Bigly Hours

Sunday 6th July 2014

Lazy day at Jen’s. Watched Formula One and Big Bang Theory, ate curry at lunchtime, cherry pie and custard later. Read a little of George Orwell’s 1984 on the bus home. Been taking hayfever tablets of late. Sniffles on the walk from Consett. Email checks and Facebook before bed. 11.20 pm.

Monday 7th July 2014

To make use of my buzz fare 7-day pass I went over to Blackhill Park this morning and did a little bit of longboarding. Would have liked to stay out longer but needed to be back to put a dent in the day to day. Been typesetting and catching up on current affairs. Sick world we live in and hard to trust any mainstream media these days. Tonight I listened to Toyah and watched The Armstrong Lie. 11.50 pm.

Tuesday 8th July 2014

The bus depot mentor on the 15 back from Durham to Consett was determined to get the girl to buy her boyfriend the video game. 50p a day for two months, that’s all. What can you buy with fifty pence? He bought you a coat and all that food. 50p, 50p. All the way home 50p. Workshop a bit low-key this evening. The content I’d planned should take ninety minutes. We were done in an hour, so I did some mini-fiction pieces afterward plus definitions game. Home to messages/updates.  Chasing my tail at present. 11.00 pm.

Wednesday 9th July 2012

Great day! was in Waddy this afternoon helping Chris comb out the typos on Cliff of Ghosts  and a bit of surgery on Barbara’s poems. Was good to chat a while after going over the more political of the two pieces. Good little half marathon with my private evening group. Think we’ll compile it all as a book. Lovely to get in-depth feedback on intermediate course from one of the students. Watched a mint longboard video on slide wheels. Convinced mine just aren’t hard enough durometer to slide. Thinking of an upgrade. 11.03 pm

Thursday 10th July 2014

Up at half six morning paging my way to a final lesson plan. Did all the photocopying, back pack. Off to MIND. Really great session with Consett Writers. Home to emails, proof alterations to student booklet, tweaked dodgy background on back cover, arranged print at Graphic Print. Was good to get out on the longboard this afternoon, although fatigue made me reluctant to rise as fast as I’d like. One lapse of concentration and you go splat on the tarmac. Everyone who has spoken to me after seeing me ride has been really positive. A bit too busy this afternoon though. Risky riding around blind curves for fear of crashing into pram pushing parents or infants chasing stray footballs. Spent as much time walking back uphill as riding down. But no way can I get the wheels to break into a slide. Seriously thinking of replacing them with Mindless Voodoo Magi slide specific. Then if I still can’t budge the back end round I’ll know it’s my own lack of ability. Thanks to Annie and Aidan and all at Extra Hot Words at Blakes tonight.

Friday 11th July 2014

Exhausted for much of the day. Got student book cover printed and help from group putting running order together for Waddy booklet. Really hot on the bus this afternoon. Went out on the 27-speed for ninety minutes. Just a gentle ride – down the river, Ebchester, Derwent Walk, slagheaps, home. Good to have the night off from niggling thoughts on future facilitation and will it last. Someone has the drum and bass bullshit cranked up and it’s way past social hours. Have some consideration. 11.25 pm.

Saturday 12th July 2014

Woke at about half-three this morning. Didn’t get back to sleep till after five. Worked on session for next Tuesday evening then did some editing for the anthology. Came over to Jen’s early. We’ve been downstairs with Max and Stef most of the evening. Very tired now. Ready for bed. 11.06 pm.

Sunday 13th July 2014

Woke early and did the morning pages as the rain hammered down in Bensham. Me and Jen has a lazy day watching television. Thanks for the breakfast pizza, awesome chicken sandwiches, all the laughs and cuddles. Home to online forums and news updates. 11.17 pm.

Monday 14th July 2014

Did morning pages around six this morning then lay in for a little while. Ninety abdominal crunches then porridge. Checked out news updates on Facebook then keying in notes. The rest of the day has been feedback on student poems and tweaks on two booklets for imminent printing. Coming together nicely. Only just sent them in to the office in the last half hour of the day. Watched Utopia. Gonna try to get into Waddy quite early tomorrow. Only one more New College evening session and a private session on Wednesday plus prep for Waddy open day this Friday. Hope it all goes all well. Quite tired now. Checked out clip for upcoming Nick Cave film. Read various new reports on Westminster and Gaza. Still a bit of work to do before bed. 11.44 pm.

Tuesday 15th July 2014

Great day! The Waddy anthology is coming together nicely. Got most of the proofing done today. Just acknowledgements to do and the cover is being made by Craig from the Art dept. I reckon we’ll be ready by Thursday. Then we have a set to put together for the open day. My evening session was a blast. Totally unscripted session on small press and self published chapbooks, etc. A number of the writers want to come back in September to do another course. Result! Watched Utopia tonight. Jenni sent me a photo of the words I scratched onto the bench outside her place. Thinking of using it as a book title. Bed soon. Knackered. 

11.30 pm.

Wednesday 16th July 2014

It’s close on midnight and I’ve just sent off files for booklet corrections. Had an improvised evening class with private group. Our ‘in another writer’s shoes’ stories worked rather well. I re-proofed the Waddy anthology on the bus home then ninety minutes carefully wording instructions in an email to the office as I can’t get there till lunchtime due to a workshop in Consett. I am totally fucking smashed. No supper yet either. 11.42 pm.

Thursday 17th July 2014

Awake at six. Morning pages then up by seven. Phoned Peter at Waddy about the books. Workshop in Consett went well, but only four people in. Last one for a fortnight. Was at Waddy from one. Good to get Chris Hill’s book done. The booklet for our other writers turned out well. 36 pages. Quite a lot of pieces. Cover by Craig is great. We got everything done by four o’clock. Tidied up then over to Heaton for Hot Words at the Chilli. Canny night. Good to see Alfie and Kate again. I am totally smashed now. Me and Marie Lightman got the 45 bus from Newcastle. I’ll not be home for another 45 minutes. Big sleep, please! 11.48 pm.

Friday 18th July 2014

I went to Wetherspoons after the Waddy Learner Achievement Awards day. Had a burger and chips in Wetherspoons and read an article in NAWE magazine on memorizing poems. Home by quarter to seven. Spoke to Jenni for awhile on the phone. Maybe I should have tried to get out on the bike or do the garden this evening. Or a bit of longboarding. Was good to get cover images of Waddy Writers' books up online this evening. It’s good to be done for a while. Only one session next week. And that will be pretty easy. 

11.19 pm.