ended, resulting in a crew exodus to the nearby pubs and pizzarias for pints and grub. I got a chance to hang out properly with our AD team after hours and shoot the breeze with them in-between mouthfuls of pizza. I said it a few times now: we got a good little crew on this job.

Callsheet Lottery

The call sheet lottery is a thing where you look at your filming location and judge how far it is away from your home. Often it's a 40 minute drive but recently I've been able to walk to work since it's been in central Bristol - a real win if you'd ask anyone. But today takes the cake. My bed is a 30 second walk away from set, in fact our cottage can be seen in many of the shots we did today. Never again will I be able to boast that and I'm not taking it for granted.

Nor am I abusing my past-life as production in this job to crash a Production dinner out at a very fine restaurant. Wine and fish was consumed as we laughed and I had good chats about the past, and also the future with some old chums.

Quiz Spooner

 More 2nd Unit shenanigans for me, luckily quite a fun one. Turns out, when you have your Block's director present it eliminates a lot of the usual guessing games we have to play. Plus it was just one scene that we had the whole day to shoot so we got a lot of solid coverage, and then just called it a day. I drove down to my next accomodation area, a little Cornish village that the whole crew have basically taken over. In the evening we were basically stumbling over each other as we headed into the only 3 pubs in town. I locked myself into a pub quiz and did shockingly bad at - a disgrace to my parents I am.

Pelted by Rain

At first there was rain. Then there was more rain. And then there was a bit more...

This was entire day, stood outside in the wet as the sideways rain pelted us from all angles. Everyone hit max saturation point at about lunchtime but we kept on smiling. Perhaps the best part was when I got into the minibus at the end of the day and realized I hadn't sat down for 9 hours. The weather is overall looking a bit nasty for the rest of the week, but my optimism tells me we've seen the worst of it. Stay tuned for when I learn I was wrong about that tomorrow.

Cat Vom

Been dreaming of having a nice long Sunday snooze all week, but those hopes were dashed when Rebecca and I were woken up by the sound of a gagging cat. She isn't sick very often so we didn't mind, but at 5am your patience can be stretched somewhat. The cat continued to feel a bit sorry for herself while we met up with Mum, Louis and Rachel for a walk around the Bristol harbor for coffee before showing Mum our favourite hand pulled noodle place which was a hit. I had to pack up the car shortly afterwards because I was due back in Cornwall to pack down my cottage and ready myself for another week of work... The weekends always tick by so quickly.

Totterdown Arts Trail 2024

Mum was visiting in Bristol for our annual trip along the Totterdown Arts Trail. We're talking ceramics, textiles, jewelry and of course, art. While the standard was overall much higher this year across the board, for the first time I didn't find myself buying anything. That's not to say I didn't enjoy seeing the sights and barging into people's front rooms to crib their interior design choices. Always a treat to go around with my family though.

Lord's Prayer

Back on set for one last Friday push. The video team were especially jovial, all hugging at the start of the day and uttering the Lord's prayer - in hindsight that was a good call for them because the afternoon quickly ran off the rails for us. We were all up and down, around and about, getting shots here, there and everywhere while literally all of us were trying to catch up. With a thoroughly cooked brain, I hopped in the car to return home to Bristol. I greeted Rebecca, surprising her with my 2 week beard (she didn't approve) and caught a glimpse of the cat before she dashed outside into the cold. It's good to be home.

Beach Comber

Things started off rather normally, we did a scene that was all indoors with plenty of dialogue - a far cry from our action heavy stuff recently. But then it all went funny once they split off the cameras and we had 3 shooting spots. It all culminated in a footprints in the sand style shot which we didn't have super long to shoot on a rinky-dinkn2nd unit. Plus, we didn't have Art Dept with us so the sand resets fell to me. I turned the charm in and asked a nearby surfboard instructor place if they had any brooms, I then took them and acted as standby props, resetting the beach when we needed it to. All that going above and beyond has seriously tuckered me out though.

iPads Akimbo

For the last couple of days I've been strapped down with a pair of iPads, one on each side of my person. One for for paperwork and one for monitoring, and nine times out of ten my 2nd device was used to substitute a screen for our 3rd camera for my boss. I've only just gotten the hang of shooting on two cameras, but this block has been all about getting triple coverage at any one time which has kept me on my toes.

But I still had enough mental bandwidth to support a games night at our little Cornwall cottage. A few members of my old Production team turned up and I was able to pay back all the good times they've provided with a few board games and laughs. A really successful night overall, though I went perhaps a little overboard with the snacks... More for me I guess!

Shooting Winter Cometh

We were set for clifftop shooting and it was only today that we remembered we were in November. The chills ran through us all as the morning dew seeped through my shoes. It's a sign of things to come as we move deeper into the Winter I suppose. The tiredness is still ever present in my body too, as soon as I'm home from work my whole soul feels exhausted as I start craving sleep. Maybe a few more early nights will help take the edge off.

Green Around the Gills

05:25 - Alarm goes off

06:30 - Eat breakfast (porridge that was by all accounts 'a but waterery'

07:30 - Arrive at set to work

08:35 - Still waiting at the dock because the tide wasn't right for boat filming 

09:20 - At last, set out to sea. (I'm on the slowest boat so it takes a while to rejoin with the others.

10:00 - Arrive on the boat with the other boats. There's no monitors for me and the audio transmitting signal isn't really working.

10:05 - Start feeling nauseous.

10:06 - Relive myself of my breakfast (Goodbye waterery' porridge...)

10:07 - Look up to see the crew on the other boats all staring at the one wretching crew member (that's me!)

10:08 - 'Let's get you back to shore pronto!'

10:55 - The slow boat gets me back... Pronto(?)

11:00 The director, 1st AD and Grip have a good natured jest about how green I turned.

11:01 Died of shame.

11:02 Felt like I'd been initiated into the crew even further, wore sickness with a bit of pride.

Seaside and Sleep

Dragged myself to the nearest supermarket to buy some kind of sustenance after being shunned by the breakfast concierge. It just feels like I spent the whole day hungry and tired, jetlagged after working 6 days then going out clubbing. So I napped, got takeout and stayed in for a good while. I did poke my head out to explore the cliff side our accomodation is based on, had a pleasant walk around the coast which took me back to my Malory Towers days. The sea keeps beckoning to me year after year.

