Friendly Doughnut

 Had a bit of time this morning before work so I caught up on some sleep and got in a very cheeky hour of games. A colleague drove me in today but we agreed to get coffee and doughnuts before hand, funnily enough at the same place we went to visit for our first wave of tech recces back in May, and the chap at the counter remembered us! No discounts offered, but it was nice to see that flicker of familiarity in his eyes. The day itself was totally fine, we were shooting til quite late so we went a bit crazy towards the end, mostly because we were all so ready for the weekend. I've still got to pack a bag for tomorrow since I'm catching the coach up there, mostly got to figure out what books I wanna bring for the trip.

Sayonara Production Meeting

And there goes the final production meeting of the show. There was enough leftover food to have made all the work for this week worthwhile. The drop in temperature and frost on the grass got everyone feeling warm and fuzzy, I got asked about Christmas plans loads today as my own thoughts turned to the season. I found myself mulling on what it means to feel Christmassy and recalled my own Quest for Christmas many years back. My own interpretation of how to achieve that feels more true with each passing year - what you put into it will give unto you. Maybe I need to make a greater effort this time around.

One More Pret

We did our last ever tech recce today which is a hell of a milestone. A big element on these ones is doing the coffee run for 30-40 people, we opted to try a new cafe this time close to our location, we had only a small window to get all the drinks made and handed over today so we really needed this cafe to be all singing, all dancing. Imagine my initial shock when I noticed the place was dressed like Christmas corner at a garden center. Looks can be deceiving though and everything went off without a hitch. Bonus points to me because I got to visit my beloved Pret once again for a big old lunch buffet platter... By that I mean I raided their shelves leaving incredibly little for the actual patrons. At least my team were all happy. So surreal being on the other side of the recces now, only thing left to do now is crack in and shoot the last few episodes.

Early Christmas Coffee

Did the penultimate coffee run at Costa today. I didn't have a loyalty card to take advantage of while buying 40 hot drinks so I offered it out to the queue behind me (felt like I owed the public something for watching me slowly order all my coffees). A chap walked up, swiped his card and sheepishly said 'Merry Christmas'. Tis approaching the season to be jolly I suppose, I'm just trying to share the love. Back at the office I continued treading water in my own little way, inching the needle further to the job's end. The reality is starting to hit all of us that this one is beginning to sunset, which summons bittersweet feelings. Still got a ways to go but it'll be over before we know it.

Modest Monday

Started my day at our favourite greasy spoon to collect breakfast baguettes for the first day of our final wave of tech recces. We got everyone packed up onto a bus, we waved them goodbye and marvelled at how much extra work we got done when the grown ups are out of the office. I'm mostly back into script reading territory now as I enjoy a spell of calm before the shoot planning starts up again. 

In the evening though we went out to meet Jamie and his partner. Jamie's in town for a job interview tomorrow morning so we didn't go out for a mad one, instead it was a modest Monday pizza with a single table beer as we talked until they put the chairs up around us. Always nice to see and hang out with them both and catch up - his PhD is coming to an end now is the biggest headline, and he's looking relieved. 

Mastic Magicians

Mum was still in town so it was the ideal opportunity to rope her into help us re-apply the mastic around our bathtub. It was much more taxing than we expected but we had a bit of a laugh while getting it done. Fish and chips was the lunchtime reward for us all, followed by sweet treats from the nearby bakery. Rebecca and I had the rest of the day to ourselves where we decompressed fully from the week before and watched the new Frankenstein film which was just ok.

Arts Trail 2025

Rebecca gently roused me from my deep, half drunken slumbers, just giving me enough time to freshen up before heading out to see Mum. She visiting because it is once again the weekend of the Arts Trail, we hit up all the usual stall, venues and artists. We're the proud owner of a new coffee themed print and Rebecca got a very fishy mug which we're still figuring out where to store in our crockery cupboard. I rustled up a Shepherd's pie for the family while Rebecca did a pumpkin pie which was a runaway success. The whole day I was fighting the urge to fall asleep after last night's bender, cannot WAIT to have a long old snooze.

