January 2026 | James Durose-Rayner's website

JANUARY 2026

The A's

ALL IMAGES OPEN IN TECHNICOLOUR

31 January 2026.

Good morning.

It is 12:01 am.

I'm still up. Partly due to my day job and partly due to some horrible fucking stomach bug that I must have picked up.

It can't be food poisoning and me and Julie have more or less eaten the same things... and she has a grin on her chops.

We had salmon steaks with salad, although I had different cuts - three of them.

The Imodium (Loperamide) should kick in soon.

I did a load of work today, much more than usual and the orders post-Christmas have started coming in, which is always good.

Hopefully, I can get the magazine uploaded to the printers on Monday.

And then it all starts again.

Deadline after deadline...

The months fly by and before we know it, we are on the countdown to Christmas.

It has been like this for years and there is always generally some drama.

Jacob Gotleib - the owner and CEO of JSG Merchant Bank in Hammersmith.

Check out his scars.

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Opposite (if you are on a laptop or PC) is the continual regeneration of Hammersmith and above (and in the story) is the person responsible for it happening - Jacob Gotleib.

He doesn't really show his face in Series 1 until New Year 2023. Episode 3, I think - but that could alter.

He is one hell of a character - as is his wife, Christie, who makes herself known to Gaynor on Boxing Day 2022 as Gaynor takes Mason to hospital as he is passing blood in his urine.

There is a reason.

Whilst Mason is being X-rayed, Christie invites Gaynor into her office. Well, it isn't her office as such as she is extremely high up and generally works out of Wellington House on Waterloo Road, south of the river. And as was the case, it was just an office she had borrowed.

Why?

She heard that Mason was coming in from Annie Coulthard - one of the head nurses at the hospital, and wanted to meet the girl that he was involved with.

Why?

I can't tell you that as it's part of the story.

Christie, however creates something of an ally in Gaynor and for that Christie is eternally grateful.

Again, I can't tell you why as it would ruin the story - but you work with Christie and Jacob - and never against them.

And wait until both Maureen and John Mellor meet them.

I liked writing that.

30 January 2026.

Good morning.

It's 8:00 am and I'm up.

However, this morning it is thankfully Julie's turn for the job of dog walking and it is she who is out through the woods with the hound.

I say thankfully as it's pissing it down with rain.

My job? Getting the dog's breakfast and putting the coffee on.

Yesterday was a strange one.

We had an appointment at the solicitors at 11:00 am.

It has been on the cards for a while - or since Julie's dad passed away, rather.

The Will and Power of Attorney.

We had the former but not the latter and it needed sorting. Well they both did really - as our Will needed amending.

One thing is for sure is that we will be leaving Jamie a damn sight more than anyone ever left us.

Death. It does make you act.

We called in at Home Bargains on the way back as I fancied picking up some Nescafe Alta Rica while it was so cheap. We also got some Fairy Dishwasher Tabs - £7 as there was £6 off. Great stuff.

Whilst pushing the trolley round I noticed the cost of slippers, as I was on about buying a spare pair - for when I nip outside to sling shit in the bins.

£8 from Home Bargains.

£16.99 if I wanted a pair of Lyle & Scott branded ones from M&M Direct.

Julie had recently bought me a pair from Marks & Spencer.

"How much were they?" I enquired.

"Thirty six quid," she said.

Extortionate.

And whilst I'm on about money, Julie's sister phoned up at tea time sort of shouting and bawling.

Generally she only does that when she's pissed.

As it happened, Rotherham Council had sent her a letter. They say they want over £40,000 from her for the outstanding care home fees. You know - for her mum.

Local authorities eh?

They couldn't function in the real world.

Julie's mum paid for her care at £1,100 a week until she got below the finance threshold.

Both girl's did everything to the book, so fuck 'em.

There are a lot of people in there (the care home) that haven't worked in their lives and get the same care for free.

It's all part of the levelling-up process where the people who have worked all their lives get financially fucked - both whilst they are alive, and when they are in the ground.

I've said it before, this is a minor bug bear in series.

Maureen's mum (Granny O'Hara) is in a care home - Gaynor at a semi-privately-run school.

The Mellor's pay for both - but there are those that don't.

The reality comes out, and at 18 years old, Gaynor finds herself thinking about politics after rubbing shoulders with some of the elder girls from Hammersmith.

Most students live in a socialist bubble.

The crowd at The Vaults certainly do not.

Why?

The Gotleib's, The Cartier-Bloems, the Rosensteins...

They all work hard and they all have money. And the last thing they want is to give it away.

Watch this space.

Opposite top (If you are on a laptop or PC). The regeneration of the A315 continues.

There are also a selection of photos of Ana Reung - Mason's very young-looking gran.

She is a lovely character.

The story is that she had Mason's mum when she was 17-years old.

At the beginning of Series 2, when Maureen Mellor told her granddaughter that Mason was her father, there was a lot more for Jenny to take in, as she was to also find out who her grandparents were - one of which was Rochana Reung (Ana).

Jenny knew Ana - not as gran, but as "Ana who owns that flower shop".

"I'm your great grandmother," Ana told her afterwards. "I was your Granny Green's mum ."

"Granny Green who died - my dad's mam?"

"That's right," Ana told her. "Your Granny Terri."

It was a lot for Jenny to process but process she did - and for months those questions just wouldn't stop.

On Gaynor and Jenny arriving back in West London, it would be Ana who introduced Jenny to a lot of the people of Hammersmith - Mason's extended family - the Coulthard's, the Hand's, the Middleton's...

It would also be Ana that set her Sunday morning's aside to take her great granddaughter to Taekwondo and where Ana would eventually introduce her to the Dreaded Mr Wong.

"He doesn't learn me owt," said Jenny. "He just has me booting this big bag."

"Please speak properly," Gaynor often tells her daughter, trying to rid her of the South Yorkshire dialect she has picked up.

"You might think you're not learning," her dad winks. "But you are."

That got Jenny thinking.

29 January 2026.

Good morning.

It is 5:25 am and I am up.

In another 90 minutes I'll take the hound out through the woods.

I did the late walk up the sand path, through the churchyard and down into the market place around midnight last night and you ought to have seen the amount of rabbits on the park. There were dozens of them.

No wonder the owls were hooting their heads off

The A's. Have you seen opposite. Fucking wow!

Animation at its finest - and that's just 2D.

Hammersmith Palais.

From Day 1 this is what I wanted. The ultimate in cool.

The Clash played the Palais in June 1980.

It got knocked down in 2012 never to be seen again.

Not so.

I rebuilt it along with half of the A315 King Street and also resurrected some of those high street businesses that we all loved.

In Ravenscourt Park Tube Station and the beautiful contrasting of colours

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The characters are now looking like I want them to look.

They are also being dressed in designer gear and look human. And look at the contrasting of colours.

I'm not a cameraman, photographer nor director - but again - fucking wow!

It's happening and I have the storyline to make it work.

These are very exciting times.

If you get chance, read the early days of the journal.

I said that style was what it was all about, and mentioned the American period drama television series that was created by Matthew Weiner. Mad Men.

The characters in The A's look better, dress better and being British aside, they are far more fucking interesting.

The attention is always in the detail.

As for the rebuilding of Hammersmith - there is a story there concerning the fictitious JSG Merchant Bankers - the Gotleib's.

28 January 2026.

Good morning.

I had a great sleep.

Well I did after the dog woke the house at midnight barking her head off.

That cat was in the garden... again.

She went mental when I let her out.

Anyway, I dropped back off and had a full interrupted sleep until 8:00 am which is most unusual.

I got up and took the dog through the wood's which was a damn sight more pleasurable than it was the day before - when the east wind coming in from the North Sea made by head feel like I'd just had some ice rush. You know - when you swallow something icy and it gives you a headache?

It was like that: through the woods and on the two long stretches. Right side, full on and left side.

Today, however - I found that the horrible wind had dried up quite a lot of the sludge. So good.

I managed to get to the accountants.

Azmullar - the main man, says that he's going to give me a call and he'll take me to one of the good curry houses in Sheffield before we head out to Cyprus on 21 February (I think).

I got back in to two deliveries.

Regina Blitz kitchen towel was one.

Like toilet rolls, I buy them in bulk - either 24's or 48's, as not only does it work out cheaper - it doesn't fill up the trolley in the supermarket nor the boot of my car when we go shopping.

