One of our very favourite places to go is the beach along the Thames, so when my mother was here last week, we went on another expedition.

After forbidding him to take home a cow femur he found and deciding that we already have loads of pre-Fire of London roof tiles, I said that we should concentrate purely on finding clay pipes. From the the 17th century in London, people would use clay pipes to smoke tobacco in the same way as people smoke cigarettes today. The pipes were ‘disposable’, bought mainly for one use only, then tossed away. Seemingly, they threw most of them into the Thames because in certain places the beach is littered with them.

Finding the stems of clay tobacco pipes is incredibly easy as their linear, smooth shape makes them stand out against the stones.

After we found about 30 stems of varying size and quality, I told him we should now just concentrate on finding the pipe bowls or fragments of bowls. This is much harder to do, mainly because they are more delicate and easily crushed, but we found some pretty good ones.

The rarest is finding an intact pipe bowl still connected to the pipe. We’ve only found two before. My son was lucky this time. He first found a nice, plain one.

Then he found the very first decorated one we’ve ever seen. Though it’s a bit worn, it’s rather remarkable. Make sure to look at the big versions of the photos so you can see the detail.

Then that was it. We continued looking and found the odd bowl fragment or stem, but no relatively intact pipes. We even moved locations. Still nothing. I was in the middle of saying, ‘Well, I don’t think we’re going to find anything better than that one.’ When I looked down and saw a little face staring up at me. She doesn’t have a stem connected, but isn’t she beautiful?!

I don’t know enough about clay tobacco pipes to know when any of these were made, but the plain ones seem to be from between 1660-1760. The decorated ones are later, but I’m not sure how much later. Clay pipes were being made and used into the early 20th century- though the lovely little head seems to be late-19th century. I can’t find an example of her anywhere online. For more info on clay pipes make sure to visit DawnMist who seems to know more about clay pipes than anyone around!

Brian and I

Me

Brian

Brian on stage at TED before the audience was let in

And again.

Brian during his talk (from ‘whatcounts’ at Flickr, click through)

Here are a few photos from the past few days.

Dork

Dork Dressed up

Two Dorks Ready For Dinner

Dinner

It’s Freakin’ Sputnik, For Christ’s Sake!!!

Brian On Stage – The only photo I took. I didn’t even look at the camera when taking it. I hope we can get copies of TED’s photos!

I looked at all your photos on your Blog and a few things struck me…

Whether it was as I always think of you – with your red hair and crazy look or your more ‘mature’ look – you never once look the same and I think that’s why I think you are one of the most beautiful women I ever knew.

But I also think that might be why you aren’t a TV Superstar as you should be.

You see TV Producers need to know what they are getting. After all Jeremy Clarkson wouldn’t turn up in a suit – it isn’t him. And Cameron Diaz woudn’t appear in a pair of gardening trousers – it isn’t her.

Your problem, I have concluded, is you are able to be so many things no-one actually knows what they are getting.

There you have it, now you know why you are not earning $3 million a year!

But maybe the fact that I think you are so gorgeous makes up for it a bit…or maybe not!!

I know I never look the same. I’ve got one of those weird faces where I can kind of look like anything I want. Brian says he loves it because he feels like he’s always got a new girlfriend. :)

I’m used to people I know really, really well not recognising me. I’m comfortable with the fact that people I know fairly well will have no idea who I am when I see them. It happens constantly and has always happened to me. Like people mispronouncing both my names, it’s something I’ve got used to over the years…

Still, even I think my chameleon-like look is freaky. I look at my photos and even I can’t tell that it’s the same person… It’s not just that my hairstyle might be different, my whole entire face changes. Very odd.

I’m not quite sure what to do about it… other than work in an industry (teh ‘net) where it’s all about your brain not what you look like. :)

…And then Seesmic comes along. *sigh*

January

Me and Charlie Brooker

I was doing lots of stuff for Sunshine and Channel4.com, saw Ben Folds in concert, the Sunshine trailer was leaked by resourceful fans and I was interviewed for Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe.

February

/Cat blog

MASSIVE Sunshine stuff, loads of Channel 4 stuff, went to LIFT where Brian spoke and my Screepwipe interview was broadcast.

Watch Video

March

Danny Boyle on the Sunshine set

I know the photo above wasn’t taken in March, but the month was so freakin’ mental I didn’t take any photos. I was doing 7 days a week, 18 hour days mainly for Sunshine- press and bloggers’ screenings, press interviews, cast and crew screening, Manchester screening, messageboards, emails, IMDB, generally mentalness. There was also Channel 4 stuff, a discussion I took part in at the ICA, went to Cambridge with Brian who spoke at their Science Festival… and I’ve also got ‘Milton Keynes’ in my diary on the 16th. I’ve got no memory of what that was about at all.

