Summer Thread Shopping

With the whole of Sunday morning free Rebecca and I wanted to head into town to do a bit of clothes shopping. Specifically some Summer threads as last week was a real omen for things to come so I got myself a new pair of shorts and a very fetching linen shirt so I can stay breezy. We had a bit of time to turn the house around before some chums cam round for a Sunday hangout. It started off as a movie night, Speed was on the menu - but then it migrated into a couple of games as well. In stark contrast to last weekend, I spent a lot of time with other humans the last couple of days - the Ying and the Yang.

UK Games Expo

Gathered our clan in the car and drove up to Birmingham for the UK Games Expo. It's my first convention that I've attended in a while and this one was all about board games. Walking into the first hall was nothing short of overwhelming, the sheer amount of stuff on display, ready to buy or play was actually staggering. We wanted to try and see everything on offer first before we settled into anything so we embarked on what can best be compared to an extended amble around a Christmas market... All about board games! That ended up taking most of the day, but we snagged a few good freebies before setting into a couple of quick and easy games - some with demonstrating staff and other just by ourselves. 

If I went again I would definitely carve out more time for playing games, but I wouldn't change a thing about my first time there - we saw a lot of cool stuff and I got to do it with some good friends - is there a better way to spend a Saturday? 

Mina the Hollower

A game I've been eager to get my hands on finally launched today and there's seldom anything I love more in life than waking up early to get a head start on a new release. Mina the Hollower is from the same team who gave us Shovel Knight and we are continuing to eat good - mostly because this new game is inspired by the Gameboy Zelda I remember playing too many moons ago. I was hooked on this new game though, I actually did very little else today than play it which is a rare an honest treat. I'll pace myself better after today of course, but let a fella have his big blowout day.

Albert Chat

I continued to get my money's worth out of the earplugs I brought for our Canadian flights. Rebecca is still working in the only cool room in the house while I beaver away at little bits. It feels like she's always on work calls on in meetings, thankfully my handy earplugs made her voice sound like she was about four rooms away from me and I could focus up on my work. 

An old colleague got in touch with me tonight about sustainability paperwork which I was only too happy to sit down and go through. Before we knew it two hours had flown by as we were just catching up and venting about projects. Didn't expect my evening to be hoovered up with chatting but it was actually a really nice time. 

Venba Gets Food

Forgot to share out my latest YouTube video here. I'm pleased to present Venba Gets Food - a video essay about a recent cooking game and why it deserves its place alongside the great foodie stories. I wrote this one back in 2024 and it felt a shame to let a good script go to waste, with a bit of time off I had the chance to get it ready for the world - hope you enjoy.

 

Hot Bones

The bones of the house have heated up now. No amount of curtain closing will save us now. Only thing for it is to camp out in the coolest room in the house (the dining room). Just a shame that Rebecca has the same plan, and with two bodies panting in there it ain't much better than the other spaces we have. 

But we got an excuse to head out in the early afternoon. Rachel's birthday was today and we all headed into the park to sit under the biggest tree we could find and have a BBQ. Since I brought 16 burgers to cook I ended up being the fella with the tongs who smelt like smoke. The food went down really well though - a lot of Rachel's buddies are foodies and they all said to the group how good the grub was. I was just glad to do my part in making Rachel's birthday memorable. 

Love Exposure

I mentioned that the curtains have been drawn in my house for most of this long weekend in order to combat the rising temperatures. It worked perhaps a little better than I had anticipated because when I stepped out into my garden to gauge the heat it was like stepping off the plane on holiday! I suggested hanging out with Dan today and even he was like 'arw you sure?' I opted for the lowest effort thing possible - a pint on his doorstep and an ice cream chaser before retreating to his flat for a board game. 

Before all that though I woke up early to catch the worm. Specifically to watch the final long movie of my weekend marathon, and no film is more fitting than Love Exposure - a four hour work of bombast and depravity that was too intoxicating to deny the joys of. The four hours melted away into nothing but I still felt like a different person when I emerged on the other side of it. I spent virtually the rest of the day processing exactly what I just bore witness to - when I eventually construe my thoughts on LetterBoxd I'll hopefully be a little wiser to my own opinions.

Curtains Drawn for Films

Employed the Spanish technique of keeping the curtains drawn to keep the heat out. It also helped massively reduce screen glare as I sat down to watch two pretty lengthy movies. Last night we did a Marvel Movies Tier list with some people on a discord server I'm part of. I haven't seen a Marvel film for almost five years now, but a conversation last night encouraged me to jump back in for a few of them because they bucked the formula. Eternals is almost a different flavour of superhero flick, but it's still shackled by its involvement with the MCU. Which is a pity because Chloe Zhao know what she's doing but she wasn't really given carte blance to direct.