And we never run out.

The other delivery was flowers and chocolates from Marks & Spencer courtesy of Tim.

A very nice gesture in light of what never happened - however, it is a shame that it had to come to this, as I fucking hate confrontation.

On another point closely related, I mentioned family the other day.

I grew up in northern England in what was a different time and place, and one where we lived in close confines to one another, and one where nobody had much.

The history books will tell you that this was community... all pulling together in the face of adversity. It wasn't.

Having very little breeds contempt - especially when someone gets a bit more than the other.

And schadenfreude, which is such a pretentious fucking word and one which I hate, was always prevalent - always.

Wanting something bad to happen to someone to make that person feel better is nothing short of pathetic - as it doesn't in any way shape or form alter the life of that person who gets off on wanting someone to fail. It just makes the person wanting it, look bitter.

I rarely get this from anyone outside of family and people that I grew up with at home. There is always the exception, but it does tell you a lot.

These life experiences are things that you can put to play when you are creating characters - as I said with the little girls in Jenny Mellor's class the other day - you know - the Three Wise Monkey's (Not).

In The A's, The Mellor's appear an affluent middle-class family. They live in a lovely house on a tree lined street in a lovely part of Chiswick - The Green.

Dad owns a business, mum has retired, Angie has what looks like a great job and Gaynor is at college looking towards university. And mum and dad both drive new cars.

From the outside things look perfect, especially to the likes of Anthony N'Gonte - one of the people in Gaynor's form (at college).

However, nothing is what it seams.

And then Gaynor meets Mason and one of the seven deadly sins rears its head. Not only at college but at home.

That of envy.

Opposite is Gaynor in three shots from mid-point towards the end of Series 1, in Ravenscourt Park Tube Station.

You can see how her appearance is changing and how she is growing up. You can also see why envy has reared its ugly head.

Watch for it.

On another point. I created a set of 4K photograph's of the Gaynor character asset in light blue at the station. And the contrast of colours were second to none.

These are extremely good photographs.

27 January 2026.

Good morning.

I'm up.

It is 5:50 am and I've been tossing and turning for the last hour listening to the traffic on the A161 driving through the rain.

Yes, it's been raining through the night again.

Something to look through, I suppose - having to trawl through the sludge and woods with the hound in an hours time.

As it is, I'm sat in my study with a cup of sweet tea looking through the window into the dark.

It's that time of year. The snowdrop's are fully out in the churchyard and you can now see the daffodils sprouting (through the sludge), and which will be in bloom pre-Easter.

Time flies and our lives go so fast.

It is why we try to enjoy it.

Yesterday, Julie booked our flights out to Cyprus. That is sort of something to look forward to. It's just a shame that it's not next week we are flying.

I'm at the accountants in Sheffield at midday.

The dreaded tax returns.

I should have gone in December, but I completely forgot.

Something to look forward to I suppose. Not.

Opposite, I've done a bit of a makeover for Lloyds Bank and Marks and Spencer and built a modern shopping centre over the top of it - TopMan - TopGirl and HMV - the former of which is sadly missed and the latter which is surviving by the skin of its teeth.

Anita Pallenburg uses Marks & Spencer quite regularly in Series 2 - whereas Gaynor just used King Street for the restaurants - most notably Facchetti's at the top end in Series 1.

(Series 1) Gaynor Mellor flagging a cab on King Street in Hammersmith after an evening with the girls at Facchetti's Italian restaurant.

The flat at Boelyn Mews is only a 5 minute ride from here.

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I created Facchetti's and to be honest, I'm not entirely happy with either how it looks nor its location, but I suppose the interior and of course the food is what counts.

I suppose I could do a cobbled courtyard around the back with Al Fresco dining and parking.

The upper floors are a chartered accountants who I named after an accountant who has offices on Bridge Street in Swinton (near Mexborough) - Giles Brearley.

I've upgraded the front quite a bit... well, a lot really.

I'll work on the rear at a later date, but one thing I will say - is that it will look a lot better than the front.

The restaurant is a main focal point-stroke-location in Series 1, as this is where Gaynor often meets her friends from Hammersmith for lunch or tea when Mason is out doing what Mason does.

She goes for the odd evening meal - but rarely with friends her age, as they all tend to be students at either college or university - and that being the case - most of them are generally boracic - skint, and bogged down with student loans and there are much cheaper places to eat.

Gaynor doesn't have that problem - she has Mason.

26 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 7:10 am and through the sludge and woods with the hound.

Yes, it's been raining through the night.

Yesterday evening we went to The Curry Leaf and had a meal - Julie had the Chicken Balti Madras hot and I had the Chicken Maharaja Vindaloo hot.

It was nice to get out, but Julie thought different.

Going out and not drinking is the same as not drinking when you are on holiday... very hard.

Day 15 today.

Have I missed a drink? No.

Have I missed the pub? No.

Put them both together and the answer would be, maybe.

It is just somewhere to go and something to do when you are bored.

Outside of my mate, Big Scott - Omar the owner - is without doubt the biggest wheeler-dealer that you could ever meet. Last night he sounded me out about a CT Scanner - a type of X-Ray machine.

It's not really something you can get from the free-ads section or Autotrader but if I can source engine parts for a 31 year old Mitsubishi FTO or parts for a similar aged Decon RVS micro tunnelling machine then sourcing a CT scanner would be no problem.

It took me five minutes.

You can buy a used one for between £25-75,000.

Personally, I'd rather chuck the money at a Maserati.

According to Omar the scanner was for some clinic over in Bangladesh and as is always the case with these Third World countries, they want one without having to pay any money.

Anyway...

Opposite top the modernisation of Hammersmith continues and by the time The A's goes into production much more of the town will follow suit.

I really enjoy constructing the 2D film sets.

As you can see in the fourth image down, Essen and Pope bookmakers' main shop is there on the corner of King Street and Cambridge Grove along with their first floor offices above - which is where the big stakes are dealt with.

The partners of the bookmakers are Cyril Essen (Fat Cyril / Cess) and Cyril Pope - both of whom are good friends with Mason Green.

Cyril Pope is the elder stepbrother of Jack Thiam - another one of Mason's good friends.

Cyril is also one of the 12-percenters - one of the shareholders of The Hammersmith Vaults.

(JSG Merchant Bankers own the buildings).

In The A's there are a couple of flashbacks to Cyril's growing up in Hammersmith, with him both as a 12 and 14 year old.

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The butchers on the opposite corner I named after the butchers my parents used to use in one of the two mining villages that I grew up in - that both Jim and Noreen Sharman owned, and where my uncle - my stepdad's youngest brother, worked from being 15 years old.

Bottom opposite is part of neighbouring Chiswick and the fictitious Sir Richard Reynolds Care Home on the A3000 Wellesey Road, where Gaynor's granny is a resident in Series 1.

By Series 2 she isn't there anymore.

Mrs O'Hara had Alzheimer's and Gaynor visited her every Monday evening.

Although her granny couldn't speak, Gaynor made a point of swatting up on her English Lit and often read to her.

Mrs O'Hara had a rather dark personality, which had worsened after the death of her husband some years back.

As it was, Gaynor was often used as the proverbial dog to kick - and some of the things her granny both said and did would affect Gaynor in later life.

What is said by Gaynor to her mum around the time of her and Mason's Long Term Plan was: "What really gets to me is that you let her get away with it."

There are a few flashback scenes.

It is really sad - especially when you know the story.

(Series 1) 12 November 2022.

Angie Mellor - pre-wedding sat on the sofa in her mum's house at 8 Marquis Gardens, Chiswick Green.

A new hair-do and reading a Bridal magazine.

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Angie's marriage to Pat Marshall happens early on in Series 1.

There are also a few scenes covering the wedding but not the actual wedding itself - although that could change.

How Angie she looks in this photo - is perfect and exactly as I envisaged her. However, what is strange, is that their Gaynor - who at this point - has lived in her elder sister's shadow, has recently had a grown-up hairdo (style) at Kerry Adamcyk's salon - Beautiful Girl (Piękna Dziewczyna).

Angie followed suit and copied her younger sister - not by just going to the self-same salon, but also (to a degree) with the hair style.

It is worth noting that this was the first time ever.

Things were changing, and unbeknown to Gaynor, the younger sister was quickly moving into the driving seat.

The wedding reception.

It is supposedly the bride and grooms day - however, Mason comes in as high as a kite - and fucking bang - the place explodes.

