Forty-Seven Going On Seventeen

Monday 23rd January 2017

Struggled to get started on the college work today as I needed to rework my gig set for Thursday, cutting it by a third to fit a ten minute slot. Played around with various options. Well over an hour and a half before I nailed it. Lots of admin today. Tomorrow sees my first ever writing course on New College Durham campus. I’ll be facilitating workshop style, so I hope that meets people’s expectations. Great night at the Lit & Phil for the launch of poetry collections by Catherine Ayres and Jane Burn, with guests Pippa Little, Joan Johnston, Julie Hogg and Lisa Matthews. Brilliant turn out and great sets. Wished it could have gone on a bit longer. 11.26 pm.

Tuesday 24th January 2017

Bus was hot. I didn’t drink enough. Felt dehydrated and feared a migraine, but I seem okay. Sessions went well. I slowed down to let people relax into the work. Had one person back from a previous run of the evening course. I may rework bits of it. Spoke to Jen about plans for tomorrow evening’s carvery at the Goose before The Literary Salon. If I can get all my workshops sorted I’ll be tempted to stay over till Thursday. 10.24 pm.

Wednesday 25th January 2017

Woke at quarter past five and couldn’t get back to sleep so I did the morning pages then looked at some birthday wishes on Facebook. Plus a brilliant post from Amanda Palmer about WHERE DOES A BODY END? the Swans documentary that is currently in production. Watching the trailer made me consider going to see the band one last time, probably at the Roundhouse in London. Will see how I feel nearer the date. Got a nice card with a mountain bike on it and a cheque from Mam and Ernie. Bigly lunchtime chat at Waddy about the merits of Go North East and Arriva bus companies. Then a quiet but enjoyable session at Cambian Appletree. Only three people in. (There were six last week). We did “I am…” character poems from templates then looked at figurative language in object poems. Jenni got me loads of lush things for my birthday. New Kettle, We Are Twisted Fucking Sister documentary DVD, Danny MacAskell memoir, Dystopia book, Hulk moneybox, Batman egg cup with bat symbol toast cutter, lots of A3 coloured card, some notebooks, pens, Locke and Stand Up guys films on DVD, Mister Men Mid-life Crisis book, Toffifees and other things. We went to the Goose. I phoned Mam and Ernie with thanks from there. Had two platefuls at the carvery then round the corner to The Literary Salon. The theme was Looking Back/Looking Forward. Enjoyed Catherine Graham’s poems – she gave me a copy of her new pamphlet Fish Out of Batter – and Jeff Price’s set. Jules Clare on form with a brilliant poem about a journey from Scotland back to the North East. Rueben Blue was good. His girlfriend did poems about war. Adrian Smallwood was funny. Maya Horton read an autobiographical essay. Lloyd did three character poems. Jenni did a Burns haiku. Bus back to hers then Toffifees and bed. Good birthday. 10.42 pm.

Thursday 26th January 2017

Awake early at Jen’s. But stayed in bed till after half eight. Trump on tv – building walls, bringing back torture. They say for terrorists but some people have a very broad definition of terrorist. Read Catherine Graham’s chapbook on the bus to Durham. Enjoyable character pieces that reveal more with repeated readings. Tweaked my bus boy poem a bit more at Waddy. Good lunchtime chat with staff then slept on the bus to Newton Aycliffe. Good workshop. Nine people and we had lots of fun. An inquisitive bunch who enjoy the written exercises and get lively during discussions. Slept on the way back to Newcastle after a bit more set prep for Mostly Spoken. Me and Jenni had an eat4less then braved the bitter cold and walked over to Byker. Good sets from guests. Enjoyed Steve Palace’s Alan Bennett story. Jules Clare did a set. Jo Oliver, Mark Smith, Aidan Clarke, Tony Gadd and James Oates. Pretty good line-up. Felt my set was a bit pedestrian, but okay. Gonna stop doing the really old stuff. Had chips and gravy at Clayton Street then 45 bus back to Consett. 11.38 pm.

Friday 27th January 2017

Recovery day. Nine days out of ten at gigs and workshops, so I reckon I needed to stay home today. Pleased to get offered another set of workshops by Durham New College. I only just started the current course on campus. Watched a great new Henry Rollins interview. Two and a half hours. Did some admin then settled in to watch WE ARE TWISTED FUCKING SISTER! Was good of Jenni to buy me the DVD. I’ve liked this band since the mid eighties. Only seen them once. About 12 years ago. They got a lot of mileage out of the first four albums. Then the last one died in 1987 really. House has been freezing today. Was good to edit some poems for a while this evening. Just need to find suitable magazines for them. 11.31 pm.

Saturday 28th January 2017

Mercifully not as cold as yesterday. Didn’t even have the heating on at home. Out to Consett for food shopping and some material for bookmaking. Had a lush late afternoon meal – pork steak, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, mash, peas, gravy. Shaved my head and face and sorted the big trolley case then out to Jen’s place. Good bus connections. An old man at the front asked if I ever get sick of using the computer. I said I need it for work. Minutes later I pulled out a 67 page student manuscript and began reading. The old man, staggering with two walking sticks as he got up to leave, looked at the big green file and said, “You’re keen, son. I couldn’t do a job like that.” I read all the way to Gateshead. Me and Jenni watched a brilliant film called Locke. Bloke in a car with a big dilemma, no other onscreen actors. Reminded me of Paul Auster’s work, mentioned Beckett. Great stuff. 10.34 pm.

Sunday 29th January 2017

Good time at Sunday Assembly. Enjoyed the singalong to various songs including Rocking all Over the World and A Little Respect. Great kids' story, brave speech from a young woman, mint piece about Letters to Myself project and cracking song to close from Alix Alixandra. Had a brunch in Newcastle then an hour in the library tweaking poems. Then Waterstones for a look at new releases, Also read bits of Bukowski's 'You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense' (the only one I didn't buy while he was alive) and looked at some bike books. Back at Jen’s this evening listening to tracks from Musicals and Queen songs. Home to a pasty, chocolate and crisps. Okay, enough. 11.13 pm.