YMCA

Another Fiver Friday down, this one being impeded by the rain of the day. In spite it all we got everyone in the crew involved and eager for the lottery draw. This came at a somewhat detriment to my workflow as I found myself wishing I hadn't agreed to take up the mantle on this occasion, but I just about managed to cram it all in. There was a healthy appetite to go out in the evening after such a jam packed week. I told myself I wouldn't be out too late, then there I was doing the YMCA at 3am.

Staccato Brain

Once again I kept finding myself being yanked in different directions today instead of truly settling. Even doing my usual jobs feels staccato, like my brain can't keep still. Which is odd because I don't feel stressed, nor overloaded. Maybe I'm just getting tired. 

Went out for a movie night with the team though. We started something with Weapons and now we hit up Wes Craven's Red Eye, mostly because it was short and sweet. It was a successful little romp, just what we needed after going into an hour's overtime. 

Brewing Disquiet

Slightly odd day all round, around the lunchtime point I felt an uneasy tension that never quite subsided. Call it dread, anxiety or disquiet, but there was more of that in me than I was expecting on a Wednesday afternoon. I pushed it down and out though, trying to loose myself in my work and that only put me on a course correct for a spell. We were all back at the studio today so I was often up and away from my desk so I never settled into a rhythm. There's always tomorrow though and my list is already looking a little funny.

On the Podium!

In spite of getting sent on a wild goose chase first thing this morning, I left the day in the highest of spirits. After a big old day some of my team wanted to unwind a bit so I was invited to a pub quiz nearby. I felt like it was Rebecca's cuppa tea too so I brought her along, good thing I did too because her handwriting and her knowledge was instrumental in our team coming second overall! Better still, I won £25 in the raffle prize! Worth a slightly later night for the good vibes and social hangout with chums and Rebecca.

Immortalized in the Small Print

Another day, another dollar. Mostly spent the day thinking about wrapping this project up soon (a weird thought for sure). Mostly in the form of planning ahead though, I'm almost the sole worker on the job's Albert Sustainability report so I've been trying to plug away and get some data inputted on that early doors. Big shoot day tomorrow too but all the prep work has kinda been sorted for that so we just did a bunch of final checks and called it a day. 

Back home it was finally time for me to show Rebecca Down Cemetery Road, the project gave 11 months of my life to. Between scenes I gave little trivia tidbits about locations and how tricky some shoot days were. I know the story like the back of my hand but it's fun to see Rebecca get caught up in some of the twists and turns. Best of all though, my name is in the credits. Always nice to be reunited in spirit with my colleagues of jobs past. The whole project is a monument to our achievements and we've been immortalized in the small print at least.

Dan's Pad

Left London and got home in time to hangout at Dan's new pad. I saw it first a few weeks back but now he's got some furniture in there you can see it coming together. In fact, we even helped him build another dining chair so we all had somewhere to sit for board games tonight. He's been a bit under the weather since arriving in Bristol but now he's back in fighting form and ready to take on the world.

Brooklands

Awoke with the now signature Saturday oversleeping headache, further compounded by not have a small cat waking us up. So I slept well and deeply but ended up feeling effectively hungover for most of the day, even reading my book was agony on the eyes so I resorted to curling up on the sofa while squeezing my eyelids shut. Some painkillers just about brought.w back from the brink, ready for out day trip out to Brooklands Museum. We saw many old cars, buses and planes and while I'd argue I'm not strictly the target audience, the scope of the place and exhibits were impressive. Rebecca's Dad now volunteers there so got us free entry and guided us to the best bits which was definitely the best way to experience it all.

Just Disappointed

I've always believed I managed to convey myself better through writing than through my spoken words. Today I had to write not one, but two shirty emails to a vendor providing bulk goods that we're inexplicably both worse than expected and lesser than what we ordered. Basically I was entirely within my rights to complain, a few of my colleagues overheard me sounding dissatisfied over the phone to the supplier and laughed because of how politely I managed to put my point across, then adding how they very rarely see that side of me. I don't get angry anymore, just disappointed.

