Great to get out on the Sonder Frontier bike this afternoon. I messed about on a bit of gravel path by the pump house next to the River Derwent, relearning how to hop on the back wheel. My right knee doesn’t like ratcheting the crank in fifth gear; I’m starting to find stability but can’t hop very high or far. I moved on to Shotley Bridge and messed about in the woods and on rocks by the river. Got word from Chester le Street library that their Monday reading group have requested an author visit from me for September. I’ve been looking at Michael Gira’s new book The Knot but at over a hundred dollars including postage I don’t think I will be buying a copy. Been reading about UK royalty being related to Vlad the Impaler which sounds preposterous but checked online and it appears to be true. Did some logbook copy-ups and hope to get a good night’s sleep. 10 23pm.
Tuesday 2nd August 2022
10.30am bus to Durham didn’t turn up. Luckily there wasn’t much prep to do. A bit of photocopying. Waddy session went okay. ‘Take three nouns’ exercise. A couple of Dinty Moore’s short mindfulness essays on writing. Then a series of ‘wants’ based on my Wanted poem. Then readbacks. Three Geoff Hattersley poems plus ‘IF and THEN’ action and consequence group exercise, followed by a discussion about films with disturbing content. Waited forty minutes for bus to Newcastle only to find when I arrived that most shops now shut at six. The driver of the X45 back to Consett broke a wing mirror so we had to wait for a replacement bus. I got home to just sit on the couch, scrolling Facebook, too tired for much. Hope tomorrow is better and I’m okay for Poetry Jam. 9.45pm.
Wednesday 3rd August 2022
Canny day but a bit concerned about the amount of time on the computer. Of course, I can’t work without using electricity when I’m home unless I’m writing with pen and paper. I need to typeset stuff. I watched the first episode of Can’t Get You Out Of My Head. Not as shocking as expected. I got three new pieces of writing typed up tonight. Hoping to read a couple of them at Poetry Jam. Watched some World Championship elite biketrial on YouTube. Went out for Dairylea and chocolate. Turned the computer off at twenty past ten. Done for the day. Might get grass cut tomorrow before going to Waddy. 10.55pm.
Thursday 4th August 2022
Raindrops bookended the grass cutting task. Good to get a decent face and scalp shave afterwards despite the lousy razor. And to chat this afternoon to a teenage friend that I’d not seen for thirty-five years. She initially didn’t recognize me coz of the glasses and lack of hair. Good to get my goth shoes poem re-edited this afternoon at Waddy. Had a chicken vindaloo for tea. Poetry Jam was mint. Chis Short did well and enjoyed his set. Mandy was ace. Her ‘daughter’ poem was great, also ‘Glasgow’ and ‘Paragraph City’. Rob Walton’s set was at turns poignant and hilarious (I bought his book ‘This Poem Here’). There was some top-class open mic as well. Good to see David Roe and Tom Moody. And to have a first-time visit from Tolu A Akinyemi. Jenni got the train back to Gateshead with her mam. I got the bus. No service cancellations. Good to be back in Bensham. 11.25pm.
Friday 5th August 2022
Bit of a lie in. Good chat with Jenni. We went into town to look around charity shops. Jenni got a hooded jacket and found me some black pinstripe trousers. We went to The Café Under the Spire to spend a few hours with Asa, Lou and Kirsten. Chatted about poetry, biking, gardening, favourite films. Jenni bought me a great cheeseburger. Later when people went into town, I returned to the attic for a lie down. When Jenni got home we watched soaps and great episode of Still Game all about steak pie. 11.20pm.
Saturday 6th August 2022
Ridiculously high-priced mountain bikes in Start Cycles. Then a look at Sci-Fi and horror books in Forbidden Planet. Bumped into comedian Julian Lee and son outside Travelling Man. Went in and checked out zines. Then over to HMV to look at t-shirts, DVDs, books and vinyl in hopes of getting some gift ideas. Curry and rice for tea. Me and Jenni watched “Trainwreck: Woodstock 99” documentary – bad capitalism, arson, rape, destruction. 10.55pm.
