Who are you pointing that trumpet at?

The Pukka crew have just returned with the rushes of their third big drama for Italian clients, Saipem. Shoots in Norway, Italy and Nigeria have been completed with another coming up in exotic Wimbledon.

The Italian leg was a welcome extension to the summer with blisteringly hot days and a wide range of locations (thanks Ivano!). After long hours we ate like kings and on a couple of occasions were serenaded in the bar by our principle actor, Samuel Anderson.

The last night was the moment everyone had been waiting for, when Dave Judge’s stunt boys performed a 50mph car crash, obliterating a Fiat Punto at 3 in the morning. Rinse, who drove the car, told us afterwards that it’s important to scream before impact to expel air from your lungs and avoid injury – but we think it’s because he’s a scaredy cat.

Barely any time to sweep up the broken glass, and we were on a flight to Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Our armed escort of non-smiling security with AK 47s was waiting and chaperoned us through the towns and villages to the Saipem yard. A security induction included phrases like ‘killing zone’, ‘Mortar Fire’ and ‘wait for the all-clear’ and lots of handy tips on what to do ‘in the event of an attack on the base’. Fingers crossed, then.

A day and a half’s filming flew by in the tropical humidity and before we knew it we were bouncing back down the potholed roads to the airport again. We had just enough time to snap a pic with our (now smiling) security before entering the purgatory of customs and collapsing onto the flight home.