"Like Riding a Bike But Harder Than I Remember"

Friday 12th September 2014

Big admin day. Out on the black jump/street bike briefly this morning – just to go pay bills. Postmaster asked about my riding. Not so much these days. Emma Whitehall put out a shout for advice on how much to read at a book launch. For 'Sunshine' I did 15 minutes as headline/feature sets on a couple of spoken word nights. For Shades of Grey I did half an hour as part of a two book launch with another author. For Hypomaniac I did two twenty minute sets with a break between. Depends on the length of the book and the format of the launch. Will there be other authors reading? If it's prose fiction you might want to opt for a couple of short sets. It's all down to personal preference. Do enough to give a good taster of the book, but not so much as they feel no need to buy it, having heard it all on the night. Listened to Nine Inch Nails whilst working this evening. Good to hear Coil remixes, listen to Toyah and read some Brian Masters. Almost forgot this entry. Up very early tomorrow for Valerie Laws workshop at Haltwhistle. 11.14 pm.

Saturday 13th September 2014

Slept in. Still got a taxi to Consett in time for the X70 to Newcastle. In Haltwhistle for half ten. Wrote motives for crimes from seven deadly sins in thoroughly enjoyable crime workshop. Read some of Clive Barker’s Everville on the way back. Met up with Stephen Clark this afternoon for a few hours. Good to hear he’s moved house and is looking forward to creative projects. Did a bit of rehearsing for ‘Hot Words’ with Jenni this evening. 9.57 pm.

Sunday 14th September 2014

More rehearsals for Thursday. We’re getting there, but I still don’t trust myself without cheat sheets. Watched Columbo. Went out for food. Tuna and sweetcorn sandwiches then apple crumble for tea. Then more rehearsals with hysterical laughter. Sunday night at the London Palladium on tv. More Everville on the bus home. Facebook / Emails checks. 11.17 pm.

Monday 15th September 2014

Mondays during term time can be quite gruelling, but today has been pretty good. Getting tired of my regular journal page turning into a work log. Not sure if I’ll get much biking or boarding done from now on. Ate a big spicy pizza tonight and tried to track down some old school friends on Facebook. Chanced upon some old school bullies, but not friends. Oh well. Everything is ready for tomorrow. Fingers crossed it’s a good one. 11.13 pm.

Tuesday 16th September 2014

Slept well but was tired and anxious on the bus to Durham. Good first ‘Ways with Words’ at Waddy, ditto session in Newton Aycliffe. Brilliant ‘North East Rising’ in Sunderland tonight. Jess Johnson on fire. Alix Alixandra just exquisite. And Rowan McCabe totally stormed it. I’m on the 78A bus back to Consett. It’s quarter past ten. I won’t be in bed for at least two hours. Hope I can keep the headache at bay. Only one session tomorrow. 10.15 pm.

Wednesday 17th September 2014

Great to see 20,000 Days on Earth this evening. Stephen unfortunately was unable to make it due to coming down with cold. The Tyneside Cinema was sold out so I went to Vue in Gateshead. Pleased I made it to the gala preview with interviews and Nick Cave playing live via link from the Barbican in London. Good to hear The Ship Song, And No More Shall We Part, Into My Arms – and hear from the man himself about his creative process. Was kind of annoying that people were walking in and out during the screening. Don’t buy two-litre beakers of cola if you can’t control your bladder. Went into Newcastle afterwards for chips and gravy. Now in Eldon Square waiting for the last bus. Nice to see Jenni earlier this evening. We still have more rehearsing to do for our HOT WORDS set before tomorrow evening’s gig. 11.04 pm.

Thursday 18th September 2014

Morning pages gave me some notes on last night’s excellent Nick Cave screening and some ideas for the Derwentside Mind. Pleased to hear staff say the writing group are the happiest bunch to attend the place. They are a great group. Have lots of fun in the sessions. Afternoon was good at Waddy. Filled a few more places on the courses. Jenni’s post on Facebook: “Proppa bricking it now, why the unholy feck did I agree to this???” – I’m feeling pretty okay about our forthcoming HOT WORDS performance. Over to Jen’s now to do final rehearsal. I have big cheat sheets. Had a few run-throughs of solo stuff. Will maybe look at scripts a bit later but right now I’m knackered. 3.57 pm.

Friday 19th September 2014

Thanks to Annie Moir and Aidan Clarke for putting together another top notch HOT WORDS at the CHILLI. Always wonderful to be a part of these nights. Great sets from Mark Speeding, Jane Burn and Chrissie Petrie plus the open mic people. Thanks to Harry Gallagher for hosting duties. Thanks also for all the feedback on the sets me and Jenni did. It was quite an experience. Looking forward to a full set of poetry from Terry Krazzywolf Dobson next month. Cheers Mark and Tracy Speeding for the lift home too.

Really tired today. Slept for a couple hours after being out shopping, then read about sixty pages of Collected Love Poems by Brian Patten. Pleased I have video footage of me and Jen onstage last night. Have posted a couple of pix but I’m not publishing the footage. Must get off to bed. Last Valerie Laws Crime Writing workshop tomorrow. 10.40 pm.

Saturday 20th September 2014

Awake at quarter past five. Wrote some dream sequences in morning pages. Walked into Consett for 7.18 am bus to Newcastle. Read Brian Patten’s ‘Little Johnny’s Confession’ and Roger McGough’s ‘Holiday on Death Row’ on the 685. Very tired in workshop, but still enjoyed it. Thanks to Valerie Laws and the other writers. Spent an hour in Haltwhistle afterwards. Watched Columbo at Jen’s tonight. Revolting pastry on the chip-shop steak pie. Had a Mr Kipling’s apple and blackberry to eradicate the taste. Pretty knackered. 10.25 pm.

Sunday 21st September 2014

Very chilly in bed last night. Dreamt about warehouse work and burning buildings. Read ‘I Can Squash the King, Tommo’ by Vanessa Gebbie while Jenni slept this morning. Listened to some rap stuff for an upcoming workshop. We had an early chicken jalfrezi lunch then walked into town. Jen off to Scratch Tyne rehearsal club. I got the bus home. Caught up on a bit of admin and listened to Toyah. Read some online Rollins and Nick Cave articles. Trying not to stuff my face with cakes and crisps. If I wasn’t still tired I’d type up last week’s lesson plans for the college to give me a head start in the morning so I can maybe get an hour on the longboard or bike tomorrow afternoon. Evening’s cutting in sharp now, too chilly to be coming home all sweated up after dark. Ok. 8.08 pm.