Sunday 7th August 2022
Another day in town. Got some gift ideas. Pleased I didn’t follow up on some coz they were misjudged. Enjoyed my time in Waterstones just checking out book designs. Was tempted to buy a Nirvana memorabilia book but content wasn’t very substantial. Wanted a ‘Clive Barker’s Hellraiser’ collectors’ edition DVD. Maybe next time. Me and Jenni watched a Pretenders documentary and Classic Albums: Queen – A Night at the Opera. Then two Hitchcock stories. 11.41pm.
Monday 8th August 2022
Pleased to get a workshop plan sorted and the Poetry Jam pix uploaded. Realised last night when I got home there isn’t much food in the house. Got a few things at the local convenience store but need to do a proper shop tomorrow. I went out on the bike tonight. Lethargic to begin with but did a couple of decent climbs. Listened to Jarboe’s ‘Blood Women Roses’ album. First had this on vinyl back in the late eighties. Hard to believe I’ve been a Swans-related fan for over three decades. Chuffed that Jarboe is playing Newcastle this November. Hope things are still okay for us all. 11.07pm.
Tuesday 9th August 2022
Enjoyable writing session at Waddy this afternoon. We wrote dream and ritual pieces. Good to chat about books, music and domestic concerns as well as give some advice to one of the senior writers. Bus service has been ace. Tonight I looked through old vinyl and CDs: My very first CD was ‘The Lion and the Cobra’ by Sinead O’Connor, even though I already owned it on vinyl. I have eighteen Swans and related CDs plus five or six vinyl albums and a bunch of cassettes. I found some singles by mainstream acts – Neneh Cherry, REM, Rod Stewart – but mainly alt rock. Good way to spend a tired evening. 10.55pm.
Wednesday 10th August 2022
Had a notion to do a bike ride. Nothing flash, just up to Parkhead Station then over to Bishop Auckland and back. Didn’t think about the temperature. Didn’t realise it was so hot till I was sixty miles in. Felt a bit queasy and to rest a few times. But I’d already done sixty miles a few weeks ago and wanted to better it – so I did an extra twenty, including a second ride to Parkhead before freewheeling most of the final nine miles home. I am unable to think straight at present. Been asleep for a bit. OK. 10.51pm.
Thursday 11th August 2022
Too hot. Haven’t been out. Intended to do another bike ride but I think it would be a bad decision. Had a bit of a headache. I’m overheating. Been trying to down fluids but still feel dehydrated. Don’t think I’ll get much sleep tonight. Probably would be best to sleep downstairs on the couch. Jenni has stomach cramps. Hope she is okay for the weekend. She asked for tickets for a gig as part of her birthday. Hope we are well enough to go. Twenty degrees is more than enough for me. Feel a bit sick. Work requiring strong focus is out of the question. Some little shit threw an egg at my window coz I ignored his demand for me to do a wheelie on the bike the other night. Hope I feel a bit better tomorrow. Me and Jenni are supposed to be seeing The Batman at Tyneside Cinema. I’m not liking the night sounds with the window open. But I’ll be complaining of the cold soon enough. 9.52pm.
Friday 12th August 2022
Slept much better last night. Shaved after breakfast and spent the morning copying up stray diary entries downstairs before the blazing sun got to the front of the house. Street was quiet. No marauding gangs of teenage boys or shrieking little girls. I tidied the kitchen and washed bike clothes in the sink then cleared all the rubbish out of my Samsonite bag. Repacked and set off to Jen’s place by four. The X71 bus was quiet and cool. Jen’s attic room was a furnace. Had to get washed and changed again. Went to see The Batman at Tyneside Cinema. Visually stunning and nearly three hours long but don’t ask me to relay the plot. Thanks to Jenni for the ticket. Walked back via Tesco and got more supplies. Halfway through my steak pie before bed. 11.47pm.
Saturday 13th August 2022
Good walk along the cycle path by the Tyne this morning. Spotted some rocks I might be able to ride some time. Did bank transactions and bought a couple of things in HMV. Then had a burger and walked to the Cumberland. We saw some ace musicians including a fifty-minute set from Nev Clay. This evening my favourite support act was Bad Amputee, who reminded me of Codeine. And of course, headliner Thomas Truax was brilliant. Third time we’ve seen him. Didn’t get back till after twelve. 12.40am.
