So we had a great turnout for Poetry Jam tonight. Top notch sets from Penny Blackburn, Aaron Wright and Lisette Auton. About 22 peeps in, there were two pro photographers for about an hour. We are lucky to still have a venue for the night; lots of other places have stopped. I got a bus back but not till ten past eleven. The ten past ten didn’t turn up. This was my third bus let-down today. There is a drunk man and woman who apparently don’t know each other but are going back to the woman’s house in Consett. The bloke lives in Plawsworth near Chester le Street. They are quite loud and lewd and intend to have a one-night stand. They are winding each other up about it. Do you really want me to stay? he asks. No, she laughs. They open cans of drink and grope each other. I see them reflected in the upper deck windscreen. I’m tired and not best pleased about the cancelled bus. Can I blame covid? We went along with enforced restrictions, were ground down so much that we’ll just accept any shit now, is that it? Buses don’t turn up, services are cut. Journeys curtailed. But its okay, its just the little people, the plebs. They don’t matter, shouldn’t be out this late anyway, enjoying themselves – obviously we didn’t increase the energy cap enough for these peasants… I am keen to get to bed. My head is beginning to hurt. Thanks to all at Waddy for supporting the workshops and Poetry Jam. Thanks to all our great guests, all the open floor people and to Fergus for helping run the night as well. Pleased to finally be on a bus heading home. 11.21pm.
Friday 2nd September 2022
Fucking hating being at the computer. So easily distracted by current affairs and nonsense. And I can’t really afford to be distracted. I got some notes done, listened to ‘Born to Sin’ album by Fury. Read an article about the rebooted Hellraiser film due out in October. I’ve been down the river on the Sonder bike. A bit under par but hopefully better next time. My breathing isn’t great on a night. I can control the coughing, but the breathing isn’t great. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at present. Too much stuff to do and I don’t want to be at the computer. I need to rehearse again for Monday. 10.17pm,
Saturday 3rd September 2022
Pleased to get the Poetry Jam pix cut from video and uploaded. I watched the entire Taylor Hawkins tribute concert livestreamed on YouTube from half-four till half-ten. Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Paul McCartney, amongst others. A similar format to the Freddy Mercury tribute. I’m not a Foo Fighters fan but always enjoy seeing Dave Grohl really going for it. 10.53pm.
Sunday 4th September 2022
Lie in. Morning Pages. Trawl through social media in bed. Then up to pull together the books for tomorrow’s meet the author and do a run-through of both 30-min sets. All went well except for some strange reverb in my right ear during the latter part of the second set. Antihistamine tablet has helped my breathing today. No coughs at all. Chuffed to hear The Struts after Luke Spiller’s appearance at Wembley last night. 10.10pm.
Monday 5th September 2022
Up at quarter to seven and out by quarter to eight. Unfortunately, during school holidays there is no bus between 20 to 8 and half past. So a long wait to get to Consett. Thankfully the 78-bus to Chester le Street was on time. I set up in about ten minutes. It was good to read for an hour to the group there. Was asked if I’d be interested in visiting another venue. Didn’t get home till after three this afternoon. Bit too knackered for much else. Wanted to read a bit but fell asleep. Lovely chicken vindaloo and rice with naan bread for tea. Conversed with brother Mark about bikes. Had a bit of an online natter with Jenni about the Taylor Hawkins gig. Just mainly winding down tonight and listening to music. I need an early night to get me in good fettle for tomorrow. First session of the new Waddy term. 10.05pm.
Tuesday 6th September 2022
Up early but still felt a bit tired. Got ready and off to Durham at half-nine. Was good to be at Waddy by half-ten. I did a lot of prep but didn’t use any of the handouts I made. It was better to just keep things simple for the first session, and now I have enough stuff to get me through next week as well. The weather has been a bit shit. One of the Waddy volunteers saw the Cycling tour of Britain go through Durham in the pouring rain. I got a bus back to Gateshead, bought a bit of food and went to Jen’s. We watched the Taylor Hawkins gig. I stayed to see Queen and the first song of Foo Fighters main set. Bus to Metro Centre, then one back to Newcastle, and now just waiting to pull out and go to Consett. Probably not get home till one o’clock but have college work to do or would have stayed at Jen’s place. OK. 11.33pm.