"Has he been drinking?" Maureen asks.

"Absolutely not," Gaynor replies.

That much was true. And it certainly wasn't drugs.

This would be a side of Mason's personality that...

I can't say as it would ruin the story!

25 January 2026.

Good morning.

It is 12:20 am and I haven't gone to bed yet.

I've been creating 2D film sets in 4K in and around Hammersmith.

The reason?

I'll need them for 2-3 second shots to break the scenes and let the viewer know where the next scene takes place.

I've left the sets blank and will put the traffic, people and weather in at a later date.

Opposite top is part of Hammersmith's high street shopping centre - King Street (at the Leamore Street junction), which in reality looks as shit as the high streets up in the northern towns do.

Not anymore. Look at the difference...

Fucking awesome, eh?

I really need to shrink down the street sign, however.

The attention is in the detail!

I've kept the Iceland supermarket as an anchor point just so you can see the difference.

The Photographs below all about Rolf - the number one tattooist in West London.

Rolf has a gregarious nature and owns the tattoo studio on Trussley Road in Hammersmith called Dandy Warhols.

These are former railway arches beneath London Underground's Circle Line.

I've done three versions, snow, night and day - the latter of which has his car parked outside waiting for a ticket - a classic VW Karmann.

You will find out that Rolf doesn't JUST do permanent ink tattoos - he also does temporary body art, hence why when you see him his ink can look different or not even there at all.

Volkswagen Rolf (Sebastian Rolfe) sat in Mason's flat at 24A Boelyn Mews, Ravenscourt Park wearing a black and gold jacquard Dolce & Gabbana suit.

All the Hammersmith Faces dressed well - however, the owner of The Dandy Warhols tattoo studios was the more arty of the bunch when it came to clothes, music and indeed cars.

Rolf is a peripheral figure in Series 1 in that he is there but he doesn't have any ongoing relationship or is in any major scenes - although that could change.

He dresses sort of outlandish compared to the rest, which may suggest that he is gay.

He isn't.

In The A's, a persons sexual orientation isn't something that gets rammed down your throat and aside from maybe Astrid Karcherr - the photographer, a persons sexual orientation outside of normality is never mentioned.

I needed a rest from all the woke-fuelled bullshit and in my humble opinion, normality is the new cool.

Back to Rolf.

Although he liked Gaynor- and he did, he - like Kiki Dee, Leoni and Astrid, had her number from Day 1.

As Astrid said: "She was Trouble with a capital fucking T."

There are scenes in the tattoo studio where Gaynor pops her head in.

As a point of note, Gaynor always refers to Rolf by his Christian name - which is Sebastian, much the same as she does with A.J Milz, who she always calls Arthur.

Gaynor is the only one who does this.

So...

Yesterday, at around 3:30 pm we called at Home Bargains of the A1077 west of Scunthorpe town centre and did a sort of stock-up shop which came to just under £300.

40 sachets of Winalot - two for £20 (£10 each) - the best deal ever; .75ml Domestos 99p; Filipo Berero Olive Oil £4.75p; and Nescafe Alta Rica £3.99p.

I have to admit - it's a great place to shop.

Right. I'm done here.

Bedtime.

23 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 7:20 am.

Well, I was up at 3:20 am really - the dog barking.

I went downstairs and opened the back door and she did her running around the garden and shouting... at nothing.

One night I'll open the door to find some shitbag there in a hoodie. Now, that would be interesting.

I managed to get off back to sleep after around 90 minutes of tossing and turning.

Julie got up before me did the honour of walking the dog, which I was most grateful for.

She is currently down at the care home in the Dearne Valley this morning with her sister, Jane - presenting them with the £400 from the whip-round from their mum's funeral.

Today, I'm working. My day job. The magazine.

I've been doing an hour a night cardio - Day 13 today, so I'll see about starting throwing some weights around.

Something to look forward to, I suppose (not).

Opposite there are a couple of short animations and photograph's.

The story of the shoes really happened - but as stated - not like that.

The shoes, however - drove Gaynor crackers.

The red ones along with a few other pairs appeared in October 2022 and were there up until early summer 2023 when their Angie (Mellor) noticed them after she and Pat had stayed over at the flat.

In a rather caustic quip, Gaynor more than inferred that they wouldn't fit her.

It never stopped Gaynor secretly trying them on when she first saw them, however!

On thing Gaynor did have was an inquisitive nature.

And the shopping.

Unlike Angie, Gaynor could neither cook nor clean to save her life, and when the relationship began, she realised that she would need something more than a pair of nice legs to keep Mason interested.

Cue: Mum.

Maureen used to bag up shopping for her to take to the flat - you know - simple things that you could stick in the oven.

Maureen also used to make sure that Mason got fed whilst he was at 8 Marquis Gardens and that continued all the way through Series 2.

And as you will see, Mason never forgot that - ever.

As stated: Mason thought Maureen was perfect.

As part of Gaynor's Long Term Plan - she knew that she needed to grow up and began taking an interest in trying to be the good, obedient housewife.

"Where are the potatoes?" Mason asked, after coming in from wherever he had been one evening, mid-point in Series 1.

Gaynor had done the shop and cooked a candlelit dinner for two (not).

"I'm not peeling flipping potatoes - I've just had my nails done."

Mrs (Isobella) Facchetti took Gaynor under her wing and showed her how to cook certain dishes, as did Mrs (Violine) Agumanu - both of who loved Mason.

There is a reason.

Much the same as the reason why both Gaynor and Angie were fast-tracked through their driving tests.

Quid pro quo.

Mason had friends.

23 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 7:10 am.

I wasn't really, I was awake 40 minutes earlier but I just didn't want to get out of bed, the thought of trawling through the sludge with the hound was about as appealing as a weekend in Bradford.

That said, it was a job that needed doing regardless.

I got in to Julie with a cloth and Domestos spray in her mitts moaning about the mess the dog had made during the night.

Alsatians are notorious for parading, as I call it.

Before they lie down they tend to circle four or five times. They also like laying against a wall - in our case, under the electric fire in the dining kitchen.

And food - don't even go there. As soon as there is any activity in the kitchen, she is there.

Yesterday was another work day. The piecing together of the 84-page magazine.

It can be enjoyable and it can be mundane.

The enjoyment part is completing it and flying out to Cyprus on the 1st of the month - however, this time it won't be happening as Julie has booked our Jamie and Lianne to go on 9 February for a week.

It's a rubbish time to go if it's your holiday, as the holiday resorts are shut (Protaras especially) and the weather isn't that good. It's much better than here, but it's still not brilliant.

Jamie likes snorkelling and this time they are taking their wet suits. They will need them as the sea will be cold.

One thing is for sure - they will be able to use the FTO as since all the cooling system has been replaced it's been running okay. I'd say like a dream but it's 31 years old.

I've never seen Cyprus as a holiday as it's just our house... and I work. I always work.

So, today I would imagine, will be much the same as yesterday, although the delivery of a new laser printer / scanner and my mate Tim getting in contact did break the monotony a bit.

As for Tim, apparently, he didn't realise that he'd pissed me off.

He apologised, which was exactly the right thing to do - however, I've had apologies from lots of people in the past and a sorry is only any good if it's meant.

I've had sorry's by the bucketful and 10 minutes later they are back to doing exactly what they were doing before. And family are the fucking worst for it.

The printer. I trawled around for the best laser printer. Not the cheapest - as there is a reason why they are the cheapest, but the best, as I need to start printing off the scenes in the script. I bought it off www.printerland.co.uk who phoned me up to confirm it was what I wanted, and they delivered the very next day. Impressive.

I had a Canon inkjet printer at home and it was fucking shit. After 100 or so pages the cartridges ran out and when you don't use it for a period of time the cartridges clog.

And I don't (didn't) really print a lot, so the latter was a continual problem. As was the constant paper jamming, which saw me flip - and rip it out from the back of the PC and dump the fucking thing before Christmas.

I'm a press-a-button-and-it-should-fucking-work kind of guy. You pay the money for a product and it should do as you tell it.

Right.

That's me done for today on Day 12 of my non-drinking.

22 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 7:30 am to the sound of the back door being shut.

Julie had taken the hound out for her walk.

We'd had roast beef, Yorkshire Puddings and and vegetables last night, therefore the dog had what was left of the roast.