So after being a keyboard warrior for the day I joined Rebecca up to London for our leg away this weekend. Going to be so nice to have a snooze in without a certain fuzzball waking us up. 

Oat Milk Tester

Got out of the office for a bit and into the... office's car park? There was a lot of gubbins that needed shifting around the place and it turns out me and one other colleague were the only two ready and willing to lift and shift some junk into a skip. It wasn't all dirty, physical labour though, we did a market research task tasting oat milk in coffees, in which I went back for multiple sips of coffee across three mugs and before I know it, they were all empty and my brain was a-whirring. I had to hop onto a one-on-one video call after I just pray the other guy didn't notice how much I was fidgeting. The caffeine wore off though and I was left to finish up my day and walk away from my desk. One more day of shenanigans.

Bonfire Night 2025

Hurtled into the office with some hidden spring of motivation. Today was the day I'd copy and paste 160 lines of Uber journeys and get that job done and dusted. Best intentions, but my focus failed me as soon as people started walking into the office and other smaller jobs started vying for me attention. Mostly I found myself day dreaming about Bonfire Night, I missed it last year as I was sent packing down to Cornwall so I took a chance to really lean in and enjoy tonight. In particular because we got Dan down to join us. I produced a couple of beers and we all huddled with the masses as we watched a fire get bigger and bigger, then smaller. On e the magic wire off we returned home for games and a hangout. Nice to bring Dan into the Bristol fold just a little bit more.

Eye of the Production

Headed to set much earlier than the others to help send out our little splinter unit. In reality all I did was wave them goodbye from the comfort of the Production Truck, but it's always a good idea to have someone round who can write a hasty email in case things go south. But there were no dramas behind camera so I got a chance to catch up on all my bits and pieces. At this exact point I feel like I'm in the eye of the hurricane, things will launch into busyness very soon, but right now I can afford to catch my breath. I just wish have fewer tasks to do didn't make me feel so sleepy though. Barely had a cup of coffee before I'm thinking about my next one.

Just Me Monday

Back on the Monday horse, this time without the intense amount of pressure that comes with being the unit's Script Supervisor, instead I was just me. The day somehow felt busy but still dragged on and I found myself putting off tasks rather than jumping at them. Some new kind of lethargy that I hate began to manifest. I'm chalking it up to a funny day, I'll try again tomorrow to muster the enthusiasm that hasn't been lost, just misplaced.

The Others

Caught up on a lot of lounging today that I missed out on last Sunday. I finished yet another game, ploughed through a good chunk of another, started reading a new book and watched a horror film that's been long overdue for me: The Others. It's a pretty 'no notes' kinda movie, everything about it just works, especially the mystery and the pace it unfurls. I remember Dad enthusing about it after the first time he saw it back in the very early 2000's. I was very young at the time so he told me the ending under the assumption I probably wouldn't see it for a good few years... Well here I am now, fully understanding his warm reception because I want to shout about this one from the rooftops (while keeping the ending a secret though.)

Loud Pop Ping Pong

While Rebecca was out doing a yoga class I played a new game about playing as a seal trying to sneak into a nightclub. I met a railroad tunnel cult, went to Heaven and played Rock, Paper, Scissors with a mind reader. When Rebecca got home some eyebrows were raised at what I was doing but she ended up helping me Google what to do with Orpheus' saxophone. 

Outside of bonkers video games, we had a house warming party to attend with one of Rebecca's book club friends who has recently moved over to our side of the Bristol River. They're all big Traitors watchers so I got a lot of mileage out of revealing that I'm playing it at work. By the end of the night someone revealed their party trick of being able to make a loud popping noise with their tounge (a bit like a MUCH louder version of how people make a tick-tock clock noise). As chance would have it we both had the same trick. Two kindred misfits finally got a chance to shine so we played an invisible game of ping pong while making our signature pop noises. Glad to know my weirdness still comes in handy in social gatherings.