April

Danny Boyle, Cillian Murphy, Brian

Another insane month. Sunshine was released, screening and Q&A with Danny at the Ritzy cinema, trip to Russia for the premiere, the 28 Weeks Later premiere… and I bought some ‘Sunshine’ props and costumes. :)

May

Tiger in my face

My Sunshine props and costumes were delivered. :) Was starting to get properly frustrated with the Channel 4 stuff, was weaning off Sunshine, I went to the Arthur C. Clarke Awards nominations, did a Social Media Club photo walk with Lloyd, went to Anna and Julian’s wedding and started looking at secondary schools for my son.

June

Brian at the Star Wars exhibition

Trying to get back into life and recover generally from Sunshine insanity. Sunshine was at the IMAX, spoke at Music Tank, Daywatch screening, more secondary school stuff (including an entrance exam… yikes!)

July

Me at the Gormley exhibition

Secondary school interview (yikes!), started on the Sunshine DVD release, bit of Daywatch work, David Hoyle started Magazine again… my son was offered a place at a secondary school (yay!)

August

Brian, Mo, Benny Wong, Cliff Curtis

Sunshine DVD release, 28 Weeks Later DVD release, Daywatch, more David Hoyle at Magazine… QR Codes.

September

QR Codes

QR Codes for 28 Weeks Later, interviewed about QR on various tv and radio programmes, my son started at his new school, I was invited to talk to the Nuclear Industry Association, recorded the Nature podcast sponsor stings, went to more David Hoyle shows, saw Prince’s final aftershow gig, got properly ill.

October

CERN

Still ill. Started working on a project looking at the Ageing Population, went to CERN twice – the first time with Kevin Eldon and Simon Munnery, the second time with Quentin Wilson- took part in a Nuclear Industry Association roundtable discussion, met Arvind from Slingshot Studios.

November

David Hoyle

Lots of meetings, dinners and lunches. Ageing Project roundtable meeting and dinner… And, of course, the wonderful David Hoyle.

December

My father came to visit, I attended the Juno bloggers’/Twitterers’ screening, fell in LOVE with ‘Juno’ (you’ll be hearing more about this), started Twittering (finally), went to see the King Tut exhibition, attended the Nuclear Industry Association annual dinner, my son had his birthday, recorded a Digital Planet with Gareth Mitchell and Bill Thompson, more talks with Slingshot Studios, David Soul…then…

…today.

After all that, I really need to rest over the next few weeks. I feel like I’ve still not recovered from my illness properly and still need to catch up on all of the sleep I lost last spring with Sunshine… My next 10 days will consist of POWER RESTING. I won’t do any work (except for watching the pile of screeners I’ve got), I won’t worry about whether or not I’ll have any work in the new year… I will just relax in the most hardcore way…

During filming at 3 Mills Studios, I carried my ‘office’ with me to and from work every single day. I looked like a techy bag lady.

One of my very favourite things was wandering around the sets which weren’t being filmed on. Here’s me sitting in the social area of the Icarus II, where Capa sits when he’s told he’s got to make *the* decision.

My Sunshine husbands were/are Damien…

…and Phil

They did the videos, I did the website. We sat next to each other, ate lunch with each other, made each other copious amounts of coffee, hung out together, stalked Danny together… the whole thing.

My actual husband was on-set regularly, too.

In between the moment Danny shouted ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, that is a wrap’ in December 2005 and the start of the post-production phase, there was the wrap party at which Benny Wong DJed.

The post-production phase went on and on and I didn’t see a single frame of the film until September 2006 – it started with a completely different character doing the voice over and was, in my memory, fairly different from the final film. Danny finished post in December 2006 and a couple days later was the first time the trailer was shown. This is Andrew Macdonald, on his Crackberry, in the screening room waiting to watch the trailer shown on a cinema screen for the first time.

Andrew is just the loveliest person in the world. I love him lots and lots and lots. And lots. He very kindly invited me to Moscow to the ‘Sunshine’ premiere. Here’s the two of us in Red Sq.

The Moscow Sunshine Boys…

Andrew, me, Brian and Danny all tarted up for the premiere.

Brian, Danny and Cillian (well, his back) ready to walk on stage.

And on stage…

I, of course, made a point of making sure my son met as many ‘Sunshine’ people as he could. He got Alex’s autograph though Andrew said he’d only sign a cheque… He also had a great time on set with Troy Garity (who was absolutely lovely with him)…

He got to meet Chris Evans…

…Cliff Curtis…

…Benedict Wong…

…and was a honorary Sunshine Boy for a day.

So now I’m finished with Sunshine… there’s not really anything left to do (whether or not LA will hire me for *their* DVD release remains to be seen…), so for the next wee bit I’m working on ’28 Weeks Later’… so you might want to get used to these.