Sunday 14th August 2022
Bit dehydrated again today. Felt a bit dizzy and had to lie down a while. Jenni made dinner and filled me up with drinks. We watched a great John Otway gig from 2007 on YouTube. Then the final episode of One Foot in the Grave. More episodes of Still Game. I left earlier than usual so Jenni could get to bed before her early start for another big day out in Edinburgh. The bus to Consett was quite breezy. The walk to Moorside quite warm. House is a furnace but okay. 10.45pm.
Monday 15th August 2022
Aching and tired and not up to doing my day but pushed on. Sent out a copy of Unruly Eyebrow to replace one that went to the wrong address last year. Walked to the post office in the t-shirt and shorts that I slept in. Realised I’d done no type-ups for August, so I keyed in a fortnight’s notes but struggled. Had lentil and bacon soup for dinner. Read some essays on cost-of-living crisis. Then started to prep tomorrow’s workshop but remembered I needed a new morning pages book, so I made up a volume for the second half of the month. It came out okay. The lettering on the front better than usual. I pulled the rest of the workshop exercises together then read the Bukowski short story “Would You Suggest Writing as a Career?” Right now, I’m unsure. 10.38pm.
Tuesday 16th August 2022
Up a few times during the night, getting drinks and going to the toilet. Had to force myself to get out for the ten o’clock bus. Stopped off in Consett for a few supplies. Then on to Durham. Session went well. We did some good freewriting warm-ups and some hardboiled crime noir monologues. Chuffed it all went well. I nipped into The Works afterwards and was pleased to find they had hardback copies of Skin’s (Skunk Anansie) biography “It Take Blood and Guts”. Three quid. I read a bit of it tonight but have been a bit fatigued of late so kept nodding off. Asa was in touch to say his copy of Unruly Eyebrow arrived. Wish I could get round to making a follow-up volume. The energy crisis is making creative experimentation on the computer unaffordable. Cooler now. Hopefully I’ll sleep okay. 10.35pm.
Wednesday 17th August 2022
Went into Consett this morning to buy final bits and pieces for Jen’s birthday. Got back at half-twelve. Did the admin for Poetry Jam this afternoon. Good to have it sorted and event page up. Hope it gets some traction over the coming days. I read a bit more of Skin’s biography. Feeling a bit under the weather tonight. Hope I’m okay for Jen’s birthday on Friday. She may have to get someone else to accompany her to ‘Withnail and I’ screening in the castle banquet hall on Saturday. I won’t be far travelled if things don’t pick up soon. 10.00pm.
Thursday 18th August 2022
Always said I wouldn’t take a covid test unless visibly unwell. Coughing your guts up in shops isn’t a great look. And I don’t want to be socializing with a snot rag in my hand. Within ten seconds of putting drops on the test strip there was a line next to the T. and then by the C. So unfortunately, I’m not at Jen’s place tonight and will miss her birthday celebrations. I’ve had worse colds over the last two years and tested negative. Now, I feel okay, much better than yesterday. Read more of Skin’s biography. Extremely talented. Good book. I hope to be okay by Saturday. 10.58pm.
Friday 19th August 2022
Only six hours of sleep but felt lively. Wished Jenni a happy birthday online, had breakfast then went down the woods on the Sonder bike. Achieved personal bests on a couple of climbs. Only encountered a couple of people on the trail and stayed well out of their way. Haven’t been indoors near anyone. I’m taking another test tomorrow in hopes that I can join Jenni for the weekend. I’ve had a couple of coughs but nothing major. No aches and pains. Been reading more of “It Takes Blood and Guts”. It’s been great to read about the development of Skunk Anansie and Skin’s solo albums. Pleased I went out on the bike. I knew I’d have to ride carefully coz I didn’t want to knack myself whilst infected. 10.48pm.