Wednesday 7th September 2022
Whenever there are bureaucratic requests with a deadline from 'the powers that be' their remote access computer system fails. The repeated moving of tech goal posts aggravates me more than the paperwork. After much back and forth I seem to be back on an even keel. Uploaded some Poetry Jam footage to the hard drive and listened to lots of songs by The Struts. I haven’t read any fiction for a while. Must start book three of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood. The big Michael Gira book hasn’t arrived yet. 10.20pm.
Thursday 8th September 2022
Pleased to get my thirty-minute set sequenced and rehearsed for the Richmond Book and Walking Festival appearance later this month. Was great to see Consett writer Margaret Armstrong reading and signing her debut novel ‘The Yearning of the Yew’ in the library this afternoon. I stuffed myself with cake and chocolate on the bus to King Ink at Pop Recs in Sunderland. Got the news upon arrival that the Queen has died. Remarkable that a 96-year-old works right up to their final week. Pleased to see Chris Hodgson reading again. Also, Stephen McGowan and Malcolm Barnes, Rosemary, Lianne, amongst others, Plus Sharon Milley who hosted. Enjoyed it. Fluffed a rushed trio of pieces but at last I’m airing previously unheard material. Buses home were prompt. Tesco. Moorside. 11.00pm.
Monday 5th September 2022
Up at quarter to seven and out by quarter to eight. Unfortunately, during school holidays there is no bus between 20 to 8 and half past. So a long wait to get to Consett. Thankfully the 78-bus to Chester le Street was on time. I set up in about ten minutes. It was good to read for an hour to the group there. Was asked if I’d be interested in visiting another venue. Didn’t get home till after three this afternoon. Bit too knackered for much else. Wanted to read a bit but fell asleep. Lovely chicken vindaloo and rice with naan bread for tea. Conversed with brother Mark about bikes. Had a bit of an online natter with Jenni about the Taylor Hawkins gig. Just mainly winding down tonight and listening to music. I need an early night to get me in good fettle for tomorrow. First session of the new Waddy term. 10.05pm.
Tuesday 6th September 2022
Up early but still felt a bit tired. Got ready and off to Durham at half-nine. Was good to be at Waddy by half-ten. I did a lot of prep but didn’t use any of the handouts I made. It was better to just keep things simple for the first session, and now I have enough stuff to get me through next week as well. The weather has been a bit shit. One of the Waddy volunteers saw the Cycling tour of Britain go through Durham in the pouring rain. I got a bus back to Gateshead, bought a bit of food and went to Jen’s. We watched the Taylor Hawkins gig. I stayed to see Queen and the first song of Foo Fighters main set. Bus to Metro Centre, then one back to Newcastle, and now just waiting to pull out and go to Consett. Probably not get home till one o’clock but have college work to do or would have stayed at Jen’s place. OK. 11.33pm.
Wednesday 7th September 2022
Whenever there are bureaucratic requests with a deadline from 'the powers that be' their remote access computer system fails. The repeated moving of tech goal posts aggravates me more than the paperwork. After much back and forth I seem to be back on an even keel. Uploaded some Poetry Jam footage to the hard drive and listened to lots of songs by The Struts. I haven’t read any fiction for a while. Must start book three of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood. The big Michael Gira book hasn’t arrived yet. 10.20pm.
Thursday 8th September 2022
Pleased to get my thirty-minute set sequenced and rehearsed for the Richmond Book and Walking Festival appearance later this month. Was great to see Consett writer Margaret Armstrong reading and signing her debut novel ‘The Yearning of the Yew’ in the library this afternoon. I stuffed myself with cake and chocolate on the bus to King Ink at Pop Recs in Sunderland. Got the news upon arrival that the Queen has died. Remarkable that a 96-year-old works right up to their final week. Pleased to see Chris Hodgson reading again. Also, Stephen McGowan and Malcolm Barnes, Rosemary, Lianne, amongst others, Plus Sharon Milley who hosted. Enjoyed it. Fluffed a rushed trio of pieces but at last I’m airing previously unheard material. Buses home were prompt. Tesco. Moorside. 11.00pm.