A tip: If you are going to buy beef - choose Topside or Silverside as a roasting joint (which is netted up) in comparison, is shite. I would say it's like comparing Rump to Fillet, but it's not really. It's worse.

I think it was around £20 from Tesco's as well. Rip off.

Saying that - the dog enjoyed it.

I'm on with my day job today - the 84-page magazine.

All being well I should have it wiped off by next Friday.

Opposite are a couple of shots of Mason Green - with both Gaynor and with Kiki Dee.

Sliding doors. If Kiki hadn't gone to the University of Norwich in September 2022 then maybe Mason and Gaynor would have never happened. Who knows?

Kiki Dee and Gaynor were highly academic, from quite privileged backgrounds, and both loved Mason - but they were also two totally different people.

Kiki was confident and knew who she was; Gaynor was the opposite and most certainly didn't.

Maybe that's what intrigued Mason.

Anita said to Mason in Series 2: "You could have had the pick of any of us - why Gaynor - she was nothing?"

"She needed me," was his answer.

That certainly had Anita scratching her head.

The third photo is of Mason and Anita between both series'.

Anita had always loved Mason as you will see in Series 1 when she confides with her mum Louisa.

In the banter animation with Leoni Middleton and Anita, Leoni hits a nerve when she infers of Anita's manipulation in getting close to Mason via Angie Mellor.

Maybe there is some truth in that.

Again, who knows.

It is for the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

Right. That's me done for today.

21 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 8:30 am.

A lay in.

I was up until late watching the football - the Inter Milan v Arsenal game (1-3).

Julie took the dog through the woods this morning and pulled the (brown) garden bin back in.

We still have the real Christmas tree on the lawn, which really needs getting shut of.

The idea was to drag it round onto the waste ground one night - but I have a chainsaw so maybe I could just chop it up.

The recycling centre (dumpit site) is open tomorrow, so maybe the latter is the better option than have the police pull me up on the A161 dragging a tree around to the garden centre.

As for the lawn. I don't want to talk about it as a new one should have been laid in November, but the landscaper had different ideas - therefore, I fucked him off.

I thought he was full of shit when he came round to quote, and those thoughts were confirmed both after he let me down and after I told him not to bother.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Er - yeah.

Wankers. The world's full of them.

Anyway.

Opposite is an animation that I did a few weeks ago of Kiki Dee along with some photo's.

Gaynor never liked Kiki and vice-versa.

Gaynor saw her as a threat whilst Kiki saw Gaynor as trouble with a "Capital Fucking T".

Kiki - just like her best friend Leoni Middleton, was highly academic and went off to Norwich University in September 2022, just coming back on the odd weekend and the half-term holidays.

Just like Leoni, Kiki was very pro-Mason.

Mason's gran - Ana Reung, however - thought they were just taking advantage of her grandson as they were three (school / college) years older than him and always at the flat.

You don't see this as the series starts when Kiki has left for university, but there are the odd flashbacks to the summer of 2022, when the pair were around at 24A Boelyn Mews.

Above. Hector's House. 24A Boelyn Mews. Zsa Zsa (Leoni), Hector (Mason) and Kiki (Kiki).

Hector's House, as Mason's gran referred to it (the flat) - you know, the French animated children's programme from the 1960's - with the dog (Hector), the cat (Madam Zsa Zsa) and of course the frog - who was of course Kiki.

As soon as Kiki left, Mason was lumbered with Aisha Dhanial, who his gran didn't like, and then came Gaynor - the posh girl from The Green with the nice parents.

Now, Ana Reung liked Gaynor very much.

A nice girl, is how Ana saw her.

Right. That's me done for today.

20 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 7:00 am and through the sludge with the hound.

It isn't raining but the ground is wet.

Yesterday was a nothing day - much like today.

Day 9 of zero drinking.

Julie mentioned going out for a curry on Sunday, so that's something to look forward to.

Sparkling water is my tipple - much as it is at home.

I stocked up on San Pellegrino last year and have around 80 bottles of the stuff in the house.

If you are trying to knock off the beer/lager then it is a decent substitute.

My nephew, Liam Eely, asked on Friday (the post-funeral) if I fancied a non-alcohol lager.

"It sort of defeats the object," I told him. "Plus it tastes shit."

I don't have an addictive personality and can never understand smokers packing in and then going on vapes. Fucking weird if you ask me.

If you're going to pack in smoking then pack it in.

I used to like a cigar when I was out - but the smoking ban in pubs meant trying to shift a seven-inch Villiger cigar (from Cyprus) in literally minutes, and it can't be done - therefore, I was standing outside blowing smoke on my tod.

It was just a social thing and nothing more - so I just fucked it off.

"Are you coming outside for a smoke?" I often got asked.

"You must be fucking joking," became the norm.

I haven't had a cigar in maybe 17 or 18 years.

I could knock drinking on the head completely, but it's the social angle I like.

Julie is much the same and I know she's dreading having to go over to Cyprus as that is when you get itchy feet.

Fortunately, the beach bar - Paragka Beach Restaurant, at Agia Triada (Ayia Trias) isn't open until after Easter.

19 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 8:00 am - however, Julie opted to do the dog walking duties.

Great result as the last thing that I wanted this morning was a trawl through the sludge.

A late start.

From an emotional point of view, last week was hard.

I need to give myself a shake and get back on point.

I have a shed load of things that I need to get on with not at least my day job, where I am already a week behind schedule.

It isn't a big deal as I can throw some time at it and catch up.

As for The A's.

As I said, I'm easing up on the animation for a while and I'm just creating 2D film sets in 4K that will actually be used in the series.

How this works is three-to-four second shots within the series to let the viewer know where the scene is taking place. It is nothing short of trickery, but something that is done all the time.

As I said, I will acknowledge both the calendar and the seasons and as you can see from not just yesterday - but the past week, I am already indexing these.

The Vaults, The Met, The Cross Daggers, The Fleapit, The Chiswick Path, Hammersmith Rifles, the Sailing Club etc.

There are a lot of venues where Mason and Gaynor go in Series 1, therefore their exteriors have to be created.

I have to admit - I quite enjoy doing these.

What I also intend to do is do a bit of rising of the phoenix, whereby some High Street shops that have been shut for years will make an appearance. The likes of C&A, British Home Stores, Woolworths, Debenhams, Dixons, Comet, Littlewoods, Binns, Mothercare, Chelsea Girl etc.

Why?

Why not.

These shops were loved by the consumer but killed by the advent of retail parks and the internet.

I want to make the High Street scenes vibrant again.

This is not just a good idea - it is a fucking brilliant idea.

Opposite. Look at the difference... and that is just one building in Hammersmith.

I want to make the series look stylish - and not just the characters.

I haven't put any people or vehicles in the shots as I can do that at a later date.

18 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 7.35 am and out through the woods with the hound.

It was spitting with rain and sludgy.

It is garbage weather which makes everywhere look miserable - even in a nice town such as ours.

Yesterday was a nothing day - my sixth day of sobriety and a fifth day doing cardio.

My gluey cough has gone and I'm already starting to feel a bit better in myself.

I do however, need to get my brain in gear after what has been a rather sombre week.

Generally speaking - when you feel like that (sombre), you fancy nipping to the pub to blow off some steam - however, from my experience, it's best not to.

I had a mate - meaning that I don't now, who was depressed. He brought it on - no one else.

When I first met him, he seemed to have everything. He was a genial guy who Julie and I, both thought the world of.

However - and this is a big however, the pub was his life and his work suffered. It suffered tremendously, and in the end he lost both his marriage and his house.

Because he was drinking his work suffered; and because his work suffered he was drinking. And whilst drinking, he was gambling. It was one hell of a vicious circle.

His wife - who was much younger than him, was ornamental in that she was just someone who just sat around all day in her dressing gown surfing the internet and smoking.

She didn't help him, by even contemplating getting a job or placating him by geeing him him up so he'd go out to work. In truth she was a shit wife. Happy whilst she was getting cosmetic surgery over in Prague or designer clothes, but not so when the bailiffs were knocking on the door.

He left the area a while back and I heard about him a few months ago, in that he'd been in prison for kicking shit out of this other woman he was with.

Drinking.

My mate and Faces-nut, Johnny Welsh knew him - both when the guy was thriving, and during the time he was losing everything.

They weren't friends - he just played cards for big stakes in the town's Queen's Head pub.

