Wes Exhibit

Dan and I drove up to London to meet up with Rebecca, Mark and Lucy for a little day of activities. Spearheading it all was a trip to the Design Museum, which was hosting an exhibit on Wes Anderson's films and I was blown away by how expansive it was. Script pages, photographs, original props and costumes, it was such a treasure trove. I was surprised by how emotional bits made me feel, knowing that only a piece of glass was separating me from some elements of my favourite films. After that we grabbed a cheeky Nandos and did a bit of pub hopping, ending up in a hotel bar drinking some left of field cocktails. The day was full of food stuff but best was just hanging out altogether again, enjoying eachothers company and shooting the breeze.

Board Game Dan

 A quiet office day was all I needed to get more or less back on track. I didn't actually have a moment to stop still but at least the pressure and threat of new working coming in. I finished work in good time and was able to head up the road for biard games - this time with a special guest: Dan! I knew it would be his scene and the games we played tonight really were pitch perfect for him. Hope he had a good time, now that he's here in Bristol it's been fun finding excuses to hang out a bit more again.

Martini Shot

Lordy, I felt like the behind the scenes Mastermind today as I wrangled this 2nd Unit into shape. My biggest one ever at 250 people was big one to look after, especially with multiple catering points and people to keep happy. I clocked over 20,000 steps marching around set, making friends and solving problems. I found myself shilling out lunch boxes to a tsunami of supporting artists at one point, running up and down a queue throwing boxes into their hands in a desperate attempt to bust the queue. Had a little over an hour to catch up on emails, then I had to return to set in a ceremonial capacity.

A famous piece of film jargon is the 'Martini Shot'. This refers to the final set up of the day, a nod to the fact the crew can all hit the bar after this last beat. We decided to take this phrase literally today. We surprised a cast member one their final day with us by presenting to them a Martini cocktail, in a chilled glass, garnished with an olive. I know this because 24 hours ago I had never made a Martini, but I had to learn fast because I was the chosen one to make the famous drink. 

4 Parts Vodka

1 Part Vermouth 

 Stir through with ice and pour.

For a chap who has never made one before, the kudos I received on set was hilarious when I presented them. The cast loved the gesture and the crew all pointed to me when they asked where this came from. Just another funny story that wouldn't happen in any other industry. 

That Feel

 Another day out on the road with the 2nd Unit. The guys were all out doing car bits which is notoriously slow and monotonous so I kept my head down and cracked on with my duties. I spent the whole day watching the time to see if I could get away early to make the screening of my short film at a small Bristol cinema. First I heard we were going to wrap early, then late, but then bang on time - giving me just enough wiggle room to get to the church on time. In the midst of all this Rebecca agreed to go in my stead to possibly introduce the film - what did I ever do to deserve someone as giving as Rebecca?

Luckily I made it in time so she needn't embarrass herself. It's been a hell of a long time since I had something of mine put in front of an audience. Not since the days of Cineclub I dare say, but I never forgot that feeling. Sitting with a group of strangers and hoping they laugh and react to your work as much as you'd hope. When No Show came on, people responded loudly with awws and yays in all the right places. 

It's the one thing I won't lose, that feeling. 

Too Much or Not Enough?

Braced for a wet and wild day, instead it was the definition of mild. Things were normal, and fairly easy going, yet I still find myself in a position where if I slow down I feel like I'm going to slip behind. Am I doing too much or not enough? Who knows? I just gotta keep on trucking and remember the job is slowly coming to an end now. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts, but that's so tricky to do when there's so much to crack on with.

Cold Scare

Much like the killer in a good slasher movie, my cold came back for one last scare. I was weary for the drive in and sniffly for the one meeting I was privvy to. I muscled through it for the 2nd Unit though, keeping up enough appearances to hopefully convince everyone else that I knew what I was up to... Well in fairness that describes my whole life.

