WORK AND PLAY

We wrapped our last night on the show 'running and gunning' which is basically running from location to location and getting the shot as quickly as possible without setting up monitors, chairs, heaters and maybe one or two lights. We got a lot of exterior shots with a very small crew of about 30. The rest of the crew were left behind in Maple Ridge to get a long list of 'insert shots' that we didn't have time to get for the past three weeks. (An insert shot is close up shots of various items that don't involve shooting actors [other than a stand in for a hand or other body part] such as a file folder, a computer screen, a telephone call ID, etc). It was a freezing cold night and what could have been really miserable was made a lot of fun by our fantastic director.

The director waits while camera crew set up a shot. . . . . An unusual sign on a downtown building.

Before we set off to do that, we shot the last two indoor scenes at the warehouse in Maple Ridge where we had been for the past few days. While the director was in a small room setting up the next shot, the producers whisked away his standard rented director's chair and replaced it with a gorgeous bamboo wood custom upholstered one. He used to have a chair like this that he got as a gift when he was nominated for an Emmy but it broke while filming in Montreal due to becoming brittle in the sub zero temperatures. He has mourned the loss of that chair ever since. So he was rather overcome when he stepped out of the room to see the new chair waiting for him, and the applause of the crew. It was a great moment.

Sunday, the day after we wrapped, we had a lovely cocktail party at the Shangri-La hotel in downtown Vancouver. It was a beautiful location and a fun party.

This week I have been driving my daughter to work each morning and picking her up at the end of the day because she is finding taking public transit very difficult at this stage of her pregnancy and as they only have one car, which her husband needs to commute to his job way out in Port Coquitlam, the bus has been her only option. Unbelievably, at 8 months pregnant, no one will give up their seat for her - this I have known for some time. I found out later that, when the bus fills up, she feels very claustrophobic as people press up to her and she hates having her belly up against someone else. She is also rather sensitive to odours and finds it somewhat nauseating to be among all the different ones people carry onto the bus with them. On Monday I was thinking about her having to stand up for almost an hour each way to and from work. I couldn't stand the thought of it and decided to offer to drive her and she was so grateful. When she told me how really hard it has been for her I was very glad I have the time off to be able to do it. This is her last week of work before taking maternity leave, including Monday next week. She was supposed to go until Wednesday but has decided she just can't do it. She works as a daycare worker and the kids she looks after are so hard to handle. One of them sat right on her belly the other day as she was sitting on the floor with another few kids. It really scared her and the baby was restless for a few minutes right after it happened yet it seems no damage was done. But she really is done with work.

For the 'Play" part of this post:

Today after dropping Ashleigh off, I drove back to the North Shore to Lonsdale Quay to meet a friend for breakfast. There was a gorgeous yacht - Attessa IV - tied to the dock, having some work done. We walked over to have a look at it and as we did, I looked it up on the internet on my iPhone. Turns out it has recently had some major refit and renovation work done to it at a shipyard here and has been on a test voyage around Vancouver Island. I guess not all was good because the starboard rear side is being sanded down to the steel and is being re-finished; it looked like the workers were applying a fairing compound to the starboard rear section while we were watching. When it's done, it is heading to the Caribbean!!!! I wonder if I can get them to take me on as crew?!

Specs of Attessa IV:

At 330 feet, she is the largest yacht to be launched in North America!! (and the largest rebuilt yacht in the world)
42.13 foot beam
13.78 draught
Yacht Design: Glade Johnson Design
Rebuild Company: Washington Yachting Group
Project Manager: Captain Ted McCumber
Accommodation: Able to accommodate up to 36 people on board and has 24 crew members.
Classification: Lloyds and MCA Class
Jacuzzi: Yes
Pool: Yes
Helicopter capability: Yes
Yacht Owner: Montana based businessman Dennis Washington
Yacht Charter: No

The refurbish took 250 skilled Vancouver workers and close to a million man hours

She is the 23rd largest private yacht in the world. It recently won the 'Best Rebuilt Yacht' in the 'World Superyacht Awards' in London.

I can't even imagine what it must be like to have the ability to own such a gorgeous vessel. What a 'toy'!!!

With so many photos today, I posted the small version but just click on any photo to see it full-sized.