 

Sea and Sweat

Despite sitting on a high-speed boat cruising through the 7:30am mist and spray I actually ended up getting more soggy with my own sweat after heading to the pub... then club with the crew. The Saturday work thankfully came and went - a lil' 2nd unit with me at the Script helm out in the middle of the sea. When I was finished with work though I was so very ready to enjoy what little weekend I had. Rumour was some crew were heading out and next thing I knew I put the wheels in motion for a classic film team night out. What endeared me more was how many of the crew were still offering to buy me drinks just for being an all round good egg. Now that I'm finally earning a little bit more I can start affording to repay those favours and that feels great.

The Last Jacket

At long last, I got to wear out my The Last Bus jacket that was given out as a crew wrap gift. And buddy let me tell ya, I have been sleeping on wearing it because it's damn toasty. Kept me warm all the while I was up on a clifftop and down on a beach today. I daresay I'll wear it out tomorrow as well as I hop onto a Saturday 2nd unit. While I wish I could just enjoy a full weekend, it'll be good experience to get another 2nd unit day under my belt.

Ocean Drilling

Much less boat action today, but that's not to say I didn't hit the high seas. Towards the end of the day I was invited to go on another venture out, but this time I wasn't riding on your Grandad's fishing trawler, I was on some SAS torpedo style thing. I was sat behind the director, drilling through the waves and getting sprayed by salt water whenever we slapped against the sea. The footage was awesome too so all in today was a good 'un. 

After work I drove down to our second accomodation place, a little cottage cluster where most of the crew are staying out at and easily one of the most plush crew rooms I've stayed in. Here's hoping for a fun few days.

Sea Legs

I earned my sea legs in more ways than one today. The reason I was spirited away to set is because we're filming on a boat over the next few days. It turns out, my boss is suspectable to sea sickness so I was asked to step in. I didn't know how I'd be on the ocean in a small tug boat but it turns out I was right as rain. Can't say the same for some of the rest of our crew sadly but there's no shame in being poorly. But being constantly moving up and down, side to side has totally tuckered me out. I'll sleep like a lot, then it'll be back to sea for me.

Fielding Your Questions

Part two of my training course involved giving something back. We headed over to a group of student filmmakers to give a little Ted Talk about our careers and how we got there. I fielded a bunch of questions about being a Script Supervisor which most people (understandably) had a lot of questions about. The enthusiastic ones really got a lot out of us, I got a glimpse at some of the work they're up to and it's leaps and bounds where I was at their age. Children are the future, but they also make you look back and ask 'where has all my passion gone?' Perhaps I should try to rekindle it...

Things I'm never super passionate about is when plans change dramatically. I was due to join the shooting crew in Cornwall on Thursday but a sudden shift meant that I got a phonecall at 14:30 asking if I could packy bags and get down there. So I had to abandon my plans to see the bonfire at Victoria Park and miss out on Rachel's mulled wine and Bake Off night which is a little sad. Hopefully all will be well at work tomorrow, but I'm a little on the back foot.

Affirmations (?)

While the main unit has a travel day up to our next location, I stayed back in Bristol with a couple of the other trainees to do a handful of training courses. Suffice to say, it was a very nice way to ease back into the working week, especially when a complimentary tea table was included. I'll be joining the crew properly on Thursday, and I still have some prep work to do to get my head back into the game, but for now I'll keep it in a low gear before the madness continues properly. 

My courses today were most affirmation lead, asking us to consider our backgrounds, why were got into the industry and what our friends and family think of our jobs. Some decent self-evaluation and psychology basically. As I've gotten older I have to kinda admit that a lot of my passion feels dried up. One exercise asked us to consider why we might find our role spiritually nourishing and, if I was being honest with myself, I couldn't think of an answer. 

That question was also designed to identify any red flags in your career direction...

Sunday Bubble

On my final day off Rebecca and I did a little date afternoon over at Chance Encounters to play some board games that we don't have lying on our shelves. As much as I love hanging out with her at home, it's even better being ourselves while out and about. I'm still mentally preparing myself for being away from home for basically a month. I'm planning what to pack, factoring in how cold it'll be and how much entertainment I should bring to share with others. But at about 16:30 today I sat in the Sunday bubble, that cosy but fragile space that breaches the chasm between weekend and work. I'm still in that bubble now, but the light is starting to piece through its surface. What does November have in store for me?

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

The dawn of my final 48 hours on hiatus made me refocus my time off to-do list, which mostly compromised of games and TV shows I wanted to finish up. We're now very almost done with Rivals (just the last episode to go) plus I clocked in a few additional hours on Alan Wake 2 which I'm admittedly forcing myself through to the end. Despite my obviously busy agenda, Rebecca's movie pick wasn't on my list, but the Lizzie McGuire movie was her choice and in our house, you honour people's nostalgia watches. I never was and never will be the target demographic for Lizzie McGuire but I was low-key charmed by how uncynical and uncomplicated the story was. Plus it was all set in Rome so we got to see all the landmarks that were covered in scaffolding during our visit.

Back 2 Work

The 'Back 2 Work's scaries started to manifest in the pit of my stomach. I generally feel a little on the back foot about the next few weeks because a bunch of information landed a little later than many would have liked. I may have to do a bit of homework to get back up to speed. But before I commit fully to real work I wanted to do a bit more on my next YouTube video. So I set up the old sofa cushion recording booth and got all the voicework in the can. I don't know when I'll be able to dive into a big edit session but it's good to be prepped.

Happy Halloween 2024

It's been about 7 years since I last got my hair cut by a barber so the experience of a stranger approaching my face with electric clippers was more than enough to get my heart racing this Halloween... Turns out chatting with our mortgage advisor was even scarier. 

All jokes aside, this Halloween was spent with good company. A friend of ours was hosting an exhibition of his artwork in a gallery uptown so Rebecca and I surprised him by dropping by. So lovely to see an old Coffee #1 colleague doing what he's passionate about. We had to hurry back to catch Louis and Rachel for a spooky movie: the 70's Invasion of the Body Snatchers which matched our horror comfort level perfectly. I got a lot of love for the original which arguably biased my view towards this one which was good in parts and slow in others.

Only other thing to mention this Halloween was my pumpkin. I've always wanted to do a Boo ghost from the Mario games but whenever I looked at stencils they required that extra peeling step that I wasn't accustomed to. Well, last year I taught myself that technique so I was armed and ready to do a Boo pumpkin. Turns out people figured out a pattern now that's carving only so my prep was all for naught. BUT the pumpkin itself I'm super proud of! 

 

Happy Halloween all!

End of Hiatus Looms

Got the house ready for our guests this evening, namely Chris Pearless and company who popped round for a couple of board games. I carved my pumpkin for the occasion (pictures and write up tomorrow on that one) and crammed all the old carpet off-cuts into the car, then it was time for pizzas and pints. I think everyone ended up having a grand old time, hard to go too wrong with Modern Art and Decrypto but I'm glad the night went off without a hitch. 