Witch Doctor Sofa

The healing properties of our sofa should be studied. Whenever the world overwhelms me or when my cold gets the better of me a short lounge does me a world of good. That, and Rebecca's roast dinner's, I felt like a whole new man after some roast chicken. I think this is the backside of my cold now, at least I hope so because I have a very early start tomorrow morning to chaperone a 2nd Unit towards success. The Sunday went too quick, let's hope the week follows suit.

(Almost) Burns Night 2026

Even with a head full of cold I still pushed myself out for a Park Run today. I kept a brace face in front of my colleagues who I did the event with, but as soon as I got home I crashed out hard. All the while Rebecca shook her head while saying 'I told you so'. Luckily I rallied in time to make pudding for Burns Night (technically it's tomorrow but tonight worked better for all of us this year). We popped to Louis and Rachel's for haggis, red wine and whiskey, now much cup and stomach is full putting me on the road to recovery.

Seeing Double (Denim)

In honour of making a few smiles happen, I donned some double denim and a tasteful tie, as did a few of my co-workers, all so we could share the aura of our Costume Supervisor. He was thrilled when he saw us all, or rather, when he saw a tiny army of himself. We all had a good laugh and so did the rest of the crew when we put the photo of all of us together on the steps of the costume truck (big 2000's punk band energy). After that it was back to business as usual, this time with a little more heavy lifting in places to get us ready for next week. It 2nd Unit city over the next few days so I need to be at peak strength.

Also I'm getting a cold. 

Brain in Two Places

My head felt a little split asy attention was constantly being vyed for. More colleague car woes and then some fun animal stuff, my plate was seldom empty. But I managed to find a quiet space this evening while hanging out with Daniel at his flat. It was just a quick after work hangout but it was really chill just playing games and chatting. Can't wait for the weekend now so I can really feel the benefit from a shift down in momentum.

Trays Be Gone!

Attended one of my last dentist rounds for my braces. Gist was that treatment was basically complete, they did a quick teeth scan so they could start 3D printing the long-term retainer and asked if I was good to call the treatment finished. I'm pretty chuffed with it all so far and I can't wait to finally be able to drink coffee and eat without having to schedule it all in first. Almost a year wearing these things now so it's become part of my routine, but I'll be glad to see them gone. 

A 'Birthday' to Remember

Had a very long day on account of a late Callsheet going out, but I didn't want my naff experience to be the star of today's anecdote.

There's a recurring on set joke every block that it's our Script Supervisor's birthday (even though it isn't). This bit started off as a very harmless prank as the crew all sung her the birthday song during protests of 'It's not today guys!!' It turned into one of those gags that only got funnier the more we did it. Today was to be the forth, and final fake birthday celebration, so we wanted to send the home out with a bang. Firstly, a cake, which I helped to organize and collect. Then, we arranged it on a day where a live band plays music for our dancing cast members, well we got them to sing happy birthday during the presentation. It turned into such an elaborate hoax that our Scripty simply had to go along with it, even as the rest of us were leaning crazy hard into the bit, laughing all the way.

It's been a grueling week for a lot of us, but it was nice to have played a part in bringing a lot of joy to a lot of people. It will certainly be a 'birthday' to remember.

Blue Monday 2026

Endured a day that was certifiably odd. Just a lot of off kilter things occured, ensuring I never quite found my footing. Mostly it was car troubles for everyone that I had to sort out, but then there were eerily quiet spells where there should have been work but there wasn't any. I caught up on our sustainability reporting in the time at least, another reminder that things are beginning to wind down. It's been almost a year since I joined this one now, what an odd thought that is.

Happy Blue Monday Everyone 

Hamnet

Felt those two limoncellos first thing this morning... 

A cup of coffee and a pair of painkillers sorted me out though, enough to stomach the drive back to Bristol. I say this as if I was driving but I was just the passenger princess who learnt how to recline the car seat for improved comfort. We drove into the stormclouds and braved the rain on foot to head to the cinema once again, this time for Hamnet. The film was a tad maudlin and I found myself hardening as it tried to pierce my heart. The ending just about turned everything around though. The screening was alive with soggy sniffs and one pair of cinemagoers had to hug it out as the credits rolled. I felt a little guilty I couldn't share that reaction, but I'm glad people are getting genuine responses from the story.