Saturday 20th August 2022
Still testing positive so couldn’t go to the castle with Jenni tonight. Read the remaining twenty pages of Skin’s biography then switched to Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker but fell asleep for two hours. Tried again this evening. Great story. Hoping to read the entire Books of Blood series this autumn. Trying to stay off social media at the moment. Jenni didn’t go to the castle. 11.29pm.
Sunday 21st August 2022
Found another great trail in the woods this afternoon. Enjoyed more singletrack hill climbs and clearing small obstacles on the Sonder Frontier bike. Jenni was in touch. She bought an electric ukulele second-hand in Sunderland. Tonight, I read more of the Rose Metal Guide to Flash fiction. Then “Pig Blood Blues” by Clive Barker: if satanic folk horror took place in a young offenders’ institute… Then a few poems by Geoff Hattersley. 11.21pm.
Monday 22nd August 2022
The air feels cooler. Slight shiver in the kitchen in short sleeves. Chilly feet on the kitchen carpet. And I’m having to move out of the living room onto the stairs by the big landing window to get free light after quarter past eight to read by. I’m switching between gross-out horror, working class free verse, and American personal essays. Been eating beans on toast and bargain brand soups, then going to bed with diluted blackcurrant squash in a water bottle in one hand and Dairylea on seeded batch crust in the other. The tinnitus is loud tonight. And how much is this 40-watt bulb going to cost? I don’t know if I will be able to do my writing workshop tomorrow. I haven’t seen Jenni for over a week. 10.28pm.
Tuesday 23rd August 2022
Couldn’t go to Waddy today coz there was a faint grey line on the lateral flow test this morning. I’ve felt fine since last Friday. Haven’t interacted with people since last week except in passing whilst out on the bike. I live sixty-five seconds away from acres of woodland with winding trails running through them. So I ride them. And keep out of people’s way. Afterall, once the cold and damp returns there’ll be plenty of time to stay indoors. Enjoyed reading Clive Barker tonight. 10.45pm.
Thursday 18th August 2022
Always said I wouldn’t take a covid test unless visibly unwell. Coughing your guts up in shops isn’t a great look. And I don’t want to be socializing with a snot rag in my hand. Within ten seconds of putting drops on the test strip there was a line next to the T. and then by the C. So unfortunately, I’m not at Jen’s place tonight and will miss her birthday celebrations. I’ve had worse colds over the last two years and tested negative. Now, I feel okay, much better than yesterday. Read more of Skin’s biography. Extremely talented. Good book. I hope to be okay by Saturday. 10.58pm.
Friday 19th August 2022
Only six hours of sleep but felt lively. Wished Jenni a happy birthday online, had breakfast then went down the woods on the Sonder bike. Achieved personal bests on a couple of climbs. Only encountered a couple of people on the trail and stayed well out of their way. Haven’t been indoors near anyone. I’m taking another test tomorrow in hopes that I can join Jenni for the weekend. I’ve had a couple of coughs but nothing major. No aches and pains. Been reading more of “It Takes Blood and Guts”. It’s been great to read about the development of Skunk Anansie and Skin’s solo albums. Pleased I went out on the bike. I knew I’d have to ride carefully coz I didn’t want to knack myself whilst infected. 10.48pm.
Saturday 20th August 2022
Still testing positive so couldn’t go to the castle with Jenni tonight. Read the remaining twenty pages of Skin’s biography then switched to Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker but fell asleep for two hours. Tried again this evening. Great story. Hoping to read the entire Books of Blood series this autumn. Trying to stay off social media at the moment. Jenni didn’t go to the castle. 11.29pm.
Sunday 21st August 2022
Found another great trail in the woods this afternoon. Enjoyed more singletrack hill climbs and clearing small obstacles on the Sonder Frontier bike. Jenni was in touch. She bought an electric ukulele second-hand in Sunderland. Tonight, I read more of the Rose Metal Guide to Flash fiction. Then “Pig Blood Blues” by Clive Barker: if satanic folk horror took place in a young offenders’ institute… Then a few poems by Geoff Hattersley. 11.21pm.