The end of my two week hiatus is starting to loom over me. I've been trying my best to spend my time well, especially since I'll be away from home for a long leg of time. Gotta dedicate a bit of time to Rebecca and myself, otherwise my work brain will start to take over.

I Saw Saw

Like with most of my 'free parking' days off, I like to spend a bit of time at my writing desk. This time I was putting the finishing touches on my next YouTube video which is all about cooking. I wrote it mostly back in March and every time I come back to it I get excited to work on it all over again - which is a very good sign. I'll do one more fresh pair of eyes look over it tomorrow then I might record the voice over. In an ideal world, I'd love to get it in a position where I can have the editing building blocks present so I can tinker with it whenever I have a bit of time free.

I also got around to watching the very first Saw movie which was honestly a good little watch. For 20 years it was built up in my mind as a gratuitous video nasty, an oral history from my less-squismish classmates would regail only the gruesome details of the film and their increasingly deranged sequels. In reality, the graphics bits are just 'woah-bro' moments that appeared nastier in my imagination than they were in the actual film. I was even charmed by it's low-budget, early 2000's look. Funny how quickly horror films go from quintessential to quaint.

Carpet Chaps

Opened the front door to a pair of carpet chaps who were here to turf out our brand new loving room flooring. I sat quietly minding my own business in the dining room where we piled up all of our furniture while they beavered away. To save a bit of money we opted to do all the haulage ourselves at the end. This meant that a veritable blockade of old carpet and underlay was piled up all around me - whenever I got up to make myself a cup of coffee (and cuppas for the tradesmen too of course) I had to clamber over detritus like an obstacle course. The work was ace though, Rebecca felt the difference underfoot immediately and I'm still getting to grips with how cushiony it feels. Best and worst part of the work is that new carpet smell. It's a treat until it isn't.

Euro Jingles

I left a couple of euro coins in my bedside table after the holiday thinking they were nice and safe there. Our cat decided they made sweet, sweet music when she pushed them onto the floor. Adorable at an hour that isn't 5am. So, despite us all gaining an hour after the clocks went back, I somehow feel like I lost a couple hours of sleep - a feeling I've wrestled with the entirety of my Sunday. That's not to say it ruined my day, we did the North Street Shuffle as Rebecca had a craving for arancini, guess she still wished she was in Rome.

We shimmy'd a bunch of our furniture out the living room in prep for the new carpet that's being put down. Ever since we started living together, Rebecca and I have lived in places that have had tired looking carpeting. It is going to be such a treat to have some gorgeous new flooring that's entirely our own.

Holiday Detox

It's only after doing a city break holiday that you realize how much you really did. Rebecca and I averaged about 20,000 steps each day and then are our bodyweight in carbs (in either pasta or pizza form). So today was spent detoxing from our holiday. We're talking sofa surfing and eating soup and porridge, gradually I felt like I was reacclimating myself to 'normal' life. 

But I couldn't be a couch potato for too long as I had a Halloween party to go to! It was a somewhat late invitation so I managed to cobble together a cowboy outfit, only for someone to upstage me once I got to the party! Nevermind though, I was busy being booked out doing tarot readings for party patreons (word that I do short and sweet card readings gets around quick). I certainly lost the fancy dress competition when a couple came in a stunning Kermit + Miss Piggy combo, all I could do was nurse a beer and stand on the periphery of conversations. I'm one of life's greatest listeners.

Ciao Roma

For the last time, we headed out to the cafe that provided us with complimentary breakfasts and took a stroll along the piazzas that had become all-too familiar to us. Before leaving our accomodation for good I wanted to pick up a practical souvenir - namely a Bieletti moka pot. I've had one for about 10 years now but I didn't know how to fully care for it so it's looking a little under the weather. With my shiny new one I'll think of my holiday every time I brew with it. It's been a fun time away but we were about ready to head home, we thought there wouldn't be a cap on how many pizzas, pastas, espressos, tiramisus and Aperol Spritz's we could manage, but we just about hit our limit. 

Our cat bounded up to us when we put the key in the lock. It's great to go away, if only to give perspective on how much we value home.

Queuing Around Roma

The last few days have been zippy, 'pronto' if you will. But today the brakes were slammed on because we spent a good chunk of daylight doing a typically English thing: Queuing. We queued for the Vatican City, we queued for The Mouth of Truth, we even queued for tiramisu! I must say though, each time was worth every minute stood in stasis because the sights and flavours we enjoyed were one in a million.

Roma Secondi

 Day two of our Roman Holiday saw us doing some of the more bucket list/touristy things. We took the metro up to the Trevi Fountain, sadly we couldn't bask in it's full majesty because it was closed for renovations. What we could appreciate in full was the Colosseum and the Forum, the cornerstones of the Roman Empire. The whole was around the seating area Rebecca and I wondered what tools we'd carry into battle if we were gladiators. Unsurprisingly the trident/net combo was unpopular. Our tour was cut ever so slightly short by a sudden deluge - a borderline tropical storm hit Rome so everyone piled into the nearest (and most by virtue of their proximity to the monuments, most expensive) restaurants. We sat down, dried off, took one look at the price of coffee and immediately bailed. We found a much more modestly priced place and waited out the rain there. 

Day two means a second tiramisu as well, this time I did some research and found the best, semi-mass produced one from a micro chain. It knocked Rebecca's socks off. Mine too by a lesser extent, but then again our judgement was somewhat impaired after visiting a trendy cocktail bar. Salute!

A Real Roman Holiday

December 31st, 2020. Rebecca and I are 'celebrating' a very lonely lockdown new year's eve. To give us an evening activity before midnight I suggested an old movie: Roman Holiday. Moreso than I had anticipated, Rebecca loved it and announced that she'd love to take me to Rome one day. Well that day finally came as we boarded a plane and flew in our to the most powerful city in the world at one point in human history. The early start today meant that we were effectively a little jet lagged so we used the day to mooch around, scoping out what we wanted to see during our stay. One thing was a given though - we'd be eating well. Tonight we found a very affordable pasta place that served flagons of wine. I daresay we drank more than we intended but for the cost we did outrageously well. We're bound for the historical sights of the city tomorrow, resting up now in our Air B&B before we set out to conquer Rome together!

