Jumping Someone Else's Train
Three weeks before shooting wrapped on Rings of Power Season 2, a WGA Strike was called. This halted the vast majority of TV & shows that were in production by American Studios, including those shooting overseas. Ida and I had something heavily pencilled to go onto once we were finished at the end of August, but the “when” became ever more unclear.
With this uncertainty, and realising we would probably have no other time in the near future to take such an extended break, we planned a last minute Interrail Trip.
16 Stops. 6 Countries. 5 Weeks. The two weekends before departure were spent deciding the route and where to stay. We were exhausted before we even stepped on the first train…
I have never been a great traveller/holidayer. In part, self-induced landlock due to a fear of flying. In another, bad experiences with getting ill or suffering some other malady just as booked time off had begun; In 2014 when I had 2 weeks off to go to Bruges and do a little bit of close-to-home travel, severe tooth pain saw me arrive in Belgium and almost instantly get the bus right back to London, enduring the worst pain I’ve ever experienced whilst waiting for treatment. I returned to work not the slightest bit rested of relaxed.
The following year my holiday time was spent in bed with a fever. Rotten luck.
So it was much to my delight that this trip turned out to be an absolute joy. About time I shared some of it with you.
I made the decision before we left not to upload anything as an Instagram story or post until after the trip, wanting to be as “present” for it as much as possible. That might explain why it has taken a year to finally finish going through 5 weeks worth of photographs rather than a daily dump!
From next week, I’ll be posting highlights of each stop. Probably not one a day, but hopefully all out there before (this) year’s end, and certainly before whatever our next big trip ends up being!
So, before we begin, here’s a teaser of how things went…
Post Script
Criminal, the long running creator owned comic book series by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips makes the jump to the small screen in 2025 with an adaptation from Amazon Studios starring Charlie Hunman, Luke Evans and Emilia Clarke.
To coincide, Image will be publishing new editions of the first 4 trade collections of the series in a smaller size - akin to the recently launched Compact Comics line from DC, which reprints popular evergreen titles in a smaller, more affordable format. Think “airport paperback” size.
A new format means a new trade dress, and while I appreciate the uniform title across the top, I feel there is a little something missing. (I also feel that Coward has never had a good cover).
Perhaps they could be leaning more into the pulp detective/femme fatale “bad girl” vibe that was a staple of crime novel covers of old, and that the Bad Night cover has referenced in each printing - the Robert McGinnis style. Frustratingly, they have opted for the faded/obscured top of the image beneath the banner rather than bleeding over.
I’ve attempted a very quick & straightforward edit of how I would present them, replacing the Mike Shayne head with the Image Comic Publishers logo.
Not perfect, but I think something about the layout works a bit better. What do you think?
Since We Last Spoke…
I certainly wasn’t intending to leave it 5 months between posts, so I’m sincerely sorry about that. Quick updates:
- The move went well, and we’re settled in quite nicely to the new flat. I had a purge before we moved, and 99% of what I held onto is still in boxes, where it will all likely remain until we move again - we are hoping to look for a place to buy next year which is terrifying/exciting. I’ve been renting/sharing for 18 years; I’m ready for it.
- I joked last time about dragging a cart of boxes along the M4. Well, I did indeed do so, and not calculating just how heavy a trolley of records would be, I’ve given myself tennis elbow in my left arm….after just recovering having it my right arm for a year….
- I got a job! Since April I’ve been working on a production based very close to our flat; I now walk to work in 20 minutes. It has been An Experience that i’ll tell you more about later, but the team has been very small, and very lovely. I have 5 weeks left. After that? Well we’ll see…
- I was going to have a line in my last dispatch about it being XXXX days since Japandroids last record was released. Since then, they have actually announced their (tragically final!) new album for an October release. I do hope they announce a farewell tour to coincide with it, and I aim to go to as many UK dates as I can. If you’ve never listened to the one of the Greatest Romantic Albums of the 21st Century, its not too late.
- Speaking of live music, I’ve been to a few memorable gigs since we last spoke: Lankum, Korn, Joshua Idehan, oh and this up-and-comer called Taylor Swift?
You can find all my photos from the show here. Thank you to Ciara for the extremely last minute hook up.
- I have started another email account purely for my Christmas Mixes, and to keep track of the postal addresses of those I send it to each year. I sent this out in Mid-June as the first instalment in my new branch of Christmas Mixes and as a recruitment tool.
A grab bag of Christmas songs I like. No theme, no flow.
The themed mixed for 2024 is underway with a topic decided. If you want to make sure I have your up-to-date details, want to sign up for the first time, or know someone who might like to receive the CD in the mail, drop me a line at thenicelist@outlook.com
Ok, next week: Interrail 2023 Recap Begins! See You Here! Don’t forget your passport!
Take care x