Two Limoncellos

The Saturday headache didn't manifest because I was one step ahead with a bulletproof plan: wake up early.

Truth be told I was stirring early so I got up to play games before jumping in a car to London with Rebecca. Today once again marks the final Christmas social engagement with Rebecca's family friends. They're known for being drinkers and this time round they had something to celebrate because their son and his wife announced they were expecting a baby. I'm two beers, a champagne, half a bottle of wine and two limonchellos deep right now so I reckon I'll drop right off to sleep.

Least Wild Friday

Friday night and all I want to do is go to bed super early. Is this aging in motion, or is this just because I'm burning the candle a little brightly? Either way I have the weekend to get back to myself again, but all I've wanted to do this week is sleep long and sleep deep. 

Thinking about Nothing

Missed the icy patch and got into work early to finish catching up on my various bits. Now my head is above the water I have space to breathe and look into some other bits to occupy my time. Sustainability reports for one which I'm slowly chipping away at again. Mostly though I noticed getting tired again around the midday point, almost as if my body is screaming at me 'you need a proper break soon'. Let just get past Friday, then I can start thinking about nothing.

Icy Patch

Is all this making you late for work?

Bad traffic in the mornings? Sat nav re-routing you onto unfamiliar roads? You then miss junctions because you don't know the roads? 

Brother, we've all been there. Where I've never been before is on an icy patch of a country road, and then shortly after in a ditch next to the icy patch of road I just skidded off. 

Yes, I took a slip and slide nose dive first thing this morning. After hitting and icy patch on a bend I lost control and glided into a ditch. I was quickly humbled by the response of the general public, the first chap pulled over to sure I was fine, then a few commuting crew members also stopped to check in - I was actually quite touched by how many members of the team came to check up on me. I called a member of the locations team with a pick up and he towed me out of the rough patch. 

The car suffer a bit of wingmirror damage but otherwise was all good. Because there was no impact to speak of I was totally fine too. I had adrenaline in my veins but after that wore off I mostly felt tired for the remainder of the day. I certainly won't underestimate icy patches now, I was actually quite lucky in all this in hindsight.

 

Coffee Company

Mum joined me during my pre-work ritual cup of coffee, we were both quite groggy but it was nice to have a bit of company before driving out to set. I was Script Supervising again today and I think it all went pretty well, no big fires to put out or moments of dread, just a day out the office to enjoy with the crew. The drive back today though was the real killer: 2 hours basically! My energy levels are rock bottom in the evenings since the holidays, maybe I'm out of sync with the pattern of work life, but a sure-fire cure is an early night.

Dropping Balls, Picking them Up

 Tomorrow I'll be back on the floor doing my Script Supervisor thing and thought I could carve out some time to do some prep work for it. But I was bumper to bumper busy, so much so that I noticed myself dropping the ball from time to time. I hope this isn't an omen of things to come, rather an opportunity to notice I'm messing up so I can nip it in the bud. I have a horrid feeling this is what the last leg of the job is going to feel like. Work does take me away from Bristol sometimes and a small perk of today was being able to head back to see my parents and spend a night in Newbury. Unfortunately I spent most of the night doing the aforementioned prep work over having quality time, that's show business though.

Marty Supreme

Utalised 200% of my brain before breakfast as I finished up Blue Prince. Even as the credits rolled I knew I likely still had dozens of little puzzles to solve and sure enough, as soon as I started it up again an in game book with cryptic wording reassembling Kit William's Mascarade crops up, hinting towards puzzles within puzzles that I overlooked. I'll retire my notebook for now though, maybe later I'll get the urge to return and solve a few more riddles.

Today was all about the cinema trip to Marty Supreme though and boy was it worth it. Really fun and entertaining film with an intensity that's impossible to look away from. The screening was packed out when we saw it and frankly, that was the best way to enjoy this one to the max. 

Let's Go, Park Run

I usually catch up on sleep on Saturdays, but today I had a mission: Park Run.