Barry Lyndon was the other one which was fab. That's sat for far too long on my watchlist (Mash Potato May remember) but it was a real treat. Just classy filmmaking from head to toe.

I noticed only after these movies finished that I hadn't spoken a word today (minus babbling to the cat). I've already fixed a hangout with Dan tomorrow so I can expell my social battery a bit, otherwise I'm going to really develop cabin fever.

Short on Shorts

Unexpectedly, the cat let me sleep in this morning. So much so that I actually overslept and felt a bit wretched for most of the morning. Still, I pushed through and put the finishing touches onto my latest YouTube video. I even exported it and sent it over to Rebecca in Poland to watch and give feedback on (she's good like that). I did her tweaks and now it's ready to go live next week.

I wore my shorts for the first time this year as I headed out for a lunchtime walk, it's heating up over here now. It also exposed how much I need a new pair of shorts... Perhaps it's time to treat myself.

Toasty Edit

With just me and the cat knocking around in the house I had no excuses not to lock in on editing my video. I took the project from 70% to 95% in my eyes, just a little bit more feathering (as I call it) and then it'll be out in the world. Just as well too because the back room is starting to get toasty in this mid-May heatwave and I'd rather not be sitting up there in my pants rendering out footage.

Return of the Summer Movie Night

It was in the Asda confectionary where Rebecca and I shared a romantic farewell. There she was, packed and ready to visit Poland with friends, popping into the shops to grab a colleague's birthday cake. I was there to grab snacks for the upcoming movie night I was hosting. I got a good deal on M&M's which I piled into my basket - it hasn't been since October that I hosted a little film viewing and I was keen for it to go down well. We actually all ended up meeting at the pub before hand, a lot of them hadn't been to my neck of the woods before so I took them to the most presentable little watering hole in the area before walking back through the park to mine. The sun had his hat on tonight too, first Summer evening all year... Perfect to watch a horror movie indoors with. The night went really well though, I always enjoy hosting movie nights (ever since the days of Film Friday). More and more I realize that someone needs to be the person to suggest or initialize a hangout, that's the scariest bit for everyone but nine times out of ten people are delighted when some makes the first move like that.

Mash Potato May

Laced up my running shoes once again for a morning jog. I'm slowly getting to that point now where I'm actually quite enjoying the runs, I'm less of a wheezy mess when I get back and I feel emboldened by the thought of pushing myself to go just a little further. Rebecca is getting ready to head out for a long weekend in Poland with friends, leaving me behind with the cat. I've already quietly regressed back to my uni meal planning to cover the time (spag bol 2 nights, then curry 2 nights - hey, it worked for me then and it'll work for me now). I'm throwing out some feelers for some weekend activities with folks, but if I get no responses I've chartered a lengthy list of movies to watch.

Rebecca introduced me to 'Mashed Potato May'. A mashed potato being a book or a movie that has sat dormant in your backlog for so long it's a source of embarrassment. I've mostly got long movies in the list now, the kind that I have to really plan into my day - looks like this weekend is the perfect excuse to mash some potatoes. 

Will the Universe Care?

Locked in once more to trim footage and match it up with my voice over work. There's that point whenever I work on a new video I hit the point where I start to ask myself 'is this good?' and 'will the universe care?' takes a while for me to eventually settle on the optimisticly nihilistic answer of 'it doesn't matter'. They are mostly the culmination of several thoughts in my head and sometimes it feels awful not to get them out in some way. I enjoy adding to my portfolio a bit too, just another digital footprint in a way, but I make my mark little by little.

Retuning to the Editor Seat

The one job-limbo bucket list item I'm still yet to tick off is to put up another YouTube video over on my EyebrowOwl channel. I wrote one about two years ago and even recorded the voice over for it, and now I finally have the time to edit it all together. It's a shorter one than my recent outings too so it should come together a little quicker (so far that's held up as true too). I'm getting back into to swing of using the software and making my eyes square again but it'll come together just fine.

5K in May

Stuck to my all week running plan and ventured out for a 5K. Rebecca joined me for the first little leg before she splintered off, leaving me to do the remainder. I was low-key glad to be alone towards the end as I was working up a real sweat, it's the furthest run I've done in a couple of months but hopefully I'll keep the effort up now and maintain some regularity.

With big exercise come bigger rewards. There was a LOT of leftovers after Eurovision last night so for lunch and dinner we basically just reheated various yummy bits to enjoy all over again. A ying and yang Sunday basically. 

Eurovision 2026

I found my flow in the kitchen once again as I prepped the, now signature, Mexican feast for our Eurovision party. Rebecca and I were cutting up sweet corn, slow cooking pork and baking nachos. In between that though we did a little taste test of a margarita. I've never owned a bottle of tequila in my life so it felt right to get some practice in before serving them up to guests. Immediately half-inebriated myself in the process and there was still loads of prep work to do.