"He'd taken seven grand off me Sunday night," John told me, "And he was round at our house at seven o'clock the next morning coming for his money."

There are things you do do and there are things that you don't. And you don't go round to a family home and knock them up a daft o'clock to pick up a 12 hour gambling debt.

Fast-forward a few years and it had turned full circle.

The guy was into the local bookie for £5,000 and, rather than go to work, was regularly sat around at his mates in the next village at six in the morning cracking open tins of John Smith's bitter.

John said at the time was it was the worst thing that he could do.

A sombre mood is expected when you are losing, or have lost things, but drinking and gambling is rarely the answer.

Am I depressed? Absolutely not. I am saying this for a reason.

In The A's there is a similar example although you never see it. You just hear of it.

You feel that you are in a hole that you cannot get out. And rather getting your head straight and trying to climb out, you go the other way and just dig.

And the fall out from this is quite bad.

Anyway...

17 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 8:00 am and trawling through the sludge and the woods with the hound.

Rain: I hate it.

Yesterday, was an emotional day.

I have never felt so exhausted after a funeral - ever.

That's maybe because the lady who was laid to rest was exactly that. A lady; and one that never said a bad word about anyone.

I was in bed for 8:30 pm but I could have easily gone two hours earlier, and apart from an hour or so tossing and turning, I nearly did a full 12 hours, which is most unlike me.

Strange.

Above is Jane's Angel.

Julie's elder sister, Jane gave it her yesterday.

So, until 1 December 2026, when the snowman and countdown chalkboard to Christmas come out; the window near the breakfast bar is where it will reside.

Jane said: "I know you might think it tacky..."

No. It's both thoughtful and poignant. Something given to her kid sister on the day of their mum's resting.

I like it because it means something.

Day 6 of not drinking.

And yesterday, all the family were drinking.

I'll do some work today and a bit of cardio and I'll drop on to The A's later on and hopefully listen to some music, whilst doing so.

"Will you pick me up from school, Neeta?" Jenny asked.

"If you want," replied Anita.

This was for the benefit of those Three Wise Monkey's - however, Jenny certainly wasn't expecting Anita rolling up both in a Greenford truck and wearing her site gear.

"I thought your dad's wife had a fast car," sniped one of the three.

"She has - that's one of her work trucks."

Anita saw what was happening and immediately nipped it in the bud.

"I've just come straight from work," Anita told Jenny. "So, there's plenty of room in the cab if your friends want a lift home, hey?"

Holiday Grainger was the first of the three to fall.

15 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 7:10 am and out through the woods with the hound.

It has been raining overnight so we are back to trawling through the the sludge.

I came in to my customary strong coffee and the conversational subject is that of Julie's mum.

Her funeral is tomorrow. Very sad.

It's hit both daughter's bad - as when their father passed away 16 months ago they didn't have time to grieve as they had their mum to look after - and who, unbeknown to them was in an advanced stage of Alzheimer's.

They knew she had it it, but just how bad it was - they weren't really aware.

We certainly were when she moved in with us.

Julie and Jane shared the burden, sort of one week on; one week off. It was frustrating for them, but the sisters became closer.

I wouldn't have changed it, as we had time with her before she made her move to the care home. Some of them very nice.

It was the repetitive dialogue, the wandering around in the night, and the constant need for company that tired us. And everything suffers - not at least work.

Jane had been pushing for the care home for quite a while, but the end came when she had a bad fall on our front drive and split open her head. Julie was going to drive her around to the garden centre for a cup of tea and a bun.

I'd say cake, but Julie fucking hates anyone who goes out for coffee and cake!.

Her mum was struggling to walk and her co-ordination was all over the place. Shuffling, as Julie called it, as people with Alzheimer's don't pick up their feet - they shuffle.

The galling part about this wasn't Julie's mum but surrounded my rant (on here) a few days ago on 12 January.

It was a Sunday and Tim was coming over for a curry with his wife and kid around 5:00 pm.

The reason: To pick up his kid's birthday present.

I rang him immediately to tell him what had happened and to cancel. It was 2:00 pm.

The Meds Julie's mum was on, included Asprin - which is a blood thinner like Warfarin, and the bleeding would not clot. This was something made worse by her mum constantly poking at it.

Tim obviously knew that I was about to cancel, therefore he did not pick up.

I phoned him several times, as did Julie. Five or six times, as I recall. And Tim always has his phone in reach. Always.

He knew I was ringing to cancel.

They turned up, and as usual, all he was bothered about was talking over us and being PR officer for his daughter.

Julie said after that. Never again.

Never again never happened, but I think it has now. It's been a long time coming.

Sad.

The (4) in the title opposite is Day 4 of not drinking. It is also Day 4 of me doing cardio and eating healthier.

I'll move on to throwing some weights around next week.

I'm also back into work and will push it hard.

Tonight, I'll drop back onto the script and bring my laptop into the dining kitchen and keep the dog company for an hour.

I can also listen to some music.

A good song that I've heard recently?

This Is The One (1989) by The Stone Roses.

I was listening to their greatest hits album the other day.

Opposite are some photo's of Anita Pallenburg along with the history animation that I did a while back.

Anita was a peripheral figure in Series 1 but not so in 2.

14 January 2026.

Good morning.

I was up at 6:20 am and out through the woods with the hound.

Nice and cold, and better still - icy.

Adidas puffer jacket on, gloves on, and big headphones to keep the ears warm.

I got in to the customary coffee courtesy of Julie - who I failed to mention yesterday, took the two Christmas trees down on her own and saved me from a loft fall by repositioning the ladders.

Selfish on my part which isn't really me.

Saying that - Julie calls it me all the time. Amongst other things.

I'm driving her to the Diagnostics Centre at Scunthorpe this morning. Not for a new set of spark plugs and an alternator, but for a scan on her gall bladder and pancreas. I think.

This is the NHS for you.

The Lito Clinic / hospital in Paralimni already did all the scans and stuck her on a drip for the day - and after passing €1.200 over the counter she brought all the scans back to the UK.

No good apparently.

Obviously, a Greek Cypriot surgeon's confirmation of gallstones with one stuck in your pancreas is no good.

Much better being passed around a broken down system in England, where some doctor from fucking Mogadishu or Karachi can pontificate a bit and pass you even more around, wasting just enough time so you die.

Am I pissed off? Fucking yeah.

The NHS. It needs burning to the ground and a full rebuild.

Politics.

In The A's it rears its head all the time.

Mason has opinions but the reality is that he says very little outside of talking about it to Gaynor.

Gaynor, however, sees things very much in black and white and is highly vocal about it with the friends she has from Hammersmith.

The Levelling Up Process is one thing that really pisses her off.

40 Martyrs college isn't a private college per se - however, parents do have to contribute.

I'm not sure if a fee is ever mentioned but it's about £9,000 a year.

Some students parents, however - don't pay a penny due to their circumstances.

Gaynor sees this as being very unfair.

It is. Very.

In Series 2, the Christ Is King All Girl's School in Chelsea is a private one. £42,000.

The admissions there a rigorous and if you cannot pay you don't get accepted - and even if you can pay, they are very selective who they let in.

Jenny got accepted, not just because she is bright - but because of Jacob and Christie Gotleib - the latter of who immediately moved to get on its board of governor's.

Why?

Jacob and Christie are absolutely brilliant characters.

13 January 2026.

A Good afternoon.

It is 2:30 pm.

Both Christmas trees have been taken down and I've written up a seven-page eulogy for Julie's mum's funeral on Friday at Ardsley Crematorium near Barnsley.

In between, I ended up hanging from the rafters in the loft as the ladders gave way.

It's a right fucking drop and I was just glad, that the ladders took their time in moving as I managed to climb back into the loft before they gave way.

I've fallen once before and it hurts. Not so much the drop, but what you fall onto. Mainly the ladders.

Julie's just nipped up to Gravel's fruit and vegetable shop to get some stuff to go with the two lamb fillets we are having for tea and to call in at the doctor's on High Street.

We got in the house around 12:45 pm yesterday.

We'd had a slight delay on the ground in Larnaca Airport with some technical problem in the plane.

Anyway, the drive home was uneventful and we managed to stay up until 8:00 pm after a tuna salad and jacket potatoes.

The dog was certainly pleased to see us and thorough enjoyed all her walks, not least this morning's at 6:30 am.

Today is Day 2 of our non drinking.

