Mini update

Apologies for the vast amount of silence on the blog. We have no internet access yet at home, so online time is restricted to our time at work, which right now is spent, erm, working. All long days and Saturdays too, finishing up Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix. We're still trying to get a few basic services in place, amidst the bureaucracy of temporary addresses, and the uncomfortable no-man's land of credit-history exile. Spending money is harder than you think.

I tried to use the free wi-fi at the cafe across from our house, I was able to squeeze out a couple emails before the whole thing died and the serviceable staff just stared at me blankly. I'll take rude Parisians or overly friendly American wait staff in exchange for the 'service' we've received in London to date. Donna commented "that's what you get when you don't have to work for tips".

In the meantime, unable to post anything of substance, I hope to post a very brief daily snippet from work, before the few people who do read this abandon it altogether!

[interruption by someone wondering why I'm doing something other than making movie magic...]

The BAFTAs on Monday night had a nice surprise - 'our' first award. Better said, the Visual Effects BAFTA went to Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - a film we worked on. See, in the past ten years, my tally stood at 5 BAFTA and 4 Oscar nominations, but no actual awards.

We love our new flat/house/maisonette that we moved into just over a week ago. More than a flat, less than a house. Not having a dryer every possible radiator is covered in socks and jeans and undies, a vivid flashback to my student days. A stone's throw from Abbeville Road in Clapham, next to the Common and close to all the things we need. Still trying to figure out the best Bus/Tube combination to get to work. Just when we think we have it figured out, a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon, and the whole Northern Line shuts down, banishing us to the surface in search of an alternative.

One day we squeezed into a train that had me pressed up against my fellow passengers, not an inch to spare with elbows in faces, necks craned against the curved train walls, a solid mass of bodies and held breaths. Unable to hold on to anything, the crowd provided a natural cushion as the train swayed along the tracks. Trying not to crush the not-unattractive girl in front of me, I quipped - "and they say Londoners aren't friendly". She laughed. When the doors opened, the pressure of the people pushed me out of the train. I didn't even get her number. Just joking, Donna!

I know I have many as-yet unreplied to emails waiting for attention, please be patient while we get a little more settled, and once we have more than one day at the weekend free and our evenings back I'll be able to be in more regular contact. If you have IM, my AIM handle is "juanitoelbicho", I'm reliably logged in from 9am to 7pm GMT - that is by far the best way to stay in touch right now.

London | Harry Potter | BAFTA | Oscar | Pirates Of The Caribbean