We kicked things off with a train ride out of London (I loves me the train!), which brought us to Birmingham, the second largest city in England. This town is also, I’m told, the birthplace of celluloid. So it’s a perfect place for a filmmaker to pay his respects… or if I consider myself a digital filmmaker, to laugh ironically at its demise.

I haven’t seen much of the city, since we went straight into interviews and a screening at the local multiplex. Mostly “phoners” for the interviews while the film played, but we also had a fun photo shoot where I drew cartoons for these two little girls. Today was the first of several children’s workshops to be held after the screening. I have to admit, I was winging it a bit, but I drew some of the characters and led everyone in some flipbook animation. Thanks to a new pocket digital recorder (with variable speeds), I could show kids how I really created Twitchy’s voice. The crowd was small but the response was enthusiastic. I signed lots of posters after the talk. Only at the end did I realize I had signed them with a dry erase marker. Kids, don’t wipe those posters!

They also got a goodie bag of promotional items, like this mask of Red: “Instantly Creepy On a Grown Man!”

Our room is a SWEET. And yes, I did spell that right, because it’s SWEET. So tonight, Vicki and I decided that our room is the number one place in Birmingham want to hang out in.

I’ve also taken to the local custom of saying “Cheers” when leaving a conversation. It’s like “thanks, buh-bye,” but friendlier. It is the “Aloha” of England, I like to think. Try it sometime. It just FEELS good.

Cheers.