The Lightest Bag

Squeezed in a quick old Japanese horror film in just before I had to deal with the reality of going to Rome tomorrow! Since Easy Jet have renewed their carry on sizes to be even smaller I've had to buy a wee bag, I'm cursing the additional cost but it has given me a new perspective on packing light. I have clothes, toiletries, a very small board game and my Kindle... It's honestly the lightest bag I've ever packed, which probably means I've forgotten something. 

Alarm goes off unbelievably early to catch our inexpensive flight. Going to be groggy until my first coffee but honestly I kinda love an early flight. Chilling in the lounge before the sun comes up, waiting for the dawn to shine on one country as you hop over to another.

Perfect Vermin

With Rebecca still out of the country I continued to full embrace the spooky season and almost exclusively engaged in horror media. Got through two cult horror films, Jacob's Ladder and Videodrome, the former being a legitimately engaging watch and the latter being a special effects fever dream. They've both been on my watchlist for donkey's years so it was great to finally 'man up' and dive into them. Perfect Vermin was the game I got around to playing, a free, micro indie title about smashing up an office space with a hammer. It ultimately turns into a loose metaphor for chemotherapy and how terminal illness erodes us from the inside - great stuff for a Sunday morning anyhow.

Rivals Viewing Party

My oldest mantra is how Saturday mornings are best spent playing games, and today Louis roped me into a great little morning session of Deadlock - just the two of us, kicking back and trying our very best not to lose every game we played (spoilers, we lost everything). I was having such a a good time it made me late for my real social engagement: our Rivals viewing party. I went over to the Production Manager's house to catch the first three episodes with some of his friends and a little buffet lunch. The show is legit good so far, I'm excited to rewatch it all again without the cheering and behind-the-scenes talk we did as we watched. I'm saving that viewing session for Rebecca so I can finally show off the fruits of my lanours.

Happy Rivals Day

Counted my lucky stars when my cat didn't wake me up while sleeping in after another graveyard shift. I also felt blessed to go into a short work day that was only a couple of hours long. Then we all wrapped B2, gave each other high fives and wished everyone a happy hiatus. Best yet, a lot of our crew worked on Rivals - which hit steaming services TODAY. 'Happy Rivals Day' was the greeting for all of us in our very exclusive club.

I'm walking home now and I'm slightly torn on how to best manage my sleep cycle. Should I stay up for a bit or hit the hat straight away? Maybe a video game or two... Rebecca is away right now anyhow so I can enjoy myself.

A Cold, Mystical Night

Our last deep night shoot day put us outdoors on a clear, chilly night. My feet turned into fridged cinder blocks by the end of our shift, not even the complimentary burger van could keep me warmed up. What did lift the spirits of some was some impromptu mysticism. A colleague heard I could do tarot readings so brought in a deck of cards for me to work with - I only got around to doing one member of crew but folks enjoyed the theater of it all. I'll likely get a few extra requests in the coming days but nothing will top doing it at midnight on the night of a full moon.

Warm Milk

Slap bang in the middle of our night shoot week now and thankfully, my body clock is just about in keeping with my working hours now. I did get weary at about 1am today, sitting in a warm, dark room... It was like sitting in a bath of warm milk. I got a second wind though which I'm still riding high on. No doubt the moment I feel pyjamas on my skin I'll remember it's actually 6am right now and I have a lot of sleep to catch up on.

Early, Early Morning Mess

I thought having some practice at night shoots earlier on this job meant I would be alright working til 4:30am. Turns out, everyone just turns into a big tired mess around then. Time to slap on a sleep mask so I'm ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Silent Hill Follows Me

 Though I spent most of the weekend playing Silent Hill, I thought I had escaped the fog once I shut the game down. Turns out, the fog followed me to work today... And it really screwed up a lot of our plans. My 2nd unit day was at the mercy of the mist all day, it was especially frustrating for us because we were hopping around lots of different scenes for shots of cars but very little of the material matched. It became clear at midday that the fog wasn't lifting so we tried to make the most of it. We shot the day, whether or not the horror-movie fog will stick around is in the hands of the Edit.

Moist Chill

Flicked on our dehumidifier for the first time this year to take the 'moist chill' out of the air. Without sounding like a boring adult, that thing has been a real godsend for our damp little house. It feels all the more humid when it's just me sitting on the sofa by myself. Thankfully, Rebecca returned home from London with enough time for us to spend some weekend time together. My old regret was not making a cottage pie tonight since the weather certainly invites warm meals - maybe next weekend... 

Going into our final week of block 2 as of tomorrow. Just five more days til we can all have a well-deserved but of time off. After that will be the comparative madness of our final block, but I'd rather not dwell on that for too long. Instead I'll enjoy the moment.

Cemetery Man

The cat went a little hungry this morning on account of me sleeping in after a late, late night yesterday. My head wasn't feeling too grateful either so I took it slow all day. I popped out for a bit to get some more carpet samples and supplies then sat and watched movies all day. Did a double bill of graveyard themed flicks: Cemetery Man, a 90's dark Euro comedy with zombies and The Body Snatcher, a classic Gothic film with Boris Karloff. Both very cool for different reasons and are slowly saying my appetite for all things spooky this season.

Tail Light

 Only as I write this, I realise I've been awake for 22 hours. But the good and bad of mankind reared it's head to me in that shortened cycle of the Earth around the Sun.

First up the bad. Some bozo smashed into our car, taking out a bulb and the glass housing for the car's brake light. In the midst of doing my job I was constantly bothered by the damage but ended up getting a chance to go out and resolve the issue at a nearby Halfords. I guess we'll foot the bill for the repairs...

On the flip side, tonight was also our crew drinks back in Bristol. A big tab was put behind the bar but only 11 people turned up so we just rinsed the money, over and over again. An old work friend from Production was there and invited us to an after party in town to a venue her boyfriend was DJ'ing at. Turns out, tonight was a big deal for the boyfriend because his mum was up all night to support him - well into 2am. 

So, while my tail light was punched out, my undying optimism shines through - humanity is indeed worth fighting for.

New Boss, New Me

Met my new-new boss today for the first day on the job and we already get on extremely well. I on boarded a new style of working pretty quickly and legitimately offered them plenty of help in the day-to-day which in itself felt rewarding. The only thing looming over us was the sudden cold turn the weather took, a stark reminder that Winter is indeed coming, and it will surely hinder us going into our final block. I'll be digging out my wooly hat and gloves sooner than I had expected...