Monday 22nd August 2022
The air feels cooler. Slight shiver in the kitchen in short sleeves. Chilly feet on the kitchen carpet. And I’m having to move out of the living room onto the stairs by the big landing window to get free light after quarter past eight to read by. I’m switching between gross-out horror, working class free verse, and American personal essays. Been eating beans on toast and bargain brand soups, then going to bed with diluted blackcurrant squash in a water bottle in one hand and Dairylea on seeded batch crust in the other. The tinnitus is loud tonight. And how much is this 40-watt bulb going to cost? I don’t know if I will be able to do my writing workshop tomorrow. I haven’t seen Jenni for over a week. 10.28pm.
Tuesday 23rd August 2022
Couldn’t go to Waddy today coz there was a faint grey line on the lateral flow test this morning. I’ve felt fine since last Friday. Haven’t interacted with people since last week except in passing whilst out on the bike. I live sixty-five seconds away from acres of woodland with winding trails running through them. So I ride them. And keep out of people’s way. Afterall, once the cold and damp returns there’ll be plenty of time to stay indoors. Enjoyed reading Clive Barker tonight. 10.45pm.
Wednesday 24th August 2022
I’ve been thinking about the C2C bike ride. I don’t want to invest in a load of extra equipment if I don’t really need it. And there are a few factors that come into play: you need to be available for three consecutive good weather days, which in September isn’t going to be easy; you need to switch trains between Newcastle and Whitehaven with a space on each for your bike; you need a hotel room – and you need all these things at the same time. Oh, and the bike must be fit to survive the trip without mechanical failure. It will probably need some sort of luggage racking. I’d rather just have the gear I’m wearing plus food and tools in a backpack. I’d just like to do it to say I’ve done it. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. It’s not a holiday. Getting up to Whitehaven will be a hassle. Coz it could be nearly midday before I actually get on the bike, leaving only seven hours to ride a journey I’ve never done in a place I’ve never seen. Oh, and I forgot to factor in the grouse shooting that sporadically closes Stanhope Moor. I’ll have to check when the trail is off limits. Decisions, decisions…8.17am.
Thursday 25th August 2022
Tested negative today. Went to Consett. Saw Lorraine from Consett Writers group who told me that another member, Margaret, has published a novel and will be giving a talk about it in the library in September. I signed up for that. I bought quite a bit of food today. And I got the C2C book from the library. Started feeling a bit rough this afternoon and needed to lie down. Had a chicken Balti and rice for tea and two Fry’s peppermint cream bars. Watch the Emily Maitlis lecture on YouTube in which she points out the failings of her former employer, BBC. And I read the Sunak lockdown interview about the way in which the public were misled. All pretty damning stuff. I feel shit tonight. I had work to do but need to go to bed. Will try again tomorrow. I don’t think I can factor in C2C this year. Bugger. 8.28pm.
Friday 26th August 2022
My days are getting shorter. I’m upstairs by dusk and can be lying awake in darkness for an hour mulling over ideas before reaching for the lamp switch. There are numerous books in piles by the bed. Some read, some unread. The energy crisis is worrying. I intend to keep biking during winter but not on the Sonder Frontier. I’ll use the old Rockhopper in bad weather. And as the months get colder, my aches and pains will return so I’ll need to do some indoor physical exercise as well. I can heat up a delicious Bonners tinned chicken Balti or Vindaloo with rice in four and a half minutes. Porridge for breakfast and supper totals three minutes of electricity. But to make books I need the computer on. I can’t cut back on that. I haven’t used the gas at all this year. 9.25pm.
Saturday 27th August 2022
Good to have an offline day. I read a chapter about visual art from Henry Miller’s ‘The Air-Conditioned Nightmare’. Had that book for over three decades. I went out on the Sonder bike over by the Gill woods. Struggled with an uphill trail there. Later on, I went in Castleside quarry. Had a veggie curry for tea then read ‘Dread’ from the second “Books of Blood” collection by Clive Barker. Then a story called ‘Chill’ by Gary McMahon from “How to Make Monsters”. 10.17pm.
Sunday 28th August 2022
Another offline day. Wrapped up Jen’s presents, washed some clothes. Had a steak pie and veg dinner. Read ‘Hell’s Event’ and ‘Jaqueline Ess, Her last Will and Testament’ by Clive Barker. And a few ‘Brainfodder’ poems by Rain Graves. The glare of the lamplight is beginning to sting and I’m one Dairylea on crusty bread away from goodnight. OK. 10.17pm.
