We had shoot days scheduled for 23rd, 24th and 25th November so last week was a flurry of preparation. On Monday, we held a Zoom rehearsal for our final scenes with Angela, Keaton and Lamb, and it all went surprisingly well. Two of the scenes involve fairly complex dialogue, but all the actors were on form and knew their lines.

We’d planned a truck shoot for Sunday 23rd, and I’d assumed it would be straightforward enough for me to handle both camera and sound, with minimal preparation. Naturally, the week quickly descended into the usual scramble with me scurrying around repairing cables and hunting for Allen keys to fix the tripod. The final truck scene required four actors travelling in from as far as Stamford, so we arranged for Lamb to come down the night before, and we’d pick up Simon at Redhill. Rail cancellations meant that by Saturday night, Lamb had only reached Leicester, which, to my mind, meant she was actually getting further away from Brighton. She decided to press on to London and stay with a friend, so on Sunday, we ended up picking them both up from Redhill.

Huge thanks to George Prince, who kindly let us film at his yard near Reigate and provided the truck. We captured some great shots, with excellent improvisation from Simon and Oliver. The last task of the day was to get some decent promotional stills of Lamb and Keaton, ideally echoing the feel of the South Downs scenes. We left Reigate about 3pm with the sun already slipping low. By 3:45pm we were up at Devils Dyke and, unlike our earlier South Downs shoot when it was warm and balmy, it was now November, windy and bitterly cold. We did virtually no planning and just shot what we could. As I snapped away, I realised Chanctonbury Ring was right there in the background, a recurring theme throughout the film. Serendipity strikes again.

Back in Brighton, we had a quick snooze before heading back out to the flat we’d booked for Monday’s shoot to dress the set.

The Monday scenes involved three people eating dinner and drinking wine – always a continuity nightmare. The day went well, and I’d like to write more, but I’ve got to prep for Tuesday. So, maybe I’ll share more about it next week.

Tomorrow is our final scheduled shoot day and, fittingly it’s the big scene. Watch this space next week to see how it all unfolds.