Eight Days

Saturday 28th June 2014

Watched a great ‘Ian MacKaye’ YouTube vid on archiving Dischord Records and live Fugazi recordings, then some classic Queen and listened to the Pistols. Pretty wrecked post-slog day. Was hoping to bike tonight, fell asleep. Have a gig tomorrow then time with Jenni. It’s noisy outside. A party next door. Hope to be in bed soon. 

11.30 pm.

Sunday 29th June 2014

Alphabetti Spaghetti all-dayer event. Enjoyed being part of the JibbaJabba hour. Good to see Simon Beckwith comedy. Jen paced show well. Kirsten Luckins was a woman possessed. Just gobsmackingly awesome stage presence, timing, seriously impressive. More than a match for any spoken word I’ve seen this year. Hope she does the same set in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Great day. 11.24 pm.

Monday 30th June 2014

Slow day. Took a long time to get my final lesson plan revisions ready to send off. No prep for tomorrow night yet but have responded to numerous student works. I have a cold. Will be glad when this week is done. Wanted to watch Women in Punk programme on BBC 2’s Culture Show but the tennis finished late so the knock on effect means the programme has not been shown. Hoping to rise refreshed and ready to rock tomorrow. Last Writing for All then an evening session. 10.46 pm.

Tuesday 1st July 2014

Doesn’t matter how well-prepped I think I am, there’s always room for more. Pleased I had the extra flash fiction stuff with me this evening. Got home from Durham at ten. My punnet of strawberries stinking the front of the bus out. Had a cheese crustie for supper. Earlier today I watched old Eurythmics videos online, prompted by the instrumental version of ‘Miracle of Love’ used as the soundtrack to the 10RED poetry gig promo vid posted on Facebook by Kevin Cadwallender. This time tomorrow we’ll be at the Persevere Bar in Edinburgh. Nine north east poets plus Matt MacDonald. I keep changing my set. Will settle on something tomorrow afternoon. Cold hasn’t been bad most of the day. Now I’m home, nose is dripping like a fucking tap. Off to bed. Knackered. 10.37 pm.

Wednesday 2nd July 2014

Woke at six. Spent most of the morning pages listing poem combinations for tonight’s set at 10RED in Edinburgh. Too many poems for ten minutes, I’ve decided to read a piece from each of my books save “…Easier Ways…”. Set: Dark House, Gutter Man, Slaughterhouse, Tightrope Walker, Gardening, Laughing in the Face of Apathy and Goth. Timed them after breakfast. Got a piece that might work in Poetry Jam from this morning’s final intermediate writing session at Waddington Street. Right now I’m on the 21 to Newcastle. Meeting Jenni and Sheila at the Lit and Phil at 3.00 pm for the ride up to Scotland. Still have a bit of a cold. Overcast sky, but still very warm… No leg exercises today. Did my eighty rollbar abdominal crunches. I want to lose a stone by September. The bus is like a fucking oven. Will be glad to get outside. Still have a lot of paperwork to finish. Will take a few sittings.  2.07 pm.

Thursday 3rd July 2014

Mint night at Poetry Jam. So much good stuff. Absolutely awesome set from Alix, ditto Ian and Mandy. Lots of people. Great to get a ride home with Mister Speeding. Have been fighting off a headache most of the day. Only had about five hours sleep after getting back to Jen’s from Edinburgh at two this morning. Last night was great, really enjoyed all the performers. Looking forward to some time off tomorrow. If I feel okay I’m going out on my longboard, but probably not until the afternoon. I trashed a poem tonight. Pleased I ditched it, played safe and did older stuff I know pretty well. 11.30 pm.

Friday 4th July 2014

Rain stops play. Have taken the day to digest more dystopia via the internet. What happened to peace, love and harmony? – They’re not making enough money. Got Poetry Jam pix up online today. Went out in the rain for food shopping. Haven’t eaten much yet. 11.19 pm.

Saturday 5th July 2014

Bus is old. Stinks like a potting shed. But has grabby brakes - which means you get lurched forward every time the driver steps on them. Bit of a lazy day again – surfing the net and riding the longboard. Head wind in the park, so no problems with speed wobble. Much warmer now than this afternoon. Eyes and nose streaming this morning. Fine now. On my way to Jen’s. Haven’t had proper tea, just peanut butter on crackerbread. Might go for chips later. Needed a break from work. Next week will be busy. 7.25 pm.