Monday 29th August 2022
Back online at quarter to nine this morning. A few friend requests and a nice message from another person not seen since my teens. She told me that one her colleagues knows me from my time on a theatre course. I booked a guest for the October edition of Poetry Jam and sifted through all the social media notifications. Jenni is coming home from Edinburgh this evening so I should get to see her tomorrow after my workshop. I didn’t get out on the bike. I should have made the effort but felt too tired. I checked out travel to Whitehaven. But it looks hugely unlikely that I will be able to get three days of decent weather between gigs and workshops in September for the C2C. I watched an old South Bank Show Clive Barker documentary, and BBC criticism of his graphic content and its influence on impressionable minds. Then I read a couple more of his stories: “The Skins of the Fathers” and “New Murders in the Rue Morgue” – the latter in my opinion the better of the two. 10.10pm.
Tuesday 30th August 2022
Canny day at Waddy. Got there early and set up quite easily. Poetry Jam posters are up around the building. I still have a guest to find for October. The session this afternoon was quite fun. Kennings as a warm-up, then conveying emotion using colour. Round off this summer block with a group rewrite of my ‘This is Not a Prose Poem’. It came out pretty good. Got the bus to Gateshead then spent the evening with Jenni. She told me all about her big times at the Edinburgh Fringe. She bought some good CDs and books. I gave her a bag of belated birthday presents. We listened to Laurie Black and Gecko CDs. I’m getting the bus back to Consett and will pop into Tesco for bread and soup. Then last bus to Moorside before midnight. OK. 10.42pm.
Wednesday 31st August 2022
There are days when I’m quite comfortable with what I do and then I see a novelist who has a vivid imagination and can come up with fantastical images and characters, whereas I just basically scrape my insides out onto the page and pick out the chunks that will work as a poem or prose vignette. Today was a struggle just to type and concentrate on the task at hand rather than surf the net and take to heart the opinions of left and right on Twitter. I watched a Hellraiser cenobite cast reunion on YouTube this afternoon. Clive Barker made a guest appearance and answered a few questions. Then I saw a 20-min interview about separation of his work and private life. But I still need to read authors who for the most part write autobiographically. Barker isn’t one of those self-referential types. Without Rollins and Bukowski and a plethora of small press poets and stage performers, I wouldn’t have the self-belief to keep going. I need to read poets more often. 10.06pm.
I’ve been thinking about the C2C bike ride. I don’t want to invest in a load of extra equipment if I don’t really need it. And there are a few factors that come into play: you need to be available for three consecutive good weather days, which in September isn’t going to be easy; you need to switch trains between Newcastle and Whitehaven with a space on each for your bike; you need a hotel room – and you need all these things at the same time. Oh, and the bike must be fit to survive the trip without mechanical failure. It will probably need some sort of luggage racking. I’d rather just have the gear I’m wearing plus food and tools in a backpack. I’d just like to do it to say I’ve done it. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. It’s not a holiday. Getting up to Whitehaven will be a hassle. Coz it could be nearly midday before I actually get on the bike, leaving only seven hours to ride a journey I’ve never done in a place I’ve never seen. Oh, and I forgot to factor in the grouse shooting that sporadically closes Stanhope Moor. I’ll have to check when the trail is off limits. Decisions, decisions…8.17am.
Thursday 25th August 2022
Tested negative today. Went to Consett. Saw Lorraine from Consett Writers group who told me that another member, Margaret, has published a novel and will be giving a talk about it in the library in September. I signed up for that. I bought quite a bit of food today. And I got the C2C book from the library. Started feeling a bit rough this afternoon and needed to lie down. Had a chicken Balti and rice for tea and two Fry’s peppermint cream bars. Watch the Emily Maitlis lecture on YouTube in which she points out the failings of her former employer, BBC. And I read the Sunak lockdown interview about the way in which the public were misled. All pretty damning stuff. I feel shit tonight. I had work to do but need to go to bed. Will try again tomorrow. I don’t think I can factor in C2C this year. Bugger. 8.28pm.
