Oh, And Did I Mention The Cold?

Monday 14th November 2016

Feeling a little numb as I write this, even though the temperature has been pretty decent today. My ticket for The Cure at Wembley arrived this morning. I ordered it almost a year ago. Looking forward to the gig. Enjoyed seeing old pix of The Mission from the eighties and nineties. And listening to various cover versions of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Wish I’d made the effort to see him in Leeds a few years ago. Got most of the prep done for the week. Getting late now. Getting colder. But there’s a bowl of porridge to make and a cup of hot orange with gingersnaps. Got word of a new course I’ll be running in January. Things looking up. 

11.09 pm.

Tuesday 15th November 2016

Woke up way too early and felt queasy by lunchtime. A bus driver gave me grief because I paid for my all-day ticket in mostly silver and copper. He thought I was trying to be funny but I only had one other bit of money and if I used that I’d be giving another driver twice as much small change tomorrow. I booked Broadacre House again for the January 2017 writing marathon. Got word on a four-hour book-making workshop. Was able to take things easy due to getting sessions planned yesterday. Listened to a John Lydon interview and some of the Richie Allen Show. People have started to sign up for the writing marathon already. Good stuff. Still eight weeks to go, so it should do okay. 11.18 pm.

Wednesday 16th November 2016

Good little workshop with six Cambian Appletree Writers this afternoon. More fiction prompts with various starting techniques for stories – dialogue, first person narrative, description of a character, multiple characters in scene, etc. Buses back to Durham were shit as usual. Nice to go into Newcastle mid-week and spend some time with Jenni. Baguette from eat4less, drink, free internet in library, a walk round shops gleaning various gift ideas, then back over the bridge to Bensham. Listened to some Northumbrian folk music at Jen’s for a while, then back to Consett. Did some food shopping in Tesco, caught last bus back to Moorside. Fried eggs on toast and further email checks. Pleased the house isn’t cold. 11.37 pm.

Thursday 17th November 2016

WORST BITS: Waking to the sound of power tools on a pissing wet Thursday as workmen dig up the pavement on the corner of Derby Drive and Derby Crescent. A lousy feeling from subsisting on toast all day.

BEST BITS: Arabella Arnott saying Yes to reading at Poetry Jam. Seeing a video of Metallica playing ‘Enter Sandman’ on kids’ instruments with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots band. Listening to The Cure and knowing that I have a ticket for their second night at Wembley next month. Good bit of messaging back and forth with Jenni on Facebook. Checked out some tracks by a band called Juratory and another called Nine Tons. They are playing at the Black Bull in Gateshead next January with Vince Ripper & The Rodent Show.

Really fucking cold, wrapped in the Slanket, downing hot orange and toast and ginger biscuits. That’s my day. 11.10 pm.

Friday 18th November 2016

Sure it was colder indoors than out this morning. Good walk into town. Did some bank transactions, bought a bit more food, scraped dog muck off the garden path then did some note copying in the kitchen next to a pan of boiling carrot and potato. Hey, hey! Keeping it real! Good to get the Poetry Jam event page done. I think it’s a great line up: Asa J. Maddison, Arabella Arnott and Mark Smith. Good to see Metallica streamed live from House of Vans in London tonight. Master of Puppets was superb. Been eating cherry pie and custard, drinking hot orange whilst rocking out, all wrapped up in my tartan blanket fastened with a boot string and a safety pin. Hey, hey! Keeping it real! 11.22 pm.

Saturday 19th November 2016

Making myself presentable so I can venture out is sometimes a bit of a hassle, particularly when the heating is off and I don’t want to change out of warm scruffy clothes. Boiling a kettle of water for a wash, shaving fully dressed with a towel safety pinned around my neck to keep the mess off my hoodie… Made some mini flyers for Poetry Jam. Meant to hand them out at Alphabetti Theatre tonight but forgot. Read some more Blow Your House Down on the bus to Newcastle. Spent about ninety minutes in HMV listing items that may make good presents… The play, Signals by David Farn for Hands On NE, at Alphabetti was good tonight. Fading poet and daughter, communications worker and lonely taxi driver, unfulfilled lives and crossed wires. A dark comedy piece that made for an enjoyable two hours. Off to Tesco afterwards with Jenni for bigly food. 11.13 pm.

Sunday 20th November 2016

Long lie in. The usual morning pages then breakfast with Jenni. Three episodes of Columbo, ravioli on toast, multiple layers of clothing. We toyed with the idea of going into Gateshead this afternoon but decided to just stay put. Soup, ginger cake and custard, a magic show. Blow Your House down and Wi-Fi action on the bus back to Consett. Freddie Mercury documentary on Five plus one. Supper. 11.09 pm.