Oh The Humanity...

Hello there

Here we are, a new week with all the possibilities that holds.

Nobody ever points out that this means it also holds possibilities for rubbish stuff, do they? Why should we have their daft optimism forced on us?

That’s me starting as I mean to go on in this post.

Nah, it’s actually optimistic really, I think.  Basically about having matters taken out of your hands, which eliminates the need for decisions.  Which is always rather cathartic. It’s all just framed in calamity.  

So, if you have been casually following my movements of late, you will have spotted that I really needed to clear the garage.  If you’re eagle-eyed, you may have noticed that it has actually been a bit cleared now (not in that pic up there, but since).  I definitely dropped enough hints and mentions about it needing doing, and I think I might have been subconsciously shaming myself into getting it sorted. I did a similar thing in the video yesterday, when I went right close up on my printer.  I wanted to be embarrassed enough by it to be inspired to get it dusted.  Maybe if one of my teeth fell out I’d get myself round to cleaning them properly as well.  Everything falls off in the winter.

It’s hard when there’s lots of things you need to remember though.  Yes, I am genuinely arguing that “cleaning your teeth” is something you “need to remember”. I’ve only just gotten on track with my blood pressure tablets (think this is the first week I’ve not missed a day). Feel free to compliment me in the comments forthwith.

Anyway, the garage is very much a seasonal thing for me, and is currently a rather frustrating space, as I appear to be presently drawn towards building/spraying/fume-filled projects.  I’ve got the art room which is ace, but it’s really not suitable for expanding foam and aerosol paint. Obviously, the weather can be a quick changer of thought process when I’m wanting to be building stuff.  It is so cold, and the garage is essentially like standing outside.  A heater would do nothing (I know this for definite because I remember trying it once when I was building R2-D2), and I’m not sure it would be safe for me to make a “little fire” in there, because of the aforementioned aerosols.  I’ve been very brave though, despite temperatures which I suspect have broken my camera (you’ll see in the tombstone build part 2 video on Weds). So, I needed a cleared-out garage to match my intrepid artistic desires…

I’d been thinking all Christmas about getting a skip.  I even thought I might try and get one on Christmas day, because it could be cheaper (it’s not) and easier to get (it’s not). I mustn’t have been the only person to have that brilliant idea.  I can’t quite get myself to the point of paying 250 quid to borrow a big bin, so didn't do it…

I mention the skip though, to demonstrate that I was ready to go nuclear on chucking stuff. Ironically, there’s loads of stuff in that garage (or was) that wasn’t even mine.  Stuff that’s been dumped on me over the years.  Not to go into too much detail, but I think there may have been an unspoken use of me for storage.  It’s an odd thing to have hanging over you, when you just end up with someone else’s stuff, that you didn’t ever want, and feel as though you can’t get rid of it because ...it’s someone else’s stuff.  No matter how much you want to. Is that a common thing? Does it happen a lot?  Or just me?

I had all Raji’s VHS tapes of when he was in EastEnders for FIVE YEARS before I eventually thought how ridiculous that was and actually tipped them out of a window (it’s not as impressively hedonistic as it sounds, the flat beneath me had a skip at the time).  I’d moved them tapes to three houses at that point though. Isn’t that crackers? It’s not like I’d borrowed a book or something, and was obliged to keep it safe…

This is my patented long-winded way of saying that I had no emotional pull for the junk in my garage.  In fact, if you’d have asked me to write down what was in there, I wouldn’t have managed to recall much of it.  How can it be important? I knew there were Hot Toys boxes and vintage Saints programmes in there, but beyond that – no clue.  Being ruthless would be easy under those circumstances.

However…(and we all saw that coming) this was all to change.  Sometimes you go “Oh that’s where that is!  I thought I’d lost it!”.  Sometimes you’ve just forgotten about stuff that there’s no way you are binning.  Also, in unconnected news, there is an occasional issue with rodents in my garage.  That’s why the Hot Toys boxes, etc, are quite vigilantly packaged away.  Boxes in boxes, if you will. All my stuff in there is well sealed to be honest.  It wouldn’t stop a particularly determined mouse, if it was desperate to see a Saints coaches thoughts during the 86-87 season, but it’s enough of a deterrent.

