Diary

Flying over Nigeria's gas flares

Location Curiously carpeted bedroom, Port Harcourt, Niger Delta | Mood Nervous tension | Date 10 April 2006

Had a last-minute first taste of Nigeria at the visa office yesterday, where all paperwork is stamped with "this form is not for sale" and the visa man tried to sort a quick business deal - cash upfront - between us and his real or imaginary clubbing pals. (Our cover story being that we're on a mission to bring Nigerian house music to the UK, for our friend's (real) record label.)

How to tell if the AK47 pointed in your face is loaded

Location My ever-confused house, now doubling as military training centre | Mood Nervous tension bordering on hysteria | Date 5 April 2006

After various friends and family calmly and touchingly and repeatedly asked me not to go to Nigeria, I thought the least I could do to take their concerns seriously was a Hostile Environments training course.

Star Wars alter-egos

Location Spanner office | Mood Confident | Date 31 March 2006

Crude structure in post-it notes on office wallHave spent the last five days with David The Editor and a huge pile of multi-coloured post-it notes working out Crude's overall structure, animation sequences and narrative arc

Signed-up snowboarding addict

Location Secret hut up mountain | Mood Ecstatic | Date 6 March 2006

Mountain Picnic with Fernand

Guarding a snowman to no avail

Location Morzine one bed | Mood Homesick | Date 5 March 2006

Lugging gear in the rain (again) Photograph: Charlotte Rushton

Making a film shouldn't be all fun & easy

Location Four beds in a line in Monastery of St Bernard | Mood Happy, happy, happy | Date 28 February 2006

Got a bit of a running joke going with myself (sad, I know), to do something foolish every year on the 28 February. I set a very high standard last year, with an act of folly that couldn't possibly be printed. And this year seems to have come together at the last minute too.

Secret to being lucky?

Location Bar near apartment | Mood Jubilant | Date 26 February 2006

Lucky we had pro-skier & cameraman Tchouky on La Vallée Blanche

School trip in the morning

Location Apartment for six, party zone of Chamonix. Nothing else left. | Mood Scared | Date 25 February 2006

We're going to try and ski / film there?? Photograph: Charlotte Rushton

Human race may as well destroy themselves

Location Train from Paris to St Gervais | Mood Human race may as well destroy themselves | Date 23 February 2006

Missed our night train to Chamonix after the Eurostar broke down and deposited us in Paris two hours late. So then we had four hours’ sleep in a dodgy hotel, the first train South, unfortunately full of what we are assuming are gonnabe soldiers. We'd been hoping to catch up on some sleep, but they put a stop to that. Then I cracked my tooth on, of all things, a crisp. Looks like the first job in Chamonix will be to find a dentist.

McLibel hits the cinema nine years later

Location BBC Broadcasting House | Mood School reunion | Date 15 February 2006

Interviews all day for McLibel UK cinema release. Been signed up by very sweet distributors who are acting like it's the first ever screening. Helen, Dave and me are all jaded - has been nine yeas since our first ever screening, after all - but trying to be enthusiastic. Revelation (the distributors) seem to have got tonnes of press interest - press preview the other day was packed and none of the journos left till the end, which is apparently the best you can hope for.