Normality vs Nostalgia

Sunday 10th March 2013

Harassed by Jenni’s pre-breakfast hyperactivity, but not really – good to see her lively. Book work is going to take longer than I thought. Have approached my friend Stephen with a view to him doing a cover. Meanwhile, Jenni has found an app online to make cartoons of us and is posting them with her own captions. Very funny. “Fucking snow in March?” – Too right. Didn’t get to see ‘Batman Begins’ this evening. Maybe next weekend. Oh well… 10.41pm.

Monday 11th March 2013

Frustrating day. Seemed to take forever to get going. Had to go into town for razors and a bank transaction to cover mail order on parchment paper for my book. Sent some images and a covering letter to Stephen, had pizza and chips with Jenni then cracked on with workshop prep. Day hasn’t been great. Basically I just want to get on with my own writing. Tinnitus still buzzing away. Good news: NIN are playing the UK this summer. Bad news: £97 for a Leeds ticket. Same scenario as The Cure last year. Would much rather see bands indoors. Shaved my head and checked out some pamphlets online. Twenty seven pages for a fiver. Oh well… Supper time. 10.07pm.

Tuesday 12th March 2014

Went to the doctors about tinnitus. Have a build-up of fluid in my right ear. Got some tablets; and cream for a nasal infection as well. Over fifteen quid on prescriptions. Just as well I got a workshop offer when I got back. Parkside school want me to go back and repeat the sessions I did this time last year.

Me and Jenni left to deliver our respective workshops around quarter to eleven. Writing for All went okay; two hour session followed by one-to-one booklet production discussion. Fell asleep on the bus home. Found out today that Go North East bus drivers are going on strike for three days over the next week. Hopefully this won’t scupper my plans.

More editing this evening; Jenni watched an episode of Lewis. House really cold, should have put the heating on. Hands hurting a bit. 10.46pm.

Wednesday 13th March 2013

The woman on the bus looks to be in her late fifties. She starts talking to the guy next to me.

   “I don’t like the thirteenth,” she says, “bad things always happen.”

   “Isn’t it only when it falls on a Friday?” he replies.

   “No, every thirteenth.” She looks at me, “I thought is was yesterday, so I stayed in. One time I was in a café in and I got my finger stuck in a cup handle. I told the girls at the counter; they just laughed.”

    “I think we’d better do away back home,” says the guy next to me.

    I try to read the Metro but it’s hard to concentrate. We talk about the upcoming bus drivers strike. Eventually the woman gets off at Dryburn…

I didn’t get much prep done. Only four people in the session today. Looked at sestinas and some dialogue exercises. Had lunch with staff then slept on the bus home. My paper samples came and I’m not impressed. Back to trawling the net for more outlets. This evening I worked on some pages. Almost forgot to check in at the journal. Ears still ringing. 10.56pm.

Thursday 14th March 2013

Productive day at Waddy. Sequenced and mocked-up a 24 page pamphlet with one of the students. Went into Newcastle for the launch of Kate Fox’s new book Fox Populi. Saw some people I know. Chatted about bikes with Sophie F Baker. Her boyfriend used to ride BMX and trials. The latter most certainly the least healthy cycling sport I can think of.

Kate’s gig was good. She did more performance stuff in the first half and page stuff in the second. Lots of pop related refreshments: dandelion and burdock, American cream soda, ginger beer, Fox’s glacier mints and fruits, pop tarts (unfortunately no toaster), pop corn, chocolate coated Fox Populi cake lollies, etc. Saw Sheila, AJ, Grame and Crista.

Two young people on the bus home whining about a job and not getting a good reference. They stayed on till Ebchester, ten minutes shy of the fifty minute journey. Really annoying. Back home Jenni told me about her big food day then I went to check emails. Ended up looking at a lovely Nukeproof Snap Competition eight-hundred quid bike. Absolutely gorgeous. 11.04pm.

Friday 15th March 2013

Slept straight through till half seven after staying up late looking at bikes online. Got some way towards a final cover for my book today; wading through treacle to get to the finish line. Checked out second-hand bikes on Gumtree. Went to Consett for food and stationary. Jenni is drawing cartoon characters and caricatures of us. 10.44pm.

Read a bit of ‘Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy’ by Tim Burton. I once showed this book of verse stories to some students alongside a collection of Wendy Cope poems and they much preferred Tim Burton. I love his drawings and paintings. I tried a bit of ‘Walking Home’ by Simon Armitage as well, but too tired. Be great to have the time to just indulge in books this summer. Be cool to have my chapbook done as well. 11.38pm.

Saturday 16th March 2013

Nick Cave is mint. Enjoyed hearing Henry’s Dream today. And seeing a five minute vid of Chris Akrigg mixing downhill mountain biking, BMX, street and trials in Spain. Saw him ride in a couple of Yorkshire trials competitions and he was amazing but this footage is scarily good. Lots of intricate rock riding, big jumps, high speed drops and twists down back streets...

It was great to see pristine examples of eighties freestyle bikes on ebay last night. No intention of paying thousands for out-moded equipment but I love the nostalgia of it. Downloaded ten pix of a six hundred quid Raleigh Aero Burner. The guy had restored it to showroom specifications. Took him a year to obtain a pair of original handlebar grips, had silver pedals powder coated black, spent a year obtaining pristine original issue handlebar grips. Usually the first item to be ripped off and replaced with ODI Mushrooms. I owned an Aero frameset very briefly during my bike-swapping teenage years; we rarely kept the same full set of components for more than a fortnight. I sold my last bike, a green Kuwahara to buy heavy metal records as I approached sixteen – eager to be out of school, eager to be at gigs and clubs…

Jenni and I had big servings of cowboy hash for lunch. Mexican beans and corned beef mixed in a bowl, a thick layer of smash browned under the grill, topped off with melted cheese and slices of tomato and cucumber. Awesome. Feeling very sleepy now. Listening to Yum-Yab by Jarboe. It’s sunny outside and I wish I could ride one of my bikes but I have lots of work to do. Pleased the bus strike was called off. Gonna watch 127 hours later on tonight. Thanks for reading. 3.47pm.