Main Unit Script Supervisor

 Some early homework was on the cards for me first thing. There was a void on set for a Script Supervisor so I stepped up big time, put on my big boy pants and did the gig on the main unit all by myself. Glad I did a bunch of prep because that put my head firmly into the game to cover a big juicy dialogue scene with three cast. I'm blessed with a very experienced cast and crew so any notes I had to rush in and give we just nip tucks. The day naturally got a little scrambly towards the end but I did my best to keep up and, all told, I think I did A-Ok. My brain feels like it's brimming but I guess that the pain you endure for the big bucks(?)

As a pleasant aside, on my walk in I passed an lovely maple tree really showing it's Autumn colours. A short while later I got a photo reminder telling me that this time last year I was in Canada with Rebecca deep in the wilderness to appreciate nature's fullness. Gosh I wish I was there right now.

All Day Deluge

I packed my wet legs but inexplicably forgot to put my wellington boots in the car on the day that really pushed us all to our limits. The location is infamous within the South West filming scene for having very distinctive red mud - it's a little like clay I suppose but the rain made it into a soup. So we got rained in from above and the puddles soaked our feet, all the while we were gritting our teeth wondering however we'd get the day. Low and behold though, it was totally fine, and after a bit of time back at home watching Bake Off with Louis and Rachel I'd forgotten all about the all day deluge.

Short Film Organizer

Braced myself for another big early morning (tomorrow will be even harder though). I welcome my temporary new boss and got to spend some good time with them, learning their process and how they work. I also got to hear the crew reaction to the company wide short film competition that I'm apparently helping to run. We put a call out for crew to make 5 minute films and so far the reaction has been extreme apathy... Maybe this is my time to swoop in and win by default? 

Really not looking forward to the wake up tomorrow, to make matters worse, we are outside all day today in what could be a very wet day. I'll cross my fingers and my toes for dry, until then I'm keeping.y waterproof trousers close.

Crepe O'Clock

Sunday scrambled eggs are often our go-to breakfast, but Rebecca threw another word into the ring and I just ran with it: pancakes. We have maple syrup coming out of our taps at the moment so it felt right to rustle up some crepes and slather them in syrup. That set me up for a 'playdate' with a colleague of mine who was feeling like being a coach potato and playing video games with me. Enter Party House, the lil game that mostly Rebecca has been tucking into this weekend, I took it round to this friends house and we ended up playing for over an hour - all you do is click on a door in it! 

Rebecca prepped a roast tonight as gravy once again became the signifying flavor of the weenend's end. The Sunday Scaries started brewing around dinner time but I've just had to tell myself that everything will be fine - my new boss starts mostly tomorrow so I'll be on best behavior to make a great first impression.

War Room

My body wouldn't let me sleep in, it was too used to getting up early. So I converted the early rise into something practical by finishing up a game and making Rebecca a piping hot bowl of porridge. Those oats fueled a 'War Room' session where she and I sat down to get through a bunch of our boring adult things. Holiday Air B&B's, travel insurance and house mortgage stuff was discussed and sorted all while I was still in my pyjamas (a fact I only noticed once we were di e and dusted). 

Gotta get out the house for a bit though, so we strolled around the park and dived into some people's homes to admire their artwork. No, this wasn't the Totterdown Arts Trail, rather it was the Windmill Hill equivalent which gave us a great opportunity to crib on people's interior design choices. Plus there were a few community venues that I've never stepped foot in until today... Gets me excited for the main Arts Trail next month!

Continuity Juggler

It was the last day our boss was with us in set as she's moved onto greener pastures. That said, I ended up basically doing my Production thing for her for most of the day by organizing the repair of her car after she got a flat tyre. In the midst of doing my actual role I was also asked to drum up interest in a short film competition that the production company want to host - that somehow ended up being my responsibility but I'm also kinda stoked to see it come together. Mostly though I'm just happy for it to be a Friday. After 6 days of shooting, a good chuck of which being in London, I am more than ready for a little rest.

73 Days In

On the morning of our 73rd shooting day, we returned to the site of our 6th. Lot of history there, we remembered bad smells, dodgey action vehicles, a visible tent in the back of shot and overtime. Thankfully we're many months wiser now and the day went off without a hitch. If anything, the day was oddly simple for me because I was sent back to base to do some prep work for block 3 (the remaining stuff we were shooting was closed set material so I couldn't be present). I rubbed shoulders with my old Production team and stashed myself in a corner for some work so I can hit the ground running for our final few episodes. Weird thinking how many days we've done and how the light at the end of the tunnel is just poking out through the cracks.

Half N Half

But if a jolly odd day. Spent the morning shacked up in my hotel room, emerging briefly for a complimentary breakfast before hopping on the train back to Bristol, watching Bake Off in every free minute I got. From there I hocked myself and my luggage to work, where we immediately broke for lunch before cracking on with our day proper. So, half a day travel, half a day shooting, then back to my home for what feels like the first time in weeks. I felt a wave of happiness wash over me as I stepped through the front door. This is my portion of the world where I can be me.

Long Haul London

Our last day in London was also our most ambitious. A handful of actiony scenes that all play in some pretty public spaces so there was a lot of moving around and juggling. I think we're all done with London now, my thoughts return homeward as I yearn for time with Rebecca and the cat, the same creature comforts are in short demand in my sterile hotel room. I'll be on the train back to Bristol tomorrow though - I'll be catching up on Bake Off all the way home.

Crew Appreciation

Another day shooting up in London went by without any massive hitches. The talk of the town was our halfway through the job crew drinks which came complete with a viewing of a sizzle reel for the show (always good for crew morale). Afterwards I ended up hanging out with a lot of the crew from Rivals, cutting loose and shooting the breeze. A costume trainee spoke again about how pleased she was to see me stepping out of production, at the same time a location assistant chimed in and we all made an impromptu pact to have each other's backs. Well and truly I love all of our crew and catching drinks with them has been a highlight of the job. Helps that we're doing late nights tomorrow so there's plenty of time for everyone to sleep off the alcohol.

Interrailing Remeberance

Worked a Sunday which was fundamentally a bit meh but the biggest takeaway of the day was the crew drinks after. There I was, at a decidedly English 'German Beer Hall's in central London, they poured me my first Stein of the night and it reminded me greatly of the time I went interrailing in Munich and went to a real beer hall. Amidst the drinking, around the new friends and colleagues I did a deep dive on my messages to Rebecca to find a photo of me nursing a beer during our interrailing trip. That picture wasn't in WhatsApp, rather on Facebook Messenger (our original platform of communication) and I went on a real plunder of our old messages and photo exchanges. What I found was real love, real playfullness and real sincerity. Five years ago we went interrailing and another five we started dating. Our message log is the lore of our relationship and it's so very endearing to dive back into that.