I slow cooked some porridge to fuel up for going out in the sub-freezing temps. Rebecca kindly drove me out to meet up with a few co-workers, we the joined a gaggle of about a hundred people and set out sports watches as the run began. Considering I haven't been out for a couple of months, and I haven't done a 5K in a fair old while, I surprised myself by finishing up in good time without feeling haggard afterwards. In fact, my whole group felt the same way: invigorated by the push out of our comfort zone to be better people. We took a plunge in the cold to meetup and we were all so glad we did.

Since getting into film watching I realize a big part of the hobby is chasing that feeling of finally stumbling onto something that connects with you on a deep and profound level. That's the high I yearn for but always find it increasingly hard to come by. After Life did wonders for me, one of those where I spent about half an hour after the credits to just enjoy the headspace the film left me in.

Only ten days into the year and I've already done a 5K and likely seen the best film I'll watch all year. Hell of a way to start 2026. 

Cast Tracker

Got involved with chatting to a lot of cast agents today to check availability. Not something I've done before but I jumped at the opportunity none the less. That ended up taking most of my morning, after that I was just back to my usual duties and dreaming of what I'm going to do this weekend. I somehow volunteered myself to do a Park Run tomorrow with some co workers, watch this space to learn how wheezy it makes me.

In the Bleakest Midwinter

Kept hearing rumours about snow but Bristol only got the wind and the rain. No magic, no whimsy, just a bleak midwinter. The days work was fraught with me doing a fair bit of running around. It was our last studio day for a while so I was putting plans into motion for when I wouldn't be around, I know I can rely on myself but gifting the reins to another person never feels right to me. I also can't believe we only have one more day before the weekend. I'm counting down the minutes already, all I want to do is get back to being a Christmas potato.

Chris Roast

Reclaimed ground back at the office, we can all just about see from above the clouds. I'm still crunking through a lot of odd jobs and prepping a few things for upcoming days, I only have so much information though and the inclement weather might throw plans into chaos. But we move, we laugh and we stick together.

I popped round to Dan's tonight too to meet up with Chris and Jack, mostly we watched Chris play Zelda while we roasted him. Good times. 

Mentally Sponged

Still trying to settle into a rhythm now that I'm back at work. My to do list keeps on filling up, then emptying, then filling up faster. We're walking into quite a busy period now which is a wake up call for most of us, I just left work feeling mentally a bit expelled. Best cure for that? Play a puzzle game that is still continuous unfolding at every turn. I said I'd only play it for an hour, next thing I know it's past my bedtime and I feel like my brain has done enough now til 2027.

Catching a Flight?

Had that kind of sleep you reserve for catching a super early flight. I slept little and lightly, lying in fear of sleeping through my alarm, then inexplicably awoke 30 minutes before I had to hit snooze. The work day felt much the same to everyone, out work muscles atrophied over the break so we were all sluggish even after multiple coffees. I only just got the knack of things, and then it was hometime. Just 4 more days til the weekend.

See Ya Christmas

And so, my final day of the holidays was spent doing very little. I got up a little early to play games under the light of the Christmas tree. Just a few hours later we were morosely removed it's decorations before bundling it up in a painting sheet to take it outside. If any curious neighbours looked outside it would have looked like Rebecca and I were turfing a dead body, alas the only thing that died in our household was the Christmas Spirit. Til next December I suppose.

I told myself I'd get to this point in the evening and gone through the stages of grief before heading back to work. Still somewhere in the grieving stage though. It'll come and it'll go for sure but I guess we'll find out what's been cooking for us over the holidays. Nasty surprises or flowers and roses?

Off to the Mini Horse Races

Ventured out with Louis, Rachel and Rebecca to do an afternoon pub quiz just up the road from us. The format was styled in horseracing, you could even put bets on an overall winner, but I ain't the gambling type. If you won a round though you got an intentionally naff prize and we got one of these featuring two scratch cards, again I ain't the gambling type but free scratch cards are fun... If you win that is. 

