28/11/24 06:48 

I’m here, on the 9004 Eurostar to Paris.  I arrived 45 minutes before departure, went through the queue, x-ray machine, 2 lots of passport control and then a quick pop to the loo before boarding the train.  The only signs of the EES were the facial recognition cameras that they have at Gare du Nord.  No fingerprint scanners, yet. 

Lie de thé Herbin ink in my first 3D printed fountain pen and the first page of my An Englishman in Paris Coffee Pot Conversations notebook (it’s white).  I don’t recall ever seeing the queues outside of passport control that busy, but I’m not normally that ‘late’ before boarding the train.  Still, I’m sat here, t-shirt, jumper and jacket, baseball cap, hidden microphone and noisy people all around me.  Aside from the woman beside me and the woman in front.  but she’s not finished rearranging everything around her.  My neighbour is simply sat still, on her phone, earphones in and I suspect will sleep once the internet runs out in the tunnel.  The woman in front will probably sleep in a minute as she’s just banged her head on the monitor as she stood on the seat to check her luggage.  I’m not sure what she’s lost. 

Filming has sort of gone okay, I guess.  But I am feeling it’s more of a vlog than podcast.  Early days.  The train is pulling away and I think I’ll wait until I’m in France before I book the hotel.  What I may actually do is grab a table in a café and do it from there; it’ll give me a better set-up for the recording – an episode? – plus the first chance to record the ambient noise (after a half an hour set-up).  I want to book a place in any of the following arrondissements but it’s mainly down to price: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 15, 16, 18, 19. 

Whilst it could be classed as exciting, it could also be classed as lunacy.  I’ve never done anything like this before.  I normally know exactly where I’m going, plan things to do and generally have a rough idea of the nearest Monoprix.  I was going to bring my monologue episode paperwork with me to record in a café or boulangerie, but I figured I wouldn’t do that.  Instead, I’d add an extra layer of pressure and stress to get Season 3 filmed and wrapped in a straightforward overnight stay. 

Fingers crossed.  As long as I get some creative motivation, I’ll be happy.  But a season’s worth of material will make me ecstatic. 

Just going through the tunnel at 0740 and yes, this should be a separate entry but I figured I’d make it a continuation so I didn’t have to faff about changing pens.  The Americans behind me haven’t stopped yapping but fortunately the family on the other side of the aisle are all pretty much asleep, now.  The running socks that I’m wearing are great.  They’re the   brand (Versus) I wear for my half and full marathons, as well as my general runs.  They allow circulation, have some kind of support structure woven in and they are made from a breathable, sweat-wicking material.  But as a result, they don’t keep the cold out.  And because of my whole hereditary circulatory system, my feet are freezing.  My back is dripping with sweat and my hidden lav mic, or ‘wire’ is suspiciously low in battery.  I’m not sure how best to rectify or remedy this without moving too much. 

The low voltage of the phone charger is only maintaining my phone at 84%  I’ll pop it on to the Pocket 3 and see if I get better results.  I really should’ve popped new batteries into the F2-BT yesterday.  It had two blocks when I checked the app but a flashing orange colour when I switched it on.  In fairness, I’ve said very little since putting it on so there’s no major loss.  It’ll be interesting to see how long the battery lasted and if it saved the recordings before the battery went flat.