We got everything sorted through and things ran like clockwork once the usual suspects came through the door. We settled into the night and crossed our fingers as the results came through - then all let out a belting cheer as the right people won. Another year down - feels like such a whirlwind and it's odd it's all over.

Porky Prep

With Eurovision on our doorstep I headed out to grab the elements of our feast. I was armed with a handful of coupons and free money from sign up schemes so I felt a little rich heading into the supermarket. 'Only the finest tequila for my margaritas' thought I, reaching for the mid-shelf stuff. My cart was full of coriander, limes and avocados, which I kept nestled next to the pork shoulder from the butchers. Made lemonade and pickled red onions too this afternoon, so now all the prep work will go down tomorrow.

In the meantime I was hanging out with Rebecca and the cat at home. Watching films and quietly playing video games in the corner for the room while Rebecca takes work calls.  

Cowboys Ride Again

With a few of my fellow Cowboy Tabletop players heading back into the world of work I wanted to offer them a big blowout game for their send off. A rootin' rootin' bank heist felt right somehow and that's been something I'd been working on for a little while in the background over the past week.

I drew out a big blueprint for them to plot their caper and I gave them a roster of hired guns they could bring on the adventure, each with their own little stat sheet. My guys were very impressed with the effort I put in and the session ended up being a big success - I dare say it's been my best one yet. I doubt I'll match this level of prep anytime soon, but the guys made me think on my feet a lot this time so there was a lot of improvisational push and pull. Best part though was we also made it a build your own pizza kinda thing! I made some pizza sauce yesterday and the host made pizza dough from scratch. I really kicked myself for not taking a picture because they were legit. 

Just an all round awesome Thursday. 

Flat Runner

Popped out for another run this morning, clocked in just over 4.2K without running out of puff. Since we moved into our house I've been trying to do a running route that takes me up a steep hill quite early on. Only now I noticed how that killed my motivation whenever I picked the sport back up so now I go along a nice flat route (for the most part) and I already notice how much happier I am about the prospect of going out again.

Tomorrow I'm running another tabletop Western game with my gang, one of them is heading back into the world of work so I'm trying to make this a memorable one. A Bank heist ought to facilitate some fun and chaotic moments, as long as they make it out alive that is.

15 Years of English Rain

Hung out with a friend for most of this afternoon, just sitting on the coach playing games and eating handfuls of crisps and those chive and onion coated mini pretzels. Man life is good sometimes. 

The real centerpiece of the day was going to see Gabrielle Aplin in Bristol city center this evening. I was first introduced to her music when I was trying to impress a girl I had a crush on about 15 years ago. It was pretty nuts to see her perform only about 7 people away from me in a crowded but intimate venue. The show was actually really good, she brought great energy and the audience were clearly passionate. Hearing those songs again took me back to a past life, but they're tracks that Rebecca and I often play in the car so now they'll mean something a little more when we hear them again.

Mixtape

Wanted to get a real grip on my week so I started off strong and with a plan. First up was the weekly shop which stretched my calf muscles enough for a run when I got back. I'm aiming to do at least two runs this week now and I've already plotted my next route to extend my distance. With Rebecca out this evening, I had the perfect opportunity to do one of my all time favourite things: play an entire new indie game in one sitting. Mixtape is the current gaming flavour of the week, and an early nod for a lot of end of year lists. It's a coming of age, 'last day of highschool' piece that's ruled by its needle drops. Smashing Pumpkins, Roxy Music, Joy Division, Portishead and The Cure make up the more obvious line up but there's some deep cuts here too which delight. While light on actual 'game', its highlights brush close to delivering euphoria. It might well make it onto the most prestigious end of year lists going... Mine.

A Face from A Decade Back

It feels like every time we go to the Sunday market I bump into someone from my past. It certainly wasn't on my bingo card to run into a colleague from my days at Rubber Republic (where I first worked when I moved to Bristol). Despite the fact that almost a decade had passed they still recognized me and hailed me down for a catch-up. They were one of my favourite co-workers there so it was a swell reunion, he's since left the company to work for a model train place (a fact he was beaming about). Glad to have that moment today, puts into perspective the length of time I've been in the city now and how far I've come. 

Rebecca and I enjoyed a quiet day again otherwise, in contrast to what our social calendar is looking like in the future. Most of today we've actually had to turn multiple people down for plans because we're already doing other things. Nice to be popular for sure, but trying to slot everyone in becomes the side quest of doom. 

