I’M WALKING HERE | The Friday(ish) Update

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Friday(ish) Update, in which I give a little insight into what I’ve been up to for the past seven days.

What have I been up to this week?

The last couple of weeks have been a little bit different!

On Sunday 19th, I boarded a plane to New York, where I filmed something I’m working for with Nebula. I spent three days in the studio with the team there which was a great experience. Given that all my filming skills are a result of simply learning things as I go along, it’s always great to have the opportunity to work with proper professionals. I find it gives me the opportunity to pick up so many additional skills and ideas which I can then use when I’m filming alone.

More information about that project will no doubt be out soon. I’m not certain exactly what I’m allowed to say just yet. But, it’s something I’ve been working on for a while and which I think will be really, really cool.

Obviously, it was also great to have an excuse to visit New York!

It’s not often that I get to travel quite so far from home and so I decided to stick around for an extra few days. I ended up turning the trip into a bit of a research excursion for a video I’m currently working on as part of my coronation (or anti-coronation maybe?) miniseries. I thus visited a bunch of museums to track down some exhibits about the American and French revolutions and, in particular, the writer Thomas Paine.

I actually found this process really useful. Having spent the week surrounding myself with some of the places I’m writing about, it’s been much easier to “get inside” the events I’m writing about. It’s very much a luxury—not something I could usually afford to do at all—but, if I ever did have the budget to do it for more videos, I can definitely see the value of it.

And outside of work?

I did also find some time to enjoy myself whilst in New York. Alongside all the museums and galleries, I also managed to check out the High Line; which is a defunct raised metro line which has been converted into a park. It maybe sounds a little boring but it was actually a really cool idea. It has some cool platforms where you can look out over the streets below and these give a really interesting angle on New York.

On the Saturdays of my trip, I also scheduled in a 10km race around Governor’s Island in the New York Harbour. I’d been really quite ill during the proceeding days (great timing to get ill whilst I was away!) but still managed a pretty respectable time of 44:40. I’m trying to get my 10km time down closer to 40 minutes and, if I can do that on a day I’m feeling quite rough, then I hope I can hit somewhere nearer 42 on a good day!

The race also had great views. Halfway round each lap of the island, you’d turn the corner and get a stunning, unobstructed view of the Statue of Liberty and then the Manhattan skyline. It was an early start to get to it but I’m really glad I did!

What have I been reading/watching/listening to?

I also managed to catch a good few shows on Broadway whilst in New York. I saw four shows in total: Leopoldstadt, Hadestown, Shucked and Parade. It was quite a hit to the wallet but when am I next gonna be in New York, right?

I think I chose quite well. I enjoyed thoroughly enjoyed all four shows for different reasons. The standout, though, was Parade. This was the show I knew least about before going in and was the last I booked. I know Ben Platt is a “big name” and, to be honest, this made me a little hesitant as to whether it would be overpriced for what it was.

Nevertheless, I thought it was excellent. The show is about the false conviction and eventual lynching of a Jewish man in Georgia in the 1910s. And, the music is really clever. The show is filled with absolute bangers. But, they’re mostly sung by horrible antisemites. So, much like the hate movement it’s articulating, the songs lure you in and trick you into singing along until you suddenly realise what you’re endorsing by doing so.

From being the show I was least interested in initially, it’s the one that’s stuck with me the most.

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of the Friday(ish) Update. I hope you’ve found it mildly insightful.

Thanks as ever for your generous support and I’ll look forward to updating you more next week!!