The Mysterious Traveller

A relatively speedy follow up to my previous post, but with the end of the world approaching I felt impelled to write some more. It has been 16 months since graduation, 34 months of being single (I now have a beautiful girlfriend, Lucy) and within 8 months the release of three stop motion films. I have got three major animation projects under my wing, another feature film in development with my colleague John Fox , a music video to direct and edit and also the work experience Drew Roper has so kindly offered me. It is all happening now, in such a short space of time. I had almost a year of doing nothing! Excitement like this can send a guy over the edge. For one thing I need to move out of my legendary attic studio. Living in this house with my older female room mate (who incidentally shares the same surname as me) is fine, but I feel that this low-rent bubble is hindering my motivation. I had decided many years ago that I would never live and work in Warwickshire, so I'm worri...

As soon as the fast-ticket collecting machine at Coventry railway station declared my booking confirmation was invalid and that it was near impossible to retrieve my E-ticket before my train departed, I stood there aghast and muttered some ungodly curses (much to the disgust of some nosey old biddy who clearly drives too slowly). What a perfect way to start my pilgrimage to the animation capital of the country. I almost made the decision to drive down to Bristol and began flailing between the platform and the bus stop, looking for somebody to slap me and say, Tom, you are a sad, strange little man and you have my pity. Now just buy another ticket you fucking eejit . Luckily enough it was the plasticine man inside my head who said this. I decided to worry about the additional £50 I forked out after the Encounters Festival and concentrate on getting to the afternoon screenings. Thus began my least favourite train ride ever.  Bit of blue for the dads; my second Encounters good...