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.