No Sync Sunday

 Yesterday I waxed lyrical about how great it was to have a mid-week day off, but today I felt the repercussions. Because I'm working on a Sunday, I'm now out of sync with everyone else's weekend plans. Rebecca and Co were talking about having a cosy Sunday breakfast together while I'm doing the mental maths in how early to set my alarm to get the right amount of sleep. All things considered, I had a great little day going out to trendy coffee shops and tap rooms with the London gang with a friend who's come visiting from Berlin, but I had to leave the party a little early so I could check into my hotel and contemplate the four walls. Roll on the working Sunday I guess, and with it the start of my 6 day week.

Friday is the new Saturday

A mid-week day off hits different to a weekend day. Something about knowing the rest of the world is out working while I'm at home playing games in my pyjamas gave me a great wave of comfort. Of course I did some life admin bits too, mostly in the form of rearranging our dining room furniture with Rebecca, but for the most part I wanted to switch my brain right off. Once Rebecca was done with work we sat in the car up to London, pole position for a friend's birthday shindig tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be getting plenty of rest ready for our 6 day week.

Doughnuts & Cookies

 The fake Friday hype train was real and further compounded by the announcement that we were halfway through the shoot. Of course, this meant we were due some treats which arrived in the form or the ever-popular Krispy Kreme doughnuts... Of which I had two. Then some incredibly boutique cookies were produced a bit later on and they honestly looked too good to pass up. I only slightly regretted my decisions but it would have been a shame not to ring in the halfway mark. Off the back of that I went for a swift two pints with the Director's Assistant to talk shop, to debrief after a long week and to steel ourselves for the upcoming six day week. Tomorrow is a day off though and I intend to use everything minute to enjoy the stillness of later September.

Crew Bonds

 I'm counting down the hours now til our weekend off, it helps immensely that we get a 'fake Friday' tomorrow as we finish up our working week tomorrow. With the filming location being so cramped I once again found myself outside, but it turned into a great chance to spend some actual time with the crew and get some bonding in. 

Speaking of bonds, Mark is back from his big work excursion so we got a chance to rekindle our Baulders Gate 3 campaign. We're still setting of traps accidentally, getting into scraps with NPC's and making bad dice rolls... But we're doing it all in style. I've been missing those evenings a lot so it was swell to get another night in.

Bake Off Banter Returns

Settled back into Bristol filming for the duration of this week which is a lovely pallette cleanser after yesterday's jaunt across the country. I carved out a little workspace for myself in an outdoor tent because our location was a bit pokey. I suppose that'll be me for the rest of the week - I heard it's raining tomorrow so I guess I'll get cosy under shelter. 

I power walked back to dive into the start of this year's Bake Off. Louis and Rachel are still up in Ludlow so it was just Rebecca and me watching but I'm already looking forward to the bake off banter as the nights draw in.

Packing the Weather

Whenever we bring out the drone team it feels like the weather takes a nasty turn. Before arriving at location today I heard they had never experienced flooding so bad at the venue, and boy they weren't kidding. We were all legitimately anxious that the rain would stop us from achieving our day, but it held off just long enough to only need 30 minutes of overtime to get it all done. Then it was just the long road home in the now-torrential rain, that journey was arguably more taxing than the day of work. But I'm back in Bristol now with Rebecca and the cat, where I can admire our new floorboards. Work hard, then appreciate what you got.

Leaving Ludlow

The rain had been threatening our good times for far too long... At least according to Mum who spent a good chunk of the morning refreshing the weather radar on RainToday.com. We ended up ignoring all the forecasts and headed out to yet another local castle. While it wasn't a big military style one for monarchs, this one was more homely and designed for entertaining which was a unique spin. Plenty of guest rooms to inspect and even some nesting birds flying around in the rafters. Dad had a pork roast waiting for us back at base which was perhaps the best dinner I've had all year - I would have eaten more but I didn't want to appear... Piggy.

Rebecca and I had to cut our visit short though as reality beckoned from the hazy visage of Monday. I had to do a big old drive up to tomorrow's filming location so I dropped Rebecca off in Birmingham while I powered on through the rainy motorway. I'm quietly chilling in my hotel room now, enjoying the final bit of peace and quiet before the madness begins again.

Ludlow

First full day in Ludlow was spent in the very heart of town, specifically in the castle that was likely the nucleus of it's history. I gotta say, it was a pretty damn good castle. Plenty of intact spaces, unique areas and best of all: several spiral staircases to climb! Dad took plenty of photos that I have no doubt will end up on the family calendar next year - we really got a lot of mileage from our admission. In the evening we popped out to see Jamie's parents who had recently moved to Ludlow - I hadn't seen them since before Covid but they were exactly as I recall them. There were generous hosts, preparing a dinner for us and sharing a couple bottles of wine around the table. Most remarkable was their home: a clocktower next to a guildhall. Quite literally their attic had hatch into the clocks internals, it was like a museum space plus a man cave up their. Louis remarked how it was his dream workspace and frankly, I concur.

L Shaped Sofa

5:10 was when my alarm went off. It was only just breaking dawn once I got to work - I've forgotten what it's like to drive to set in the dark but at the very least I'm grateful that it's not cold. It was just more of the usual stuff this fine Friday, but all day I was dreaming about going to join my parents up in their Air B&B in Ludlow. We're all up there for the late Summer family holiday. I opened a beer, sat down on the corner piece of an L shaped sofa and thought 'This is the Life'

On Set, Off Piste

We went a little off piste on set. With only a day and a bit to squeeze in all of our scenes we went a little pick up crazy. We were getting tiny snippets to cover a variety of scenes - many of which were not on the call sheet or supplementary paperwork... Thankfully as an ex member of production I had the skills to create new documents to help us. But because the day kept changing so much I was really starting to sweat a bit trying to keep up. Think I did ok though, I found a bit of free time to go above and beyond by amalgamating it all into on big document, in order too! Whoever thought script supervising would be so paperwork heavy...

Natter in the Road

Been a little spoilt on this gig recently. All the filming locations have been in town and easily accessible for me on foot. For the next handful of days however I'll be driving an hour to and from work along winding country roads. What made the time go quick on my journeys was good company. I gave the directors assistant a lift in, the perfect space to debrief about our days and shoot the breeze. Better yet was on my way home I called up Jamie for a catch up. It's been a hot minute since we chatted but it felt like only yesterday. His PHD is going about as well as it can but he's looking forward to the end of it now, following that we just talked about video games and what's been taking out fancy. Always have loads of time for Jamie, a bonafide good egg.