Friday 9th September 2022
Totally brilliant Fury gig at Trillians tonight. Support bands were canny, but Fury just outshone totally. The stage is small, hard for them to move about without getting guitar heads in each other’s faces. The set was mint. I was quite content near the bar, which isn’t far from the stage, until they played Burnout and I had to get nearer the action. There were a few photographers by the stage and a few moshers. I didn’t get into any bother, but fairly threw myself about. The band rocked it and played quite a lot of my favourite songs from albums ‘The Grand Prize’ and ‘Born to Sin’. The set was about eighty minutes long, ending with Casino Soleil, at which point I thought I might pass out. My ears are a bit shot. I hope they are better in the morning. Coz at present most speech is a muffle. Jenni is playing The Struts on Spotify. I can barely make out the vocal. I don’t think I’ll be far travelled tomorrow. I got the set list from the gig. 11.39pm.
Saturday 10th September 2022
Ears still ringing very loudly after last night’s Fury gig. Couldn’t hear much of what Jenni was saying today. I was in town this afternoon for card samples to do a booklet for Rowan McCabe’s writing group. And some supplies for tea. I eat lots of steak pies these days. Very tasty. Hearing improved slightly this evening. Watched a couple of gameshows okay, but when we watched a film half the dialogue just sounded really muffled. Hopefully sound will improve over the next couple of days. Anyway, the film “I Came By” was good. Jenni thought it should have been a mini-series. 11.34pm.
Sunday 11th September 2022
Lie in. Me and Jen had curry and rice for dinner. We watched two Redbull Hardline downhill mountain bike races (2019 and 2022) from Wales. Rob Warner and Rachel Atherton were commentators. Some world class riders hurtling down the mountainside on what are essentially motorbikes without engines. We really enjoyed it. Then a film about murder and deception, can’t remember the name of it. We ate rhubarb pie. I got the ten-to-ten bus to Consett then walked home. 11.25pm.
Monday 12th September 2022
Stressful day. I got the publicity done for Bullion Hall sessions starting this Friday. Responded to Rowan’s latest email with update on the Route2Work College pamphlet. Then made a copy on 75gsm. I think we’ll probably go for 120gsm pages. 160gsm endpapers with heavier stock for the cover. Pleased I already had enough material for tomorrow’s Waddy session. I didn’t get any typing done. Or extra September scrapbook notes. Was good to see more footage from the latest Redbull Hardline downhill mountain biking event online. And to get the crowd shot of Fury and audience from Friday’s gig at Trillians. My face is itchy, and I’m annoyed at not getting a shave today. Tomorrow will be quite full-on, I think. I might have the Poetry Jam line-up sorted for National Poetry Day. I still haven’t unboxed the deluxe Michael Gira book that arrived on Friday. 11.10pm.
Tuesday 13th September 2022
Canny day. The workshop went well. I sourced some great cardstock for Rowan’s booklet. And I mocked up some preliminary copies which came out well. Only a few minor adjustments and it will be good to go. I sent 120gsm and 90gsm copies to Rowan. I prompted the Waddy writers with a new exercise I devised a couple of weeks ago. And I wrote quite a bit of journal in transit. One bus was late this afternoon. One bus this evening didn’t turn up, so I walked home with my shopping. As did one of the locals who works shifts in a department store. I am very lucky to be able to do pretty much what I want a lot of the time. And get paid for it. I am also chuffed my return ticket to Richmond is only half what I expected to pay. It’s been a pretty successful day for me. 11.02pm.
Wednesday 14th September 2022
HOW ON EARTH can I be using more gas this year than in the same period last year when I haven't used any gas appliances in either? Unless, of course, British Gas are pumping nearly three times as much through the system just to keep my pilot light going. I tried getting some sense on the phone but was fobbed off with automated service then eventually when I did find an option to speak to an advisor I was cut off before anyone spoke. Tried again and passed to a few advisors in slow succession but no satisfactory answers. On a brighter note, I was going to wait until later in the year but unboxed Michael Gira’s book ‘The Knot’ tonight. Beautifully bound. Impressed that it is a sewn block as opposed to the now increasingly common casebound paperback. I turned every page and read a few journal entries. Some rather heavy stuff and not something to gorge on in a few sittings. I have loads of other stuff to read so maybe won't take it out again for a while. Before I bought it, I thought I might make a heavy-duty Kraft card dust jacket for it but will just return it to the original bubble wrap and box after each session. There aren’t as many extracts from The Consumer as expected, but I recognized the titles of a few of the handmade edition stories (MTV, etc) which I never bought back in the day. At a glance, a lot of the journals appear similar in length and tone to the Traps vignettes which I enjoyed in The Consumer. It’s quite a phenomenal retrospective. Limited to 3000 copies and only a few hundred left. 1710 on the disc stuck to the inside of the front board. So not sold in numerical order. Chuffed I got a copy. 8.18pm.