I'll go up on the cross trainer in a bit and try to blow off some steam.

It's hard starting but once you are into it - no bother.

Right.

That's me done.

12 January 2026.

A very early Good morning.

It is 12:00 am (GMT+2).

The alarm should be going off in an hour or so as we are travelling home on the first flight out of Cyprus into the UK.

Hopefully...

I've just checked the email and everything seems to be okay in that there are no flight cancellations.

I'll be putting the car up the drive in a bit and uncoupling its battery - as I will with the scooter - the latter of which has only been taken out twice.

Yesterday, the temperature got up to 21°c - however, it certainly isn't now. It is pissing it down.

We ate out yesterday - for only the second time since we have been over here. Yiannis in Vrysoulles.

We both had the garlic prawns - with me doing a bit of surf and turf and copping a fillet steak.

There were a couple of families in with kids and we got talking about the time my mate Tim (and his wife, Maggie) came over with theirs when she was a toddler - and me pushing her on the swings.

She's 12 now.

As with grown-ups, you can pick up things from kids - which helps me tremendously with characterisation - especially in Series 2, as that is where Jenny comes into the story.

Kids are in Series 1 but nowhere like they are in 2.

Tuesday Weld and Tippi Hedren - are two, and both of who I named after 1960s actresses. The former starred in The Cincinnati Kid (1965) with Steve McQueen, and the latter in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). There is another by the name of Holiday Grainger who I named after a current actress.

The idea was to base the Elsie Gabbitas character on Tim's daughter - however, the more I saw of her the more I knew that this would not be possible - therefore, I moved to base the other characters around her instead.

Jenny hated wearing her glasses as the three kept on referring to her as Bins.

"How's school been?" Jenny is asked.

"It's rubbish - everybody hates me," Jenny replies.

So, the other characters aren't that nice?

Not really - no.

I certainly don't think Tim's kid is a bully - mental or otherwise. A self-important prima donna who is conceited, smug, boastful and envious - very much so, yes.

And she lies.

It's not a good fit for someone so young.

However, he enables it all by placing her in this bubble and continually bullshitting her in that she is the best at everything. And she feeds on it like you wouldn't believe.

She had a friend, meaning that she hasn't now.

From what I was told, there was some jealousy and his daughter wanted to get the friend into trouble - therefore, she scratched her friends name in her dad's car with something sharp, along with their fireplace and a laptop. And then blamed the friend.

Tim had it out with the kids dad and found out his daughter had done it.

Tim told me: "She's a very good liar."

No - she's not. Anyone can spot them.

There was rivalry with that friend, so she now as another friend. This time a sort of underling.

Insecure kids always need someone who they think they are better than. Always.

"I always give all my old clothes to my best friend as they haven't got much," his daughter told me.

I also heard the story from Tim. It's quite funny really as there is a pattern.

Tim has a much elder daughter - who when the younger one goes to visit, has a completely different wardrobe for her to wear. The reason is obvious, in that the elder daughter is embarrassed taking the younger one out as Tim's wife's dress sense is well... much like Tim's, in that she hasn't got one.

Therefore, their daughter is dressed badly. And I mean very badly.

Tim gave some sacks of his daughter's clothes to the poor family and none of them got worn. The sacks allegedly got lost. It was glaringly obvious what had happened.

They looked in the bags and saw the shit that was inside, so they got dumped.

And about being the best?.

"I had to pack in swimming as I was too good" was another one of the things I got told. Really.

About being self-important?

There was one instance where she pretended to choke to death in the Indian restaurant whilst saying, "Nobody's listening to me."

I suppose it's better than it used to be, as I recall her grabbing Julie's face with both hands and forcefully directing it and saying: "You're not listening to me. Look at me when I'm talking to you."

And that happened more than once. Very disrespectful.

And he helps her cheat. In fact, both parents do.

Homework for one.

She was auditioning for Glenda, the Good Witch of The North in the Wizard of Oz at school.

She didn't get the part and was demoted to a lowly Munchkin so she didn't do it. It supposedly got cancelled.

It didn't. She lied.

I told Julie that when she gets to 14 or 15 someone will give her a massive reality check as kids - especially girls, can be brutally honest. Especially when it comes to materialism.

"You dress like shit and you live in a dump," she will be told.

It will happen and I blame the parents.

This Christmas, we bought presents for 13 children.

We got thanked one way or another by 12 of them. The one that didn't was Tim('s).

Thoughtless? Maybe, maybe not.

His kid had been bought much more than any of the others - well over £100 worth of clothes - including a pair of Lacoste trainers at £65.

I feel this was done on purpose.

Why?

Although we spoil her through a materialistic nature, I/we refuse to take on his/her neediness to boast.

And he knows that.

As you will find, the people that boast are generally those that have nothing to boast about, as is the case here.

In the story, Jenny comes to realise that nice clothes with logos are indeed mint; and although she never actually says it, she prefers Anita picking her up from school than her granny (Maureen) - especially when the three girls start pressuring her.

Check out Anita's car opposite.

One of the three pupils - I can't recall which without looking back at the script, ask why Jenny's dad isn't with her mum.

Jenny tries to explain that her mum had her when they were very young, and that her dad was younger than her mum etc.

It doesn't wear.

"Your dad probably left her cos she's some old dog," is what was said.

This upsets Jenny immensely.

There is much much more.

11 January 2026.

Kaliméra.

I was up at 7:15 am (GMT+2).

We ate in last night.

(Proper) Ravioli and bacon in a tomato, cheese and basil sauce with garlic bread.

That was after having a few at Fosis Coffee Shop in Vrysoulles and the same at The Lionheart in Paralimni.

Apart from that - it was a nothing day.

I'm just ready for home and getting my head down and working.

The FTO has been working fine since all the cooling system was replaced.

I bought a load of shitty compilation CD's from Andris Bazaar in Frenaros, which if you google it is described as a little Aladdin's cave.

I started playing those in the car but got bored of them as they tend to be a mixture of two or three decent songs and 17 or 18 bad ones.

I bought them for pennies and that is perhaps all they are worth.

The other day I had a root round in the spare bedroom and found Disgraceful (1995) by Newcastle-upon-Tyne based indie band Dubstar, so I've been playing that.

My favourite track is Not So Manic Now.

Animation. Opposite (if you are on a laptop or PC) is another one of Jenny Mellor who has been rigged out with some new gear for doing well at school.

Above. Jenny's Auntie Angie and Uncle Pat (Marshall) and how they look in Series 2.

I've not done many photo's of Pat nor chucked up any animations, as the character asset is garbage at being animated.

This morning I defined his face a bit and he looks one thousand percent better.

Jenny think her Uncle Pat is mint as he spoils her.

Not materialism as Anita does (in the animation opposite), but with care and attention.

Gaynor is quite strict with her daughter - zero TV, eating healthy.

Pat is an Alpha male in construction and eats fast food and watches Netflix. Jenny loves McDonald's burgers and watches TV series such as Fargo with her uncle, which would have her mum throwing a dicky fit if she knew.

10 January 2026.

Good morning.

I am up after coughing my guts up. That gluey feeling in the back of my throat just will not go.

It is 4:30 am (GMT+2).

Yesterday, I animated quite a lot - but as I keep on saying - nothing that I animate on here will appear in the series. Certainly not upscaled 720kB animations, anyway.

Now, I am on with the script.

Yesterday, although the temperature touched 20°c, we were feeling the tail end of the storm that brought parts of western Europe to a standstill in that it was quite windy.

As far as I know, our flights are still okay for Monday, so fingers crossed.

I need to get home, now and throw myself into work and exercise as I've had too much time off.

Animation. Opposite is another one of the Gaynor character - showing two different sides of her.

It is what the likes of Anthony N'Gonte couldn't figure out.

At college she was nothing short of a boffin with glasses.

Above. Gaynor posing on Mason's motorcycle.

When Jenny was told that Mason was her father by her granny - Maureen Mellor, Mason went into Maureen's loft and brought down some photo albums.

One of the photographs was this one.

It blew little Jenny's mind as she had no idea who her mum was.

As Anita said in one of animations: Gaynor and Mason were together only 12 months, but due to the amount of things that happened during that period of time, it could have easily felt like 12 years.

Anyway - back to the script.

9 January 2026.

Good morning.

Or is it?

