Hello friends!

So I am very overdue with my updates, but a lot has happened in those two weeks and I had to pick up the pieces a little.

We have just done one full week of nights and it was hard, no time for much else than just sleep.

Also, if you will actually read my daily entries, my week 6 started with a positive announcement of my sisters pregnancy. Well my week 7 started with my mom texting me to say that she has suffered the miscarriage and lost the twins. Devastating news is an understatement. I could barely concentrate at work and because this country has such terrible reception in places I couldn’t get hold of my mom or my sister for the most part of the day. It was just so so hard, not being able to be with my family and to deal with the loss. There is no other way how to describe it, but it was just shit.

Fast forward a week and it seems slightly better, I am still planing to go to see her in Spain if Morocco part of the job gets pushed, so that hasn’t changed. Romance in my life seems to have taken the back door and left the building completely as I have zero interest in making any effort. My Mexican friend tries to be romantic and all, but if I am honest I just feel like the part of my body which feels romance is missing, like a a missing limb or kidney. It is just not there and that is that.

OK. I am actually currently sitting in a production bus at work and won’t have much more time before the night of work begins, so I bid you good day or night, depending on your location.

Live love and hug those you care about.

***

Monday. Week 6… day 16 of the shoot. Time flies, when you are having fun they say. It does indeed. After a rather challenging week and a pretty inspiring weekend I am feeling good. Also my mind is finally kinda at peace with the whole love and romance aspect of my life. But anyway, today is not about that. I am currently sitting in this barn almost an hour away from London down the most intricate roundabouts and feel a little hype. There is something I didn’t mention here before, because my sister asked me to keep a secret, but. Well about a month ago she told me that she was expecting. Which means I will be an aunts for the first time later on this year. I am excited and nervous and all of the sudden feel like my priorities have shifted. Originally after finishing the job, I thought I would me making some sort of arrangements to meet up with my Mexican friend, but now, my sister and her growing belly is my number 1 destination. We had a piano on set today. I love piano music and it is still a dream of mine to learn how to play it. 

Tuesday. I went to bed way too late last night. The pushed hour on the weekend didn’t help my already messed up sleeping pattern, but oh well. We start the day in the studio today where our amazing art department built this beautiful Middle Eastern flat, complete with the balcony overlooking this massive poster of the Cairo skyline. Would have been nice to shoot this on location, but oh well, the warmth here comes from he lamps emitting the heat which is a fraction of what it could have been there in real life. Once again, oh well. Great result non the less. The rest of the day went rather slow for me. My sleep deprivation from last night caught up with me and I was literally falling asleep. Also due to us shooting the sex scene the set was a red zone with limited people aka life so it was really quiet. Normally I don’t mind shooting the intimate scenes, but today it was really getting on my nerves. Luckily in the script they had a bit of a post coital conversation, so I actually had something to do and not just listen to the groans and moans. 

Wednesday. Wednesdays to me feel like the end of the week. I never count the day I am living as it is over as soon as it begun. Work wise that is. We are also half way through our UK shoot and Morocco is around the corner, kinda getting hyped up about it, although whichever way it goes I will make it work. So I reparked our car this morning and ah I want to be able to drive so much! Can’t believe I have waited this long to learn. The rest of the day went pretty quick even though it was extended by one hour. We once again had an intimacy coordinator with us today, but really there was no reason for it as nothing intimate was happening. Just some nudity which was not even filmed, because we are not that type of the show… It kinda feels like we are going a bit overboard with all the rules and regulations.

Thursday. So, last night I passed out in bed while sitting in my bed and scrolling through my phone. Wau, total black out! Feeling good though. Today we had to fill up our tank and bought few scratchcards as a tradition. Ended up making extra pound of our investment and we started the day feeling like winners.

Friday. Last day at the studio. Another location wrapped. Also we are officially half way through the UK shoot, hard to believe if I am honest. On the positive side, we get three days off this weekend and I cannot wait. Also we are doing nights and 2 units next week, which meant that I got to find a 2nd unit script supervisor, who is more like my trainee. Very excited about that. It is pretty hard to get into this industry, so it is always nice to help someone on their path.

Saturday. Home. Food. Neflix. Found an online laundry place who came to pick up my clothes for the wash with a 24 hours turn around. Pretty neat system. My goal today was not to leave the house and I succeeded.

Sunday. Another day of not leaving my bed. I needed it so much it seems! Recharging batteries and all that. Also had an overdue conference call with my family. It is Easter after all. Week 6 down few more to go.

***

London Diary 2021: Week 7

Monday. Bank holiday. Day at home.

Tuesday. The most beautifully location in the UK. Or so they say, also very fragile. Longs day with the late finish to prepare for the night shoots ahead. 

Wednesday. Road trip to out of town for the next week of work. Did I the first night . A lot of action. Long cold night!

Thursday. Another night ahead. Coffee doesn’t help. All is a blur.

Friday. Feel like I am finally getting the hang of those nights. It wasn’t that cold either and we were shooting on a new set. Exciting.

Saturday. Physically feeling the best out of all those nights so far. Continued shooting this massive sequence with real explosions and a man on fire. Super exciting but very very cold. Yea you really can’t have everything.

Sunday. Wrapped at 4 am, went back to my hotel for the few hours of sleep. Got up rather early as my friend had a day planned for us exploring the English coast with some seafood along the way. It was super nice, oysters, fish and chips, sunshine with occasional rain and wind of course, but film crew gear really helps to enjoy this kind of weather anyway. We drove back to London in the early evening and checked back into our usual hotel. I got a much nicer room this time around and am super happy. Few more weeks and we are done here. The week ended way better than it begun. 

Highlights:

  • Night shoots, hard, but I am getting more sleep than doing days as I just sleep so much more.
  • Scenes we shot were huge! So much action and stunts, first time for me at this scale.
  • Morocco seems to be happening!
  • As of the 12ht the lockdown restrictions in the UK are easing down. Yay!

Cheers with a glass full of elephant living the night life.