Thursday 15th September 2022
First time out on the bike for a while. The terrain was surprisingly okay. I expected gloop, but just a bit damp. Stops the dust flying. Bit more traction. Helped me on a couple of hill climbs. I did a bit of admin when I got back then went out to cut the grass. Then back to prep a workshop for tomorrow. I haven’t been informed of the number of people taking part. Which makes it rather difficult to know how many handouts to produce. I did some book listing and researching tonight. Listened to The Struts and Creeper. Read a Nergal (Behemoth) interview and listened to someone rabbit on about holding hands being wrong on formal occasions. Fuck protocol. Get a life. Anyway, it’s almost bedtime. 11.10pm.
Totally brilliant Fury gig at Trillians tonight. Support bands were canny, but Fury just outshone totally. The stage is small, hard for them to move about without getting guitar heads in each other’s faces. The set was mint. I was quite content near the bar, which isn’t far from the stage, until they played Burnout and I had to get nearer the action. There were a few photographers by the stage and a few moshers. I didn’t get into any bother, but fairly threw myself about. The band rocked it and played quite a lot of my favourite songs from albums ‘The Grand Prize’ and ‘Born to Sin’. The set was about eighty minutes long, ending with Casino Soleil, at which point I thought I might pass out. My ears are a bit shot. I hope they are better in the morning. Coz at present most speech is a muffle. Jenni is playing The Struts on Spotify. I can barely make out the vocal. I don’t think I’ll be far travelled tomorrow. I got the set list from the gig. 11.39pm.
Saturday 10th September 2022
Ears still ringing very loudly after last night’s Fury gig. Couldn’t hear much of what Jenni was saying today. I was in town this afternoon for card samples to do a booklet for Rowan McCabe’s writing group. And some supplies for tea. I eat lots of steak pies these days. Very tasty. Hearing improved slightly this evening. Watched a couple of gameshows okay, but when we watched a film half the dialogue just sounded really muffled. Hopefully sound will improve over the next couple of days. Anyway, the film “I Came By” was good. Jenni thought it should have been a mini-series. 11.34pm.
Sunday 11th September 2022
Lie in. Me and Jen had curry and rice for dinner. We watched two Redbull Hardline downhill mountain bike races (2019 and 2022) from Wales. Rob Warner and Rachel Atherton were commentators. Some world class riders hurtling down the mountainside on what are essentially motorbikes without engines. We really enjoyed it. Then a film about murder and deception, can’t remember the name of it. We ate rhubarb pie. I got the ten-to-ten bus to Consett then walked home. 11.25pm.
Monday 12th September 2022
Stressful day. I got the publicity done for Bullion Hall sessions starting this Friday. Responded to Rowan’s latest email with update on the Route2Work College pamphlet. Then made a copy on 75gsm. I think we’ll probably go for 120gsm pages. 160gsm endpapers with heavier stock for the cover. Pleased I already had enough material for tomorrow’s Waddy session. I didn’t get any typing done. Or extra September scrapbook notes. Was good to see more footage from the latest Redbull Hardline downhill mountain biking event online. And to get the crowd shot of Fury and audience from Friday’s gig at Trillians. My face is itchy, and I’m annoyed at not getting a shave today. Tomorrow will be quite full-on, I think. I might have the Poetry Jam line-up sorted for National Poetry Day. I still haven’t unboxed the deluxe Michael Gira book that arrived on Friday. 11.10pm.