Our flight has been cancelled

Storm Goretti with its 99 mph winds and heavy snow appears to be the culprit as we are feeling the tail end of it over here, with it raining quite heavy through the night.

I was in bed for 7:00 pm (GMT+2) knowing that I was going to be up at daft o'clock for the taxi.

Nope. Not so.

Julie shook me 45 minutes later to tell me the bad news.

She managed to rebook our flight but we can't get off the island until Monday.

It's no problem being cancelled as we aren't in a hotel or apartments - it's just that we have things at home that need our attention including attending two funeral's - one of which is Julie's mum's along with a hospital appointment / scan for Julie.

I was up this morning at 7:00 am.

Julie had put the bin bag with the rubbish out last night - obviously for us to dump in the bins at the bottom of the street when we left in the taxi.

This morning it was still outside the back door and which had been ripped to pieces by the feral cats - with rubbish all over the drive.

Animation. Opposite is a nice one of Mason and Gaynor in Galway which happens in Series 1.

At this juncture of the story their lives are beginning to spiral out of control and the weekend break in Ireland gives them some sanity.

One of the things you will note in the animation is the reference to the amount of alcohol Gaynor drinks.

In Series 2 Gaynor has been teetotal since her break up with Mason.

As she tells Clara Margieson when they eventually reconnect. "It was one mistake that I learned from."

The photograph's are just me playing around with the software.

Angie's first car was an old Fiat 500 as in the song by Lush - 500 Shake, Baby Shake.

The story: Mason didn't just give her the car - he actually put her through her test.

However, when she passed - Mason had gone.

"I wish Mason was here to see me," she told her mum.

That bond between the Mellor family and Mason at that juncture was already huge.

The photo of Gaynor on the sofa could be typical of their lives together. Mason worked hard, studied hard and played hard, and Gaynor took solace from trying to keep up with him and being there when he came home.

Mason loved the idea of Gaynor's Long Term Plan.

8 January 2026.

Mia polý kalí méra gia esás.

Good morning.

I was up at 7:40 am (GMT+2).

The sun is out and the back door is open. I am on to my second cup of coffee.

It's a bit noisy out as the gardeners on the street are hard at it with their sucker-uppers (blowers).

Animation. Opposite (if you're on a laptop and not an iPhone), I tried something different.

It is better if you split the screens in Adobe Premier Pro rather than how I've done it with Nano Banana Pro, although it's not that bad.

I also did some great photograph's of the Angie Mellor character posing on the couch, which are extremely good.

There are also a few of Gaynor sat outside reading the Sunday Times in the rear courtyard of Boelyn Mews, which frustrated the hell out of me with the wayward proportions.

This actually happens in Series 1, when her mum comes round with her best friend Mrs Pike (Felicity Fee) allegedly on her way to Ikea and to show off her youngest daughter's new found albeit affluent life.

Maureen was extremely proud.

The Mrs (Felicity) Pike character was sort of based on the Mavis Pike character in the late-1960's-late-1970's series Dad's Army, although aside of the name they are absolutely nothing alike.

Felicity is absolutely sex mad and her gossip always has Maureen hooked. That was until Maureen let the cat out of the bag with stories of her youngest daughter and the boyfriend over in Ravenscourt Park.

(Above) Felicity Pike.

Gaynor and Mason's Sunday morning's generally involve strong coffee and almond croissants - the latter of which Mason picks up from the bakery in the fictitious Little Brittany area of Hammersmith.

That is unless Mason is out working.

As I've said previously - there's not enough hours in the day.

Yesterday, we did nothing apart from call at Litsis supermarket (Waitrose) before dropping the baby clothes off at Fosis Coffee Shop in Vrysoulles.

We will go up later and I'll grab a haircut and shave at Tony the barber's next door.

Anyway, enough for today.

Something different.

A 34 second animation of glamorous granny - Maureen Mellor doing a Tesco's online shop.

In Series 2, little Jenny Mellor is intrigued how her granny can just order loads of things and get them delivered in a van the very next day without actually paying any money.

That Batman cup that Jenny is holding was around in Series 1.

Her mum, Gaynor told her about its history and seven years later it is all she will drink out of.

I made the video from images created with Nano Banana Pro.

Music. London Town by The Condriacs.

7 January 2026.

Mia polý kalí méra gia esás.

A very Good morning to you.

I was up at 8:30 am (GMT+2).

Yesterday, I was trying lots of different things with the animation and opposite (if you are on a laptop or PC) is part of that.

I must have done 30 takes just to get one frame as part of the animation.

The beauty about animating a character is that you get a feel for it.

In my mind I had Aisha Dhanial down as a selfish girl with zero personality. Not so.

The numerous takes aside, she animated brilliantly and by doing so she has changed my mind on who and what she is.

She is pretty, and as most 18-year-old girls are - quite giggly.

Mason Green's best friend was Jack Thiam who had just bought a house in Hammersmith and who rented rooms out to college students Joanne Lynskey and Krissy K.

Aisha was Krissy's friend.

Aisha was in trouble so Krissy asked Mason for a favour.

And that is how Aisha ends up at his flat.

I enjoyed doing the animation as it helps mold the story.

Opposite are a few more photos of the Gaynor Mellor character.

It is here that I can construct the girl using original clothes such as Dior, Louboutin, Burberry, Gucci etc., as in Series 1, that is what she tends to wear.

But what she never does is pay the correct price for the goods. Cue Mason.

Her clothes, scooter, car and how easy everything comes to her drives her elder sister around the twist.

"She's never done a days work in her life..." Angie snaps.

However, Angie doesn't do too bad out of it and nor does their mum, Maureen.

I can't tell you why as it'll ruin the story.

So.

Julie has just nipped into Paralimni and Derynia and called into the baby shops to pick up something for Fosis (of Coffee Shop fame) newly born and first grandchild.

We will call up there in a while to have a couple of beers.

Anyway, have a good day.

6 January 2026.

Mia polý kalí méra gia esás.

A very Good morning to you from Cyprus.

I was up at 8:00 am (GMT+2).

Today is another excuse to have a day off. It is Epiphany, which is quite a big thing over here - especially if you are religious.

Yesterday, I was trying to master the art of asset placement and dressing it - hence why there has been a few photograph's knocking about of the Gaynor Mellor character asset.

I got her wearing shoes from Christian Louboutin (image right - if you're on a laptop) as well as a pair of heels that I'd had placed months ago, along with a pair of Converse sneakers.

I've also had her on the Vespa a few times, although with it not being 3D - the proportions vary. They vary a lot.

Again, opposite - if you're on a laptop, is her in the rear courtyard of her parents home with the 1959 Vespa.

In reality she is 5'5 inches tall - but here she looks taller. Again, maybe you can put it down to the heels as being Louboutin, they are probably four or five inches high.

Julie has a couple of pair. They look nice enough, but you are just paying a hell of a lot of money for the name.

In the lounge photo opposite (If you're on a PC or laptop) she is dressed much cheaper (less expensive sounds better), without actually looking cheap, which just goes to show that if you can hold your clothes properly - you can literally wear anything.

Apart from that, yesterday, was a nothing day although Julie did call into the pharmacists to pick up some stomach and blood pressure tablets which are only available on prescription in the UK.

Getting your prescription and queuing in the chemist in the UK is over an hour out of your life.

Here you just show them a photo of what you want and Bob's your father's brother. Five to ten minutes tops..

I broke off at 2:30 pm and we went up to Fosis Coffee Shop in Vrysoulles, where I had ten minutes speaking with both Tony the barber and Manos - who is a doorman at one of the clubs in Ayia Napa during the summer.

We then nipped down to The Lionheart on Paralimni's Protaras Avenue before we went home and had tuna and jacket potatoes for tea... and some cheesecake we picked up from Zorba's - the bakery on the Kapparis roundabout.

Today, I'm back on with the script.

5 January 2026.

Kaliméra.

I was up at 6:00 am (GMT+2).

I'm now in front of the laptop with a cup of sweet tea.

Yesterday, was a very strange day albeit a very sad one.

My son's ex-fiancée's partner, Mark, passed away in the night at a extraordinarily young age. It is thought that high blood pressure caused his cardiac arrest.

He was a very nice kid.

They called at our house two days before Christmas and dropped us in a £150 Marks & Spencer's hamper in a picnic basket.

And on Christmas Day, Beth (Bethany) called to thank us for their kids' presents.

Again, very sad.

It just goes to show that you don't know what is around the corner.