Much like the rest of the world right now, I'm low-key dreading returning to work on Monday. Seemed like only yesterday I was wrapping Christmas presents and getting ready for all that, now tomorrow we're discussing the best way to put our tree down. Reality bites huh. 

1 Amazon, 2 Amazon...

 One last push of life admin before heading back to work. Took the car to get a new battery installed and took all my Amazon parcels that needed returning to the post office. The latter ended up taking ages after the team there told me that although I was instructed to bundle items into boxes, I would have to individually packed each item. The chaps there helped out thankfully, but when it came to scanning them in the computer was asking why the hell did we do everything one by one? We all just smiled and walked away, Amazon will sort it. Ain't that the mantra of the decade.

Back home I managed to squeeze in a bit of me time. I'm knee-deep into Blue Prince at the moment which is slowly consuming my every thought. I did some more lines of my crochet project and honoured my 'watch a slightly naff film' as my first movie of the year. Anyone But You microwaved the spirit of a 2000's rom com til it was piping hot and easy to chew. Nothing new, nothing fancy, but it was just what the doctor ordered today. 

Handful of Games 2025

Despite drinking a fair deal of beer, wine, champagne, espresso martinis and associated tiramisu goodness, I rose feeling fresher than expected. The headache rolled in like an unwanted storm cloud latterly but that didn't stop us from having a pleasant New Year's breakfast with our hosts. We left theirs a little after midday ready to hop back into the trusty car (now all fixed after its Christmas hissy fit) and drive back home to Bristol. I got in, turned the keys and heard a pathetic sputtering sound.

The battery was dead... Luckily Green Flag jumped us and we were on our merry way, but it's just another hiccup we ideally could have done without. We're back at home now thankfully, ready for a few days to ourselves before heading back to the world of work.

As is also customary, I wrote up my picks of best games I played in 2025. There's some atypical choices this year, mostly because I played some really good stuff that was just off the obvious path. 

Happy New Year 2026!

Woke up in Bristol, ended up in London for one of the best, low-key New Years I've had in recent memory. A Raclette grill was produced for us to cook our own dinner together, I couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year than steak and melted cheese. The beer, wine, champagne and espresso martinis flowed throughout the night, giving us a booze blanket to head out and face the outside as midnight approached. We did a recce earlier and found a good spot that gave us line of sight with the London Eye, but as we walked up with 10 minutes to go we spotted a gaggle of people all heading in the same direction - naturally we followed and ended up on a green with an even better view of the incoming fireworks. We poured champagne in plastic flutes as I checked the time to start the countdown - in a group of near 100 people I was expecting to be the official timekeeper and start the group on the countdown.

2025 was a year I walked into with lofty intentions but ended up zoning out for almost entirely. In a way I was fortunate in being able to work for every single day of the year, but that was also my curse - it  consumed every waking moment, giving me little space to pursue other interests of mine. Career wise I reckon I did inch the needle forward. I finished up my position as Assistant Script Supervisor and rejoined the Production team as Secretary. I found myself onboarding more responsibilities than ever before and ended up kinda liking it for once. 

I also watched more films, read more books and played more games than any year in recent memory, but that made me feel oddly empty. For a few months now I''ve grown conscious that I'm treating media like popcorn. I loathe the word 'content' to describe media but that's gradually become the way I viewed it. People commit years of their lives producing films which I watch in under two hours, shortly after I'm already thinking about what to watch next. Is that normal? In fairness I did try to keep the thought of a film alive within me, I reviewed nearly every film I watched on LetterBoxd but I still feel like I'm blowing through things without letting them truly sit in my mind.

Maybe I'm being too harsh on myself though. For the first time ever I wrote down some of what are effectively my New Years Resolutions, at the bottom of the list I put 'above all else, be kind to yourself'. A code we can all afford to live by.

My favourite thing of 2025? Easy: making my short film No Show. It's long been an idea taking up space in my brain so it was good to finally put my it out into I the world.

Next year I have medium sized plans and hopes of a more fulfilling year. I can't wait around, hoping for it to happen though, I have to go out and get it.

I hope everyone else has a great new year. roll in 2026!