Tuesday 13th September 2022
Canny day. The workshop went well. I sourced some great cardstock for Rowan’s booklet. And I mocked up some preliminary copies which came out well. Only a few minor adjustments and it will be good to go. I sent 120gsm and 90gsm copies to Rowan. I prompted the Waddy writers with a new exercise I devised a couple of weeks ago. And I wrote quite a bit of journal in transit. One bus was late this afternoon. One bus this evening didn’t turn up, so I walked home with my shopping. As did one of the locals who works shifts in a department store. I am very lucky to be able to do pretty much what I want a lot of the time. And get paid for it. I am also chuffed my return ticket to Richmond is only half what I expected to pay. It’s been a pretty successful day for me. 11.02pm.
Wednesday 14th September 2022
HOW ON EARTH can I be using more gas this year than in the same period last year when I haven't used any gas appliances in either? Unless, of course, British Gas are pumping nearly three times as much through the system just to keep my pilot light going. I tried getting some sense on the phone but was fobbed off with automated service then eventually when I did find an option to speak to an advisor I was cut off before anyone spoke. Tried again and passed to a few advisors in slow succession but no satisfactory answers. On a brighter note, I was going to wait until later in the year but unboxed Michael Gira’s book ‘The Knot’ tonight. Beautifully bound. Impressed that it is a sewn block as opposed to the now increasingly common casebound paperback. I turned every page and read a few journal entries. Some rather heavy stuff and not something to gorge on in a few sittings. I have loads of other stuff to read so maybe won't take it out again for a while. Before I bought it, I thought I might make a heavy-duty Kraft card dust jacket for it but will just return it to the original bubble wrap and box after each session. There aren’t as many extracts from The Consumer as expected, but I recognized the titles of a few of the handmade edition stories (MTV, etc) which I never bought back in the day. At a glance, a lot of the journals appear similar in length and tone to the Traps vignettes which I enjoyed in The Consumer. It’s quite a phenomenal retrospective. Limited to 3000 copies and only a few hundred left. 1710 on the disc stuck to the inside of the front board. So not sold in numerical order. Chuffed I got a copy. 8.18pm.
Thursday 15th September 2022
First time out on the bike for a while. The terrain was surprisingly okay. I expected gloop, but just a bit damp. Stops the dust flying. Bit more traction. Helped me on a couple of hill climbs. I did a bit of admin when I got back then went out to cut the grass. Then back to prep a workshop for tomorrow. I haven’t been informed of the number of people taking part. Which makes it rather difficult to know how many handouts to produce. I did some book listing and researching tonight. Listened to The Struts and Creeper. Read a Nergal (Behemoth) interview and listened to someone rabbit on about holding hands being wrong on formal occasions. Fuck protocol. Get a life. Anyway, it’s almost bedtime. 11.10pm.
Friday 16th September 2022
Long day. Can’t rely on public transport. Travel time is extended to ensure that in the event of a bus cancellation the next connecting bus gets me to my destination in time for an appointment. Today an ex-bus conductress told me she used to go to work at twenty to four in the morning. And never had a day off sick in her entire working life. She agreed the service of late is diabolical. Chester-le-Street workshop was good. Started from scratch with some new people and hope original attendees from summer make it next week to give me a full group. I have mainly eaten chocolate cake and processed meat and crisps and cheap fish fingers. I have done little tonight but enjoyed listening to the Bristol Bike Bard, Caroline Burrows, on YouTube. Wish I went to her gig at Cycle Hub in Newcastle last night. 10.46pm.
Saturday 17th September 2022
A walk into Consett and more card samples. But the rest of the day was pretty much work-free. I had a much better ride on the bike this afternoon than I did on Thursday morning. Almost cleaned a rock section next to the murky River Derwent near Shotley Bridge. I read a bit of ‘The Yearning of the Yew’ by Margaret Armstrong tonight. And ate too much chocolate. The nights are getting chilly. 10.50pm.
Sunday 18th September 2022
Full day at the computer. Mostly working on the tweaks and notes for Rowan McCabe’s writing group pamphlet. Been listening to The Struts and answering book and bike messages from Stephen Clark and brother Mark. Took a little time out to ask Sonder Bike Owners group if anyone could give info on engagement points and crank ratcheting on a Hope Pro 4 Boost hub. I got a positive response, making me want to upgrade. 10.59pm.
