BACK TO REALITY

The other day, with a few moments to myself, I lay on the grass and shut my eyes. As the sun shone on my face I tried to pretend to myself I was back in south America and for a few seconds I really believed I was, until my little day dream was shattered by the yell of,
"Crew rehearsal!!!" My eyes shot open and I realised I was not in Argentina, or Brazil or even Colombia. No! I was in BIRMINGHAM!

Yes people, less than two weeks after getting back from the wonders of South America, I seem to have found myself filming on a TV drama, called Land Girls for the BBC, in BIRMINGHAM! When the job was proposed to me, it ticked all the boxes; 5 day working week (nice); 1940s period drama (nice); working with the Wonderful Giles and one of my best friends, the beautiful Becky Brown (even nicer)! Oh, but it's daytime drama (I've moved onto better things these days darlings) and its filming in BIRMINGHAM! I hate BIRMINGHAM! Also after living out of a bag for 5 months I was desperate to be back in London and get settled in the warehouse again, but beggars can't be chooses and after getting back from my travels I was totally broke. I needed money pronto and this job was starting straight away and gives me 2 months solid work and the chance to get back on my feet. Besides its 5 day weeks; I can go back to London every weekend or go and see my family, I thought to myself. I also tried to think about other good things in Birmingham? Well 2 of my best friends have moved there; Claire who now has a baby and Debs who moved to be with her boyfriend (God, she must love him a lot)! After that all I could come up with for Birmingham was Cadburys chocolate, but I do like chocolate a lot, so I suppose that is quite good?

I really can't complain about this job though at all. The crew are lovely; the cast are the nicest ever and there is some eye candy for me to look at (my being a "nun phase" is going to last 2 minutes)! Besides work has taken my mind off the fact that I'm back in England and hasn't really given me chance to get sad, as I'm so busy.

I'm renting a room off a family that I found through the BBC housing list. It's a middle aged Mum and Dad and their grown adult son, who I think is older than me. When I arrived his face lit up like he'd never seen a girl before (I've got the feeling he's not that experienced with women)? In fact he's still got his childhood door plaques with his name on, nailed on his bedroom door. I also hear him when I get in late at night from working split days, playing on his Playstation. Maybe he's waiting up for me? I keep thinking I'll wake up in the middle of the night with him sat there watching me sleep, and then say,
"Hello Carly! Will you kiss me, as I've never kissed a woman before"!
Arrrghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! I've started to lock my door at night!

Filming has been quite fun; I'm filming in a stately home which has a bar call Dickabels (what the hell); which has Sequin cushions and a disco ball (I think the Lord and Lady must have swingers parties there)! There is also a huge cardboard cut out of Robert Patterson, and even though I hate Twlight, I did find myself having my picture taken kissing it! Oh my God! Is this what my love life is now reduced to; kissing cardboard cut outs of Robert Patterson! I need to go back to South America! Now!

A first happened the other day. Filming was stopped due a pensioners day out walking onto set with their guided tour, by accident. It didn't seem to bother them though, as they carried on with the tour as if we weren't there (they were old though; maybe they couldn't see a WHOLE cast and crew trying to film in front of them)! Well on the bright side we did all learn about the whole history of the house (actually maybe it was only me that thought it was good due to the fact I'm a history geek)!

I guess reality isn't too bad, at the moment. I'm just throwing myself into work for the time being and concentrating on not going back to the way I felt before I left, because right now I'm feeling the best I have done in ages. I want it to last.

SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL

So I am working as the costume supervisor on Secret Diary of a Call Girl at the moment. I’m having such a good time.  After doing a string of jobs with dull scripts which equals dull costumes, it so good to being working with fun and interesting costumes again.  I’m lucky to be working with my good friend Hannah, and a new designer for me, the lovely Edward Gibbon.  What is also great, is Billie piper is really lovely and also has a great passion for clothes and is willing to take risks, which Edward loves to do.  Her wardrobe includes designers such as Stella McCartney, YSL, Jill Sander, Acne, Alexander Wang and Mulberry mixed in with high street brands such as Topshop, American Apparel and H&M, with some vintage pieces thrown in for good measure.  Edward has also used a lot of pieces from new unknown designers.  The only problem with this job is that I want the whole of  Belle’s wardrobe after the shoot finishes, which isn’t going to happen (Well a girl can dream).  I’m not allowed to show any pictures of outfits even though I would love too, but the papers have been following the film crew around like mad trying to get snaps of Billie.  So here are some of the photos taken by the papers that have given some of the outfits away, and for once I’m liking the press as they have given us nothing but good comments on the costumes and even suggested that Costume should have a pay rise!  Long may it continue.