Friday 26th August 2022
My days are getting shorter. I’m upstairs by dusk and can be lying awake in darkness for an hour mulling over ideas before reaching for the lamp switch. There are numerous books in piles by the bed. Some read, some unread. The energy crisis is worrying. I intend to keep biking during winter but not on the Sonder Frontier. I’ll use the old Rockhopper in bad weather. And as the months get colder, my aches and pains will return so I’ll need to do some indoor physical exercise as well. I can heat up a delicious Bonners tinned chicken Balti or Vindaloo with rice in four and a half minutes. Porridge for breakfast and supper totals three minutes of electricity. But to make books I need the computer on. I can’t cut back on that. I haven’t used the gas at all this year. 9.25pm.
Saturday 27th August 2022
Good to have an offline day. I read a chapter about visual art from Henry Miller’s ‘The Air-Conditioned Nightmare’. Had that book for over three decades. I went out on the Sonder bike over by the Gill woods. Struggled with an uphill trail there. Later on, I went in Castleside quarry. Had a veggie curry for tea then read ‘Dread’ from the second “Books of Blood” collection by Clive Barker. Then a story called ‘Chill’ by Gary McMahon from “How to Make Monsters”. 10.17pm.
Sunday 28th August 2022
Another offline day. Wrapped up Jen’s presents, washed some clothes. Had a steak pie and veg dinner. Read ‘Hell’s Event’ and ‘Jaqueline Ess, Her last Will and Testament’ by Clive Barker. And a few ‘Brainfodder’ poems by Rain Graves. The glare of the lamplight is beginning to sting and I’m one Dairylea on crusty bread away from goodnight. OK. 10.17pm.
Monday 29th August 2022
Back online at quarter to nine this morning. A few friend requests and a nice message from another person not seen since my teens. She told me that one her colleagues knows me from my time on a theatre course. I booked a guest for the October edition of Poetry Jam and sifted through all the social media notifications. Jenni is coming home from Edinburgh this evening so I should get to see her tomorrow after my workshop. I didn’t get out on the bike. I should have made the effort but felt too tired. I checked out travel to Whitehaven. But it looks hugely unlikely that I will be able to get three days of decent weather between gigs and workshops in September for the C2C. I watched an old South Bank Show Clive Barker documentary, and BBC criticism of his graphic content and its influence on impressionable minds. Then I read a couple more of his stories: “The Skins of the Fathers” and “New Murders in the Rue Morgue” – the latter in my opinion the better of the two. 10.10pm.
Tuesday 30th August 2022
Canny day at Waddy. Got there early and set up quite easily. Poetry Jam posters are up around the building. I still have a guest to find for October. The session this afternoon was quite fun. Kennings as a warm-up, then conveying emotion using colour. Round off this summer block with a group rewrite of my ‘This is Not a Prose Poem’. It came out pretty good. Got the bus to Gateshead then spent the evening with Jenni. She told me all about her big times at the Edinburgh Fringe. She bought some good CDs and books. I gave her a bag of belated birthday presents. We listened to Laurie Black and Gecko CDs. I’m getting the bus back to Consett and will pop into Tesco for bread and soup. Then last bus to Moorside before midnight. OK. 10.42pm.
Wednesday 31st August 2022
There are days when I’m quite comfortable with what I do and then I see a novelist who has a vivid imagination and can come up with fantastical images and characters, whereas I just basically scrape my insides out onto the page and pick out the chunks that will work as a poem or prose vignette. Today was a struggle just to type and concentrate on the task at hand rather than surf the net and take to heart the opinions of left and right on Twitter. I watched a Hellraiser cenobite cast reunion on YouTube this afternoon. Clive Barker made a guest appearance and answered a few questions. Then I saw a 20-min interview about separation of his work and private life. But I still need to read authors who for the most part write autobiographically. Barker isn’t one of those self-referential types. Without Rollins and Bukowski and a plethora of small press poets and stage performers, I wouldn’t have the self-belief to keep going. I need to read poets more often. 10.06pm.
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