Hoist That Table

We're looking to get our floorboards renovated sometime in the near future, but a text from our chap meant that future was much nearer than we'd expected. He put forward tomorrow and we blindly said 'sure' before the ramifications sunk in. And so, I spent this morning dismantling furniture and dragging everything out of our dining room. Once again our dining table proved to be the bane of my DIY life as I had to solo lift it out of the room with only a fraction of clearance through the door frame whilst hoisting it above a radiator. Work today was chill in comparison to that malarkey!

I didn't get a chance to see Louis today due to my working hours, but shout out to him because it's his Birthday today. Hope we can catch up sometime later on this week because we got a good old gift that he's gonna love. Plus I can finally give him a card I bought way back in February because it was spot on.

The Thought That Gets Me Through

I steeled myself as I hiked up towards Clifton for work. Getting back into the swing of a 10 hour work day is a big ask of most people and for some reason today it almost felt insurmountable. In reality, once I got onto set the day was rather standard and went by pretty swiftly. A lot of us a slowly dreading the next few days since they will be pretty torturous. Long commutes and quick turnarounds are on the horizon but I'm just trying to enjoy the here and now. Moreso than ever before I keep looking forward to sleeping next to Rebecca and being lucky enough to wake up next to her each morning. That's the thought that carries me through the rough patches these days.

Sunday Sabbath

Another Sunday come and gone. The end of a weekend and the start of a new cycle. What's in store for me this week? Well, a fair bit more filming that's for sure. But before that all kicks off I want to reflect on today. Sunday's have become a safe haven for Rebecca and me. We observe our own Sabbath, refraining from lifting a finger unless totally necessary. It's in this holy time I feel most at peace: reading or playing games with Rebecca in the sofa with the cat only a stroking-arm's length away. Just the thought of the above image is enough to relax my heart.

Cleaning for Cobras

I was pushing the hoover around first thing this morning, tidying up after someone's messy paw prints. They simply wouldn't do in our nice clean house before Rebecca's parents arrived for a visit. They were mostly down to spend some time with us and to head out to our favourite local Indian takeaway which did not disappoint. Right not my belly is full of lamb saag and Bombay Aloo so I very badly need to sleep it off. My eyes felt heavy after the 2nd pint of Cobra so I am beyond shattered now.

Pizza Practice

Feels like yonks since I had to get up for an early start. I blinked and now the mornings are dark, cold and just a little bleak. The chill never quite left my bones today since we were posted outside and I foolishly neglected to wear a jacket, I kept waiting for the sun to come round but it never came.

I thawed out once I was in the company of Mark and Lucy... Or maybe it was their 400 degree pizza oven that brought me back to life. Mark hand stretched pizza dough and applied toppings to custom pizzas, he loaded up the paddle and gave Rebecca and me a chance to cook our own pizzas. We won't be quitting our day jobs anytime soon but we did a commendable job of not entirely cremating everyone's dinner. More importantly, we had a ton of fun doing it, plus we got to eat some delicious pizza! While the crusts were still warm we chatted the night away eventually losing track of time - it tough to imagine a better Friday night than this though.
 

Feeling it Thursday

Belted myself in for one more studio day and what a doozy it turned out to be. Not much dialogue, but lots of actiony beats which was electric to see coming together. By the end of today though I felt the tiredness hit me, the thought of one more day feels like another mountain to climb. Just doing it one step at a time will make it more manageable but an earlier than usual start is making it an uninviting prospect.

Studio Stability

Just another day in the studio for me. Sitting in a dark room with the crew all tip-toeing around during takes. We have a good laugh on those days though, without the inherant stresses of location shooting we can settle into a nice, stable rythem. Of course, after too long we'll be clambering at the walls for an escape and that's coming a lot sooner than we think. With the temperature dropping, the second half of the job is looking to get a bit trickier. Thankfully we all rely on each other on this crew so we'll make it work.

Happy 31st Birthday to Me!

Didn't feel 31 when I woke up, but I did feel very loved throughout the day. I opened up my cards with Rebecca over coffee plus her presents. A customary bag of coffee beans was first up (always appreciated) plus a unique graphic novel project called Building Stories which I cannot wait to dive into properly. Graphic novels have long made up a part of my gifting pool so early September doesn't feel right until I've read at least one.

I was at work today too, back on set in the confines of the studio. Though I didn't publicize the fact it was my birthday, word still got around. My old Production team summoned me into the office at lunch and I was greeted with bunting and a cake which was very sweet of them. Once we wrapped for the day the whole crew sung me Happy Birthday, that's never happened to me in a job before so I didn't know where to put my hands. 

So yeah, I could hardly ask for a better work birthday. My co-workers, Rebecca and all the well wishers all made an ordinary Tuesday extra special - I'm extremely blessed to keep such good company.

Bye Bye 30

With a later start to my day I had the whole morning to wrestle with the idea of turning 31 tomorrow. Like breaking in a pair of shoes it took me a whole year to get comfortable saying I'm in my 30's - now I'm firmly locked into that decade. Do I feel my age though? No, in my mind I'm still 26, a fledgling of the TV industry and recent homeowner. Lot has changed in the blink of an eye. Yet I still believe I'm young at heart, I've not grown up, just grown older. My heart still flutters at the thought of opening up Birthday cards alongside breakfast and Rebecca has kindly rearranged her work hours so we can spend some time together before I'm up and out to work.

In the meantime, see ya 30. It's been real.

Brotherly Brunch

It was only a matter of time. We took our visiting friends up to our favourite local brunch spot: The Sundial Kitchen and about halfway through our food who should stroll in... Louis and Rachel with their visiting friend. It was actually a lot less awkward than I thought it would be but it's still pretty funny for a chance encounter.

Our visiting chums from London certainly felt the charms of Bristol. They're slowly getting burnt out by the hustle and grind of the big city and expressed how peaceful and easy-going our neighborhood felt. It's easy to take that for granted when you're living it day by day but their comments gave me some more perspective - we really do live in a cool spot and I'm very grateful for all the local businesses that make it so wonderful.

Bristol Besties

I said I'd help Rebecca tidy the house a bit first thing this morning, so imagine how guilty I felt when I slept in til quite late. So I ran to the shops and hoovered like a maniac before bringing our guests into our home. These chaps hadn't seen our house before, nor had they seen too much of Bristol so we took them to see the sights. We did the scenic routes of the town center while stopping at a couple of cafes along the way, they mentioned they really wanted to catch a movie so we ducked into the Watershed to see Sing Sing, a film I reckon will crop up plenty when the Oscars nominations start rolling out. We took them to King's Street for a swift pint then ended up back at home for tea and chats. These guys are Rebecca's childhood friends so she was somewhat anxious about making a good impression during their stay - I don't want to blow my own horn but I don't think we could have done a better job than today.

