Cold snaps

Those shark attacks made it into the news here. I'm telling you, sharks and crocs, they're the only kinds of stories that the British media are interested in about Aus!

It is seriously cold here now. We went to the football yesterday (finally broke the curse - Arsenal actually won! They still didn't play that well but at least their fans got some relief) and despite wearing socks and thick stockings under jeans my feet were going numb. I think the max yesterday was 2 or 3C, dropping to -3C overnight. I still haven't seen snow though. So ripped off.

We saw a really weird film on Sat - Far North. With Sean Bean and Michelle Yeoh. One of the strangest films I've ever seen. It was all shot in Finland or somewhere - the landscape is all ice and snow - it looks incredible. But the story? So Michelle has an adopted daughter and they live in a tent/igloo thing in the middle of nowhere and she rescues Sean Bean who is alone in the snow. A love triangle forms. So far, so good (although a bit slow). But then... 

TURN AWAY IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE FILM. Spoiler ahead. I personally do not recommend it.

Michelle Yeoh's daughter tells her she and Sean are running off together. So Michelle turns into a scary witch and strangles her daughter with her own hair before cutting her face off and sewing it onto her own! Then she has sex with Sean Bean who realises something weird is happening and runs out into the tundra naked.

So bizarre. On the plus side, I never saw it coming!!

We saw the film at the Barbican after I'd been working at a concern which is my idea of hell - a selection of the cheesiest numbers from various musicals. Oh God it was awful. I Don't Know How to Love Him, a Sound of Music medley, There's No Business Like Show Business, I Feel Pretty, a medley from Mamma Mia... on and on it went. My ears were bleeding. And the singers were trying way too hard. Ugh.

Gotta take the good with the (oh so) bad I guess.

Another one down

Who needs parents? We had a great Christmas yesterday, for all 3 of us (Ben, sis, me) our first away from home. Our menu: roast potatoes (with garlic, rosemary), sweet potato, baked field mushrooms with goat cheese, yorkshire puddings (Fliss and I ate 17 each!! They were smaller than usual, but that's still a good effort!), beans and mini zucchini with pesto and gravy. Yeah. Total awesomeness. Plus a few glasses of wine and some Baileys. Oh, and mixed berries with clotted cream for dessert. No-one was missing the turkey.

Basically we watched DVDs all day. TV (Extras, Gavin & Stacey) and classic movies (Errol Flynn's Robin Hood and Casablanca). A perfect Xmas. Sis went to bed at 10pm because she was so full. Then today (Boxing Day) she has gone to visit a friend in Norwich. I can't take Norwich seriously as a place, thanks to Alan Partridge. There are a few locations in Britain that suffer from that problem in my mind, they've been mentioned in some famous sketch or comedy show and now that's all I associate them with!

Working NYE, so no exciting plans there. But I should be finished in time to go and see the fireworks on the Thames.

Hope you all had a great (hot) Xmas and are enjoying your holidays.

xxx

Merry Xmas to you and to you...

I can't believe this year's almost over. It's been quite a big one! And next year looks like it will be almost as hectic (not quite as intense, because I have no plans to get married again or move country!) If The Bacon has her way (my new boss, for those who don't know) then I'll be making 4 films in the first half of next year - two docos, a corporate for the theatre company and a viral campaign about illegal immigrants.

It's just a pity I won't see Ben for most of the year! That's going to be weird. It's been pretty nice having him here. At the moment both my flatmates are away (back home for Xmas) so we have the house to ourselves. Almost like being a real married couple.

I've got some meetings with journalists first this in the new year. Just some meet and greets, to introduce them to the organisation and to me. The media here is crazy. And I have to say that it's a poor reflection on the British people how crap their media is, because there is so much competition here that if the Brits want high-quality journalism they can get it... instead the highest selling papers are the awful tabloids (I think the Sun is the biggest seller, Murdoch's contribution to the UK scene). People even read the News of the World - which is that paper that often reports on aliens landing and huge imaginary sex scandals. I thought it was a joke! But you see people reading it on the tube!

Here is a nice little summary of the British press to leave you with, from comedian Russell Howard. The quality of the video isn't great, but I'm sure you'll appreciate the content. The sad thing is that it's true.

Merry Christmas!

xxx

Christmas craziness

This week has (thankfully) been a bit more relaxed than last week, probably because last week I tried to shoot a film in amongst working 2 jobs! It was a bit stressful, but the film was for a competition and is now up on Youtube. Check it out (it's very silly, but I think it's funny!)

The film had to somehow be inspired by this short story, which is quite absurdist and our interpretation is loose to say the least! Basically we started thinking about what furniture gets up to when people aren't in the room.

My theory over here is I'm just going to enter everything and anything. Put myself out there. However I can. Hopefully next week though I'll have some time to relax over Xmas and coming into the new year!

xxxx

It's been a while...

My apologies. It's been some time since I wrote.

I'm STILL living in the 18th Century. The boiler has been broken for 2 weeks, and we had told the real estate agent there was a problem more than a week prior to that. What a nightmare. It's been freezing cold (I got sick - gee what a surprise!) and we've had to go to friends' and neighbours' houses to have a shower! Thanks to all those friends and neighbours that kindly invited us in.

Plumbers are supposed to have the boiler fixed today. But I'll believe it when I see it.

All the tradesmen who have come to work on the heating and water systems have been very nice, most helpful, but the real estate agents are so difficult. They have this attitude that they are doing us a favour anytime they do anything - when all they are doing is the absolute minimum they should be doing for their job! And not even doing it very well. They keep telling us how much it is costing the landlord - like it's our fault and we should be grateful! Just get the fucking boiler fixed for Christ's sake! Total arseholes.

In other news, started my work at the Barbican, which is quite fun on the whole. Lots of nice people work there, most people do something artistic. And we get some free tickets. Got paid to watch a movie the other day! It wasn't a great movie (Changeling - Clint Eastwood's film with Angelina Jolie. Story is interesting but Angelina is rather OTT and the film is too long, it keeps going for about another 30 mins after the main mystery has been solved) but I liked it that bit better because I earned £17 while sitting on my backside.

Ben is over, which is so nice. We're like a real live couple again! Watching DVDs in bed (can't leave my bedroom coz it's too cold in the rest of the house!!) I'm working a lot this week, sadly, but we've booked a holiday in January. Going to Sicily for a few nights! Will try to avoid being shot by the mafia.

Think that's it for now. Will try to get back into doing more blogging this week.

Living in the 19th Century

I just did the washing up by boiling water in the kettle.

Yes, our boiler is broken. No heating or hot water for a few days now. A guy was supposed to come yesterday but didn't. He is supposed to come today but it's nearly 330pm and I haven't heard when he's expected to arrive. I have to leave at 5pm. I guess if he hasn't arrived in the next 1/2 hour I'll go and splash cold water under my armpits so that I don't smell at work!

Oh the joy. Why are real estate agents all such shitheads/nobjockeys/cunt weasels (that is  term SD invented - credit where credit is due)? He keeps telling us he's sorry about the delay and the landlord is going to pay for extra electricity costs due to using portable heaters, but he won't say when someone is coming to fix it! We don't want compensation, just a working boiler! And this guy has stood us up for meetings twice! Booked us in to come to his office then failed to be there.

So here I am, waiting, and I'd rather go into the office because it's so cold here but I don't want to leave in case I need to let someone in to fix it!

In better news, I quite like my haircut. Photos included.

Change is as good as a holiday

Today I am volunteering to be a hair model, in a crazy hair-brained (ha!) scheme to get a free haircut. However, it means they can do whatever they like to my hair. I'll post photos of the (potentially-disastrous) results soon...!