Good Vibes Only Saturday

Enjoyed a near perfect little Saturday that we kickstarted with some scrambled eggs and hand ground coffee (every morning should start this way). I got a haircut so I don't feel like a shaggy dog anymore and we showed my new trim off to the fine people of Dunelm Mill, where we bought some more kitchen bits, aka new roasting pans after I nuked the last one by over roasting some pork. Speaking of pork, Rebecca and I really wanted to try out a small plates grill place up the road for us. We sipped margaritas in the sun and tucked into a mini BBQ banquet. We got home a little half cut so just flopped out and played games and watched a film. Good vibes all round.

1 Week til Rivals

It's thrilling to see all the Rivals marketing coming into play around me. Social media has all the cast interviews and pictures, trailers are dropping and Rebecca even saw a bus poster today. So weird to think that little show we all worked on is coming back with a vengeance, so excited for the next series to come out this time next week.

The weather still can't make up it's mind so we did a bit of a precursor BBQ indoors today, cooking burgers for our special guest, Dan. We lined our stomachs and headed up the road for board games together - ended up staying out  a bit later than we had all expected because we were having such a hoot.  

Think of the Grilling Season!

A moment of silence for our ugly garden...

It's gone now, replaced once and for all by the construction team who gutted the garden waste in literally 15 minutes, then paved it over with zero fuss. I keep catching myself doing a double take when I look out the window now - the sight of our garden is totally unfamiliar, but exhilarating. It looks so much bigger now, and we'll never have to fear trampling in hidden cat poo ever again. All told, we're chuffed with the improvement. It'll accommodate loads more people now and it's already got me buzzing about BBQ'ing again.

Bye Bye Mud Square

Rebecca and I walked towards our work this morning. Well, for her it was a full day, for me it was just a quick trip into town to do some returns, I was back home shortly after to enjoy a home without WiFi for a couple more hours at least. The new box did get delivered late afternoon, in the meantime I sat at my writing nook and dreamt up my next cowboy campaign. Sometimes coming up with new games and stories is more gratifying than playing them.

I took one final look at our garden today too. That wretched patch of mud and weeds is at long last getting the old heave-ho. Classic me though, I almost got nostalgic for it. It's been a thorn in my side for so long now that I don't know what I'm going to complain about once it's gone. That said, I am excited to get such a big renovation done tomorrow - a little house upgrade that'll make it even more our space. 

Where WiFi?

Two immediate curve balls for me when I got up. First was my boss's car broke down yesterday and he had to ditch it on the side of the road, so I had to do one extra trip to ferry back some filming equipment. No biggie. What was a bigger biggie was the fact our WiFi box decided to give up the ghost. A replacement is en route already but for now, we're flying blind (even our mobile data is patchy in this house). Thankfully I still had some movies in the back pocket and the lack of any streaming services meant out choice was funneled tonight. It was like enjoying simpler times once again.

It's quaint now, but tomorrow I'll be desperate for some brain rot. 

No Other Choice

Totally didn't twig that today was a Bank Holiday and that I need to go into work again tomorrow. In the meantime Rebecca and I took it slow, we enjoyed the delights of Lidl and time to catch up. We headed to Louis and Rachel's again for another movie night, this time I wasn't a 'so bad it's good' vibe, rather we got round to No Other Choice, a film which we universally quite enjoyed. It's a good thing we all kinda get the Korean sense of humor and style, there were some undeniable highlights despite the overlong runtime.

Ultimate Headache Cure

The only thing louder than my pounding morning headache was the meows of our cat asking for food at the crack of dawn. No nausea, only brain cramps on account of not drinking enough water yesterday, so I had a couple pints of clear and another of coffee to medicate myself. Part two of this friends birthday celebration was a trip to the movie to catch Devil Wears Prada 2, a cosy sequel which was cute to watch with a big audience. The film wasn't a patch on the original (which I already don't rate especially highly) but in all fairness it was better than I expected. Turns out sitting in a dark room for two hours cures all headaches.

Feline Morning Call

Was looking forward to a lovely chill morning and a nice long lie in. But in classic fashion our cat had other plans, meowing loudly and loudly re-arranging the bedroom furniture with her head til I had no choice but to get up. No matter though, it gave me a great excuse to get up and crack on with me day. I watched a film early doors, then headed out to join a friend at the food market on the road near me. The rain started as I came back though, leaving me soaked before adding the finishing touches to my tiramisu to take up to another friend's birthday party. It was a very chill flat hangout, few beers, few group games and catching up with everyone. 

In a way, the cat gave me a good headstart for the day - guess I should be thankful. 

Wee Shoot Day

Completed a bonus little filming day which had me loading up our little car full of kit and taking round long, winding country roads. All our real work was kinda done over the course of last week, so today was just making sure everything went roughly according to plan. I low-key forgot how long a shoot day feels when you haven't got much to do, and the day only dragged when I stopped, that and when I had to drive back home. I'm shattered now, but nothing a three day weekend can't solve.