Fight Sequence

A big juicy fight sequence was our sole focus today. I've never filmed one before at this level so it was an education seeing how they piece it all together with the stunt team, and cast doubles. It's choreographed just like a dance and everyone hit their marks beautifully every time. Made life a little easier for us which was welcome because frankly, wrap couldn't come soon enough. I'm looking forward to the weekend now for some well deserved R&R - we have some guests coming down to stay with us this weekend but they'll be a delight.

Cats in the Loft

Drove my carpool pals back to Bristol for another day at the dream factory. The rain was awful driving back in and because today's location was so pokey I was worried I'd have to stand out in the rain all day, as it transpired though there was a huge room in the loft where we could set up shop. Better yet, the location has resident cats who popped in every now and then for a some love. While the day was short for us the crew are a tad weary after doing a second week of overnighting and funny hours. We're still smiling, just with bleary eyes.

Scrappy 2nd Unit Vibes

Put my game day hat on once again because it was 2nd Unit time. Honestly, I really dig these days because the crew size is so small and scrappy, we're just a small film crew going out to shoot some gorgeous interstitial material. Our director for the day was super chill too and very happy to listen to my notes about coverage. The only thing that stopped us shooting was the sun dipping down. I got let off a bit earlier today too which was great so I hung out in the hotel bar and later enjoyed the company of our crew mates over a few beers. We've got a good bunch on this one, I'm chuffed I got to spend some time with them outside of work.

Spaffing the Split

Working split days sounds like a blessing but it's a curse in reality. You get a nice long lie-in at the top of the day but you're on til super late later on. I ended up spaffing it early on by waking up too soon in the day and then living to regret that by 1am today. Still, the day itself was pretty easy breezy as we spent a good chunk of it waiting for the sun to go down. The yawning started soon after but I'm on my way to a nice, crisp hotel bed as I write this.

Didn't Even Need to Pack a Bag

Slung my iPad over my shoulder and barrelled headfirst into another manic Monday. I exaggerate, the day was totally chill and we actually ended up wrapping a little early which is a nice bonus. We're getting ready to do a few more away days so I've repacked my hotel bag - which was actually quite easy because it's still mostly ready to go from last week. It should calm down a bit for us all after Wednesday is done and dusted. We're back to 1am finishes as well so I'm getting my sleep in now before I start crashing hard while supervising a shot.

Sleeping Beauty Over Here

Rebecca somehow slept for a whole eleven hours last night. All the while I was up and about cracking on with my Sunday and chipping away at my humongously long RPG which I've been working through for the last 3 weeks. Once sleeping beauty awoke from her slumber it was time for sla deep clean of our spare room - we have some rumoured guests with potential cat allergies so we went to town on the place. There was time leftover to play some games with Louis and his buds online, always fun to play with a different crowd, even if their in jokes are tricky to navigate. 

The only other big job this weekend was renewing my passport which expired a few months back. You can take your own photo now instead of going to a lil' booth in a WH Smith's. After reading and re-reading the guidelines Rebecca channeled her inner DOP and managed to get the winning shot of me looking sternly serious. I'm almost a hundred pounds lighter for the pleasure but hey, I saved a few bob taking my own photo at least. I put my crimson passport into an envelope and waved goodbye to that era of British travel for good. If only we could go back...

Don't Worry Bro, It's Saturday

When the weekend rolls around my cicadian rythem from the week rolls over. I feel myself inclined to open my eyes at around 6am - my brain then wakes me up properly rather than relaxing into the usual 'don't worry bro, it's Saturday' mode that most are blessed with. As such, I slept less hours than usual last night and spent the remainder of the day paying for that mistake. It's fortunate then that today was a 'Free Parking' space for Rebecca and me since we had zero plans... Minus a quick trip up to a framing shop which all felt very adult. I'm still running in low power mode but hopefully I'll catch some real shut-eye tonight so I can be hit Monday with all my . might.

Drone Take 2

I was back out with the drone team once again for a much bigger 2nd unit day. We hiked up a hill, threw the drone up into the air and got some absolutely stunning material that will be the building blocks for a great little montage. The team was lovely too, just a small crowd working a camera and hanging out amidst some beautiful countryside. To keep the good time rolling, once we rejoined with main unit we got the drone team to take out crew photo which was fun and then we wrapped half an hour early!

I rushed back from Wales to dive back into a big old board game night up the road. Wow it was busy! Plenty of people to chat with and hang out with, just a great vibe overall. We even had to say goodbye to one of our regulars who is now moving out to Spain so it was a bittersweet last night. We all wished him a safe trip and to hit us up if he was ever back in the UK. More than anything it was very sweet to feel part of something where we care about our members and our team. It's hard to find that outside of work right now and it's remarkable to think a bunch of strangers, united by a love of board games have now formed a tight-knit unit. So all in all, today was as good a Friday as anyone could have hoped for.

Tenure Cut Short

As a keen bean I manufactured a bit of an early start for myself. I was ready to do a bunch of prep and networking meet 'n greets ahead of doing my 2nd unit stuff today. In reality, my tenure was cut in half by the custody battle over our drone team who main unit had first dibs on. At least I got to do some cool stuff with a driving up and pass followed by a few other bits. Same again tomorrow, but hopefully it all goes to plan this time.

Collective Yearning for Bed

I'm driving the Director's Assistant into work at the moment and we had a long chat early this morning about how we already can't wait to be back in bed. That sums up how we were already feeling, the 2nd day back into a short work week. The location took us out to a familiar and remote spot which was a bit of a schlep to get to, but the day went well and we shot everything we needed to in good time. The second part of the day was heading over to our accomodation ready for tomorrow. Always nice to hang out with some crew and grab a quick drink with them. Already missing home a fair bit though and spending time with Rebecca and the Cat.

Cobbling a Plan

Worked alongside a new Script Supervisor while my regular boss is away on holiday. Was great to be with someone with a slightly different means of doing the gig and we got on pretty well to boot. The day itself was little hectic on account of a planned camera technique suddenly becoming unavailable to us so we were forced to cobble together a plan. We did well under the circumstances but it was a lot for me to juggle - hopefully I kept up and rolled with the punches.

We're getting into the rhythm of some earlier starts now on account of how far we have to travel to get to work each morning. The tiredness hit me like a ton of bricks when I got home. I just have to remember to pace myself this week and ensure I don't burn out too hard.