Monday 19th September 2022
Steered clear of social media today and felt better for it. Jenni did likewise. I prepped a lesson for tomorrow. Was going to read short fiction tonight but did some booklet tweaks and looked through some typed journal entries from 2009 instead. I used to write two sides of lined A4 a day and they were detailed accounts of my days with full-on internal monologues. I will have to look through the original diary. I only typed a few months of it. I cannot keep up with personal output. But it’s good to know there is lots of material in those hardback books. Someone else might scour them in my absence. Or maybe the council will just incinerate all my scribble, along with my eighty-year-old worn-out corpse. Just kidding. 10.20pm.
Tuesday 20th September 2022
Great night at Richmondshire Cricket Club for the Walking and Book Festival Poetry Evening. Lovely to see Patrick Green again. And meet some of the local poets. The last open miker told me she helped set up Waddington Street Centre back in the early eighties. She read an ace poem about chocolate. And one about plastic pandemic daffodils. There were some exceptionally high calibre literary poems. Gill Lambert did a fifteen-minute set. With a superb one called Running Up that Hill about a relative in hospital. I felt a bit guilty doing a thirty-minute set after that, but that’s what was agreed via email and what I rehearsed. It went down well. There was a short break afterwards. Then Simma did a set of poems and songs. I knew all his poems from Last Night I Married the Audience. He didn’t use a mike or amp for guitar. Totally unplugged. Loved it. I sold a couple of books and swapped one with Gill. I was the first to arrive and last to leave. I boarded the X26 Arriva bus at the only bus stop in Richmond town centre. The driver scratched his head when he saw my train to bus transfer ticket. “They tell us nothing,” he said. I don’t know what time I will get to Darlington. Hope I catch an early train. This bus is boiling. The audience was great tonight. So chuffed to get a feature set. Felt like it flew over. Mint night. 11.10pm.
Wednesday 21st September 2022
Really nice to have a day off at Jen’s place midweek. We had pizza and waffles and watched the entire new series of Cunk on Earth, written by Charlie Brooker and starting Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, giving us a rather sketchy history of the planet featuring some hilarious interviews with experts. Jen showed me her new musical gadgetry. Special effects for kazoo and ukulele. Then we went to Coatsworth Road for a few more supplies. Watched some Richard Osmond House of Games and a brilliant supermarket episode of Still Game. Then the pilot episode of Dead Canny set in Consett and written by local author Anna Costello. I hauled all my stuff into Newcastle at nine o’clock and got a bus back to Consett then walked home. Ate a sausage sandwich for supper. 11.43pm.
Thursday 22nd September 2022
Reluctance to do much first thing. An achievement just to get morning pages out the way and make it down to the kitchen before ten o’clock. The Poetry Jam event page took a while, but it turned out pretty good. And I now have all the guests booked for the rest of the year. It will be interesting to see how things are in December. Tonight, I checked out some Martin Atkins video interviews. He’s a drummer and entrepreneur who played with John Lydon in Public Image Limited in the late seventies, and later with Nine Inch Nails and an industrial supergroup called Pigface. A lecturer and frenetic ideas man. I saw an advert online for his upcoming spoken word tour and decided to check him out. I’m not a touring musician but would be interested in reading his book Tour Smart. I love the artwork on his records – some are punk photocopy DIY and some garishly colourful. Not so sure about the music but he’s an interesting guy when interviewed. 10.22pm.
Friday 23rd September 2022
Long day. Can’t rely on public transport. Travel time is extended to ensure that in the event of a bus cancellation the next connecting bus gets me to my destination in time for an appointment. Today an ex-bus conductress told me she used to go to work at twenty to four in the morning. And never had a day off sick in her entire working life. She agreed the service of late is diabolical. Chester-le-Street workshop was good. Started from scratch with some new people and hope original attendees from summer make it next week to give me a full group. I have mainly eaten chocolate cake and processed meat and crisps and cheap fish fingers. I have done little tonight but enjoyed listening to the Bristol Bike Bard, Caroline Burrows, on YouTube. Wish I went to her gig at Cycle Hub in Newcastle last night. 10.46pm.
Saturday 17th September 2022
A walk into Consett and more card samples. But the rest of the day was pretty much work-free. I had a much better ride on the bike this afternoon than I did on Thursday morning. Almost cleaned a rock section next to the murky River Derwent near Shotley Bridge. I read a bit of ‘The Yearning of the