Yesterday, we called at Fosis Coffee Shop in Vrysoulles and copped a fillet steak and garlic prawns at Yiannis's restaurant just around the corner - with Julie having her standard Mexican Chicken.

Prior to that we had driven into Ayia Napa to check out what was happening with The Red Ruby (Indian / Chinese/ Japanese) Thai restaurant.

It is up for sale.

They lost their chef's (from Vietnam) a while back and it has never really been the same.

And rather than replace the chef's - and much like The Red Lion in our town, they have made do with a woman who thinks that she's a chef but is nowhere near.

It doesn't work. You need people that know what they are doing.

When I was part the way through my 2025 sobriety run, I had an aubergine (eggplant) and tiger prawn salad there and it was fucking wank. There was no other word for it.

I'd had one in the Hilton in Bahrain a couple of months prior and it was lovely.

The lack of chef's were immediately rumbled even though Nickolas the waiter-cum-traffic warden was making excuses about how the food should be done.

He doesn't know as not only is he from Lebanon, he doesn't eat expensive.

Right. I have just chucked up an animation opposite of Gaynor Mellor in her parents house along with a few photographs which if you double click them, will open in colour.

As I said yesterday, all the exteriors that will appear in The A's will be seasonal as in the high-res patio shots.

As for the Gaynor photo, the character was dressed and placed using Nano Banana Pro and downloaded in beautiful 4K.

My best one ever.

It is time consuming, but the end product is well worth it.

We have just had The Terminator (Bandolis) round to give the house a spray inside and out with insect repellant.

So, now - I'm back on with the script.

4 January 2026.

Kaliméra.

I was up at 6:10 am (GMT+2).

I have a coffee in front of me and I am going through the script - the idea, when I am at home being that I am going to purchase a mono laser printer and start printing off the scenes / episodes.

The Gaynor-angle that I mentioned (more than once) has brought a new dimension to the character - and one which hopefully makes sense of the character all the way through the story.

And with me saying that infers that I have gone back into the early episodes of Series 1, which is exactly what I have done.

The past few animations have been from Episode 1/2.

I'm also slowly collating possible 3-5 second exterior scenes in 4K such as The Fleapit, the office and clinic where Dr. Žukauskas works, along with Gaynor's hairdressers.

I already had Boelyn Mews where Mason and his gran live - however, that shot was created circa September-time.

Now, here is where I have to explain a bit - and how films and TV series' annoy me.

Outside of woke - which I fucking hate with a passion, more often than not, and outside of pure-Christmas film, seasonal changes are never thought out properly.

At the beginning of December, I was watching The Worst Christmas of My Life (2007) starring Ben Miller and Sarah Alexander.

It was 23 December and out in the garden everything cried out "Summer!"

No fallen leaves and no empty branches. All the trees were in fact, green.

You see this a lot.

Therefore, when I create exterior scenes - there will be a variation to take in account of all four seasons along with variations of the weather: Sun, rain, frost, snow, cold, warm, windy etc.

This would be perhaps more so with Boelyn Mews, Ravenscourt Park and Marquis Gardens, Chiswick Green - as in Series 1 as that is where the main protagonists live

Anyway, attention to detail aside...

Yesterday, Julie did her bit for charity and called at the supermarket before dropping off around €60 worth of dog food for one of the dog pounds located between Frenaraos and Vrysoulles as well as buying some goods from them as part of its funding-run.

A point of note. These pounds are run by people who adore direct funding. Money. Never give it them. Donate food and goods, never give money as it's often filtered away. However, that is charities full stop and none more so than the con that is Children In Need.

Don't fall for it. Donate goods.

Aside of a three-year gap after two of our dogs passed away - my daughter's Rottweiler (Obi) that she couldn't look after and my mum's Alsatian (Jess) that we inherited after she died; we have always had a dog.

If you treat a dog properly you will get unconditional love back in spades. Well, 99% of the time as there are obviously exceptions - not that I've ever seen one.

Ours - Lucy the Alsatian - you cannot fault. And it's not just me saying that. Ask anyone on the dog walking circuit or up in the Red Lion.

If you treat a human properly - half the time it doesn't really matter - as they tend to do whatever the fuck they want.

I'm waffling now.

3 January 2026.

Kaliméra.

I was up at 6:15 am (GMT+2).

I had an early night as I ran out of steam after a drinking session that covered Fosis Coffee Shop in Verysoulles, and both The Lionheart and Dave's Bar on Protaras Avenue - which is the main road leading into Paralimni town centre.

Most of the supermarkets were shut therefore we called into the Ohmonia bakery in Derynia on the way back and picked up some Moussaka and meat dumplings in breadcrumbs and had that when we got in.

The UK needs to take a leaf out of the book when it comes to Cypriot bakeries - as these are open everyday - some 24 hours.

In comparison - Fullers and the Albion Bakery in our town on the Isle of Axholme are not just rubbish with their lack of stock, but vastly overpriced.

You can blame supermarkets to some extent, but they have to hold their hands up and at least try.

The weather yesterday was quite sunny but the temperature dropped dramatically once it went in; from around 19° in the morning to 4°c once it went dark.

Anyway, I'm back on with the script.

2 January 2026.

Good morning or Kaliméra, rather.

I was up at 5:15 am (GMT+2).

It is still dark outside, but that will change.

As I've often said, it gets warm but they are short days where the sun is concerned.

The plane hit the tarmac five minutes late - but that wasn't too bad as we were initially delayed 30 minutes. No idea why.

Alex from Alex Luxury Taxi's picked us up from the airport and drove us to Agia Triada as the people we generally use - Empire Taxis - weren't working.

We got in and my cleaning up from when I was here on my own in early December was met with approval from Julie.

I coupled up the battery to the FTO and we had a drive around to see if any bars were open.

Not many.

However, Dave's Bar on Protaras Avenue was, and some football was on so we had a couple in there.

Just to note: My sobriety starts when we get back home!

We got back in and I chucked a couple of pizza's in and had a couple of glasses of Ouzo whilst we watched the first episode of Series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

So, now I am on with refining the script.

1 January 2026.

Good morning and a Happy New Year.

I was up at 3:00 am.

Cyprus and a drive down the M1 beckons.

The worst part of travel is the drive to and from the airport... and queuing.

A New Year's resolution?

We are going to try and top the 74 days of sobriety that we did last year.

It is as boring as hell when you first kick off but once you are into it, it gets a bit better. Not much, but a bit.

The beach bar at Agia Triada doesn't help, but May and those really hot days are five months away, so it will be a case of coffee and sparking water... and exercise (for me).

I should take delivery of the new computer system, which will handle all the 3D by the end of the month, but will need to do a bit of thinking to how I am going to set it up to work as the space on my desk is a bit restricted.

I think I'll have to mount the 43" ultra screen monitor monitor to take it off my desk as I already have a 36" on there.

Again, I need to do a bit of thinking.

I need to work on the script as well as there has been more ideas for me to make it flow better.

Eating out and socialising eats into your time as when you get in you cannot do anything, as you are generally non compos mentis after a few beers.

So, I'll be able to have a good run at that.

I could also do with getting a monochrome laser printer for knocking out drafts of the script and so I can start doing some hard copy filing which will make it easier for me to proof and change.

Indexing - which I hate, also needs completing.

There just isn't enough hours in the day and me mastering the animation and software has been highly time consuming.

The Anthony N'Gonte animation - nearly four minutes, which I chucked up on here, took me around five hours to do from start to finish.

I didn't need to do it as such; it just helped me with the script as I can define the characters better.

N'Gonte in Series 1 is a good character as he is rather bi-polaric, angry and extremely envious .

And at 21 years old he is also older than the other students at 40 Martyrs college and acts rather entitled.

Wait for that one!

Right, I am shutting down the system as my bath is ready.

I may see you in Luton Airport.

___

It's 8:35 am and we are in the Priority Lounge at the Airport.

As I've said before - it's not worth the money and you're better off sitting in Nolito's Bar and Grill as both the coffee and food is better as are the tables and lighting. And I love that ordering App!

We are delayed by 40 minutes - no idea what the problem is/was, as it's the first flight out of Cyprus.

I'm onto my second Macchiato and have had some pork pattie/sausage and egg in a non-fresh bap.

New Year's Day is a great day to travel on the road as the M1 until the Kettering junction was as dead as a doornail.

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