365 Days, Day 137

For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake (Alfred Hitchcock)

All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much (George Harrison)

She tells enough white lies to ice a wedding cake (Margot Asquith)

I made cupcakes today, which is why I am on the cake theme. In the middle of baking the cupcakes, I realised that I had no vanilla essence or extract. I searched every cupboard because I always have vanilla! The only vanilla I could find was vanilla flavoured coffee sachets, so I poured half a sachet into the cake mix. Mistake! The mixture tasted of coffee: coffee cupcakes… not good.

I baked the cupcakes and cooled them. Then it was time to make icing. I noticed that the icing sugar was billowing a bit. I only iced half of the little cakes because there was not enough icing – I like it to be quite thick. Whilst I was talking to Ariél on the phone, I wandered back into the kitchen where I had mixed the icing. The ENTIRE counter surface was covered in a white layer of billowed icing sugar!

I was reading my emails with Lily on my lap. There must have been a spot of cupcake mixture on the recipe which was now lying on my desk. I noticed Lily licking but did not pay much attention until I noticed that she had licked a huge hole in my recipe. There was an email from Jack looking for extras for a riot scene for a movie that is being filmed. This reminded me of the four times that I have been an ‘extra’ in film/TV. None of them were successful.

Ariél and I were extras on some Afrikaans soapie and they made me wear yellow! My worst colour ever: I look pale and ill when I wear yellow.

I walked off of the set half way through the day of some soapie, because we’d filmed a scene early in the morning then had lurked about for hours in a dodgy little room with a dodgy urn and polystyrene cups and instant coffee (I am used to “craft” from the movie sets where there is filter coffee, (sometimes cappuccino), hot chocolate, numerous teas, biscuits, fruit). We just waited and waited around with no idea of when we were going to be needed again. Eventually we were told (by a rude AD) that we were only going to be needed much later that afternoon. I decided I had had enough and just left.

Kyle, Roarke and I went to be extras on another Afrikaans soapie. We spent the entire day in a church! They were filming a funeral scene. Kyle and Roarke said the experience was like a day being in hell. They did quite like the lunch though.

I was a personal tutor on Prey and they needed some extras to walk past the swimming pool (where we later ‘skinny dipped’ that night). I was roped in. “Sound speed and ACTION!” I started walking. “CUT! CUT! CUT!” shouted the D.O.P. Get that bright pink hair off the set: it’s ruining the shot – it’s ALL we can see!” I had to slink away nonchalantly with my bright pink hair held high.

I shall eat a cupcake now while I watch Bedazzled for research purposes– it has been suggested that I play the Genie inspired by the Liz Hurley devil role. And I don't think I will be rioting as an extra in the local movie. I have learned my lesson.