The thing is, like cleaning my teeth, I sometimes forget to seal up boxes.  Particularly when they’ve been flung in there in a rush.  Turns out, I didn’t remember to seal the box that had the movie props in it…

I mean…we could look at this as quite the scathing review really.

It wasn't just ParaPod stuff that was irreplaceable in that box...brace yourself...

3D Blu-rays...(ok, I suppose these are technically replaceable, and I don't have a properly working 3D telly, so I can live with this...)

Beautiful South tour hoody...Not sure I could get away with wearing that now.  And not just because it won't fit me...binned.

Not Going Out crew hoody which I - for some reason - didn't photograph the damage on, but it was extensive.  I'm not overly heartbroken about this, as Mr Mack clearly didn't sign up much of the budget to have them made.  Look how cheap that transfer is.  But still...

Binned.

There was some debate about this with myself and Kim (who was helping - particularly by checking there were no mice still in any of the boxes...). This was the cat that Barry had at the vaults, and we couldn't ascertain if it had been rodent-ravaged or whether it was always just falling to bits.  It would make sense that mice finding a comatose feline would just go for it.  Chance in a lifetime for them that. Went in the bin (the witches hat beneath it, survived).

We know Dodds goes pleasantly-heavy on the after-shave, but that is mouse-nip it seems. He shouldn't have been wearing after-shave in school anyway, but it's too late now.  Binned.

Quick pause whilst we have a moment of positivity.  We had tons of batteries for the mic packs and it seems they weren't all used.  In fact, there's a lot of the boxes left.  So, I am accepting this supply as compensation.  Was genuinely happy with this bit...

Back to the tragedy...

I know it's not that bad but... well, you know?  Now, the caveat is, there were two of these and one has survived.  I have no clue if the one that survived is the one that was used in the scene, or whether it was this one.  However, I propose that we decide as a group, that this one is the spare.  The other one, that is unscathed, is the one that was on screen.  If we all decide it, then it shall just become real.  Like a Tulpa. I mean, It might genuinely be the case, I just want us to decide it as a fact as we have no way of finding out for certain.

The tent was shredded as well but that was the first thing found and I binned it immediately without taking a picture.

All that's left from the haul is:

Planet Hollywood are gonna be gutted mate.

I'm pretty sure that Taxi sign was cut from the film.

(The alternate, undamaged, Barry's Taxi sign, along with the two undamaged "Gullible Buffoon" signs were in my hand when I took this photo - so they are ok too).

It's all right though.  I'm not overly sentimental to have everything from the film, but it did still feel a bit bleurgh. However, like I said, it was also kind of cathartic that I didn't have to keep storing it all. Just need some mice to set about that hearse now... I might smother it in cheese.

Oh, and I'm sure it's unconnected, but this was open in the props box too. 

I don't think Mice get attracted by food smells though right?  Otherwise I might be choosing to blame young Master Dodds for carelessly discarding his herbs (which he hilariously blacked out the brand name of I see, in a film where he wore a branded hoody from beginning to end...)

Some deleted stuff from the climax of that particular movie tomorrow for you, and we shall also be looking at Codnor generally over February, with the next load of storyboards, some written stuff about the evening itself, and the next instalment of “Yeah But…”.  

Not just that though, there’ll be stuff everyday as usual, including Rocky Robot’s “Ask Rocky” video that he thinks I don’t know about, some more videos charting the tombstone build, some stuff about Tales From Castle Diablo (and probably one of those tales in its entirety), the usual Cabin Fever, podcasts, writing, and art posts…on it goes. You know I won’t short change you.

Hope you are having a lovely start to your week, and that it doesn’t go wrong.  Genuinely hope it doesn’t go wrong.  See…optimistic (at least in “hope”)

Lots of love to you

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