YORKSHIRE

Sorry I haven't really done any posts in a while, but I have been up north in Yorkshire filming, in the middle of nowhere without any internet!  We were in the most beautiful town of Pickering in the Yorkshire Dales, doing a new BBC drama called "Accidental Farmer", with the lovely actress Ashley Jensen.  It was great fun, though I did spend most of my time putting mud and cow shit on the costumes and being slightly scared by some of the local farmers, who seemed quite mad.  All good fun though, with the sun shining, a hot tub in the cottage we were staying in and a great pig called Pinky who stole the show, and who's owners assured us, that she would not be turned into bacon when filming had finished?  God! I love my job when its in places as beautiful as this.

Pinky pig

Me and Fraser having hot tub fun.

BOLLYWOOD

Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm in love with India.  I've been travelling around it twice now, and it is probably my favourite out of all the countries I have been to.  That said though, you do have a funny relationship with India when you are there, as it pushes you to the edge, so when its good its the most amazing experience ever, and when its bad it drives you crazy, thus ending with a love hate thing with the place.  Its pretty much the same working on a Bollywood movie, as I have found out!  The day after I got back from Barbados I got a phone call from an old friend Tessa who is a production manager and was working on a Bollywood movie that was filming in London.  She needed extra costume people to help out as half the team from India had not got Visa's.  Cool, I thought.  Bollywood=cool costumes, singing and dancing and great locations.  All that was true, but it turns out you also get a lot more than you bargained for:  CHAOS!  I have been working in costume for film and TV nearly ten years now and have never experienced anything like this.  You see the Indian's seem to have this system that makes things 100 times harder than they should be!
The caste system seems very much there within the work system as only certain people can do certain things and you can't talk to someone direct:  You have to get someone else, who talks to someone else, who talks to someone else and then maybe they will then talk to the person you wanted to talk too, but by then there is probably only one world left of the original message you wished to relay!  The Indian's also work on fear, with shouting being more common than talking and a daily bonking usually to my department, seeming to be the usual.    It didn't help that my department all seemed to have the combined age of 7 between them, had never none a film before, were lazy, more interested in plucking their eyebrows and had only got on the film because they had family connections.   Me and my friend Deb's who had also been drafted in, took to hiding behind the clothes on the truck and laughing at the whole mad situation otherwise we would of cried: A LOT!
The film itself had two of Bollywood's biggest actors in it.  The main guy who  is the highest paid man in Bollywood and their answer to Brad Pitt, was rather disappointing to look at after all the fuss.  We called him Lego head due to the amount of Brylcream on his hair!
In the end I couldn't take it anymore and walked off, in dramatic style after having a huge argument with the supposed, in charge costume girl.  What follows are some of the sentences I used in that argument:

• You don't know your arse from your elbow!
• Your stupid!
• Your Lazy!
• I wouldn't employ you as a trainee!
• Go fuck yourself (To be fair though she said it to me first!)

So all in all very dignified, like the lady I am.  It wasn't all bad though.  I met some great people on that job, who I really liked. They also do this funny thing of putting on really loud music on when someone is acting, to get the mood, which was interesting but also piss funny.  So conclusion;  India I still love you, I just can't work with you!

ITS A WRAP

I think I might of mentioned that most of my life this past 4 months have been taken up with working on a children's drama for Nickelodeon, called Summer in Transylvania.  I've never really done much on kids dramas before, but I must admit its been one of my favourite jobs and far more creative costume wise than those boring old cop dramas, I seem to keep working on.  The cast were all wonderful and the crew were great.  I had so much fun and I'm going to miss them all dearly now the job has finished.  Summer in Transylvania should be on Nickelodeon sometime in the Autumn if anyone wants to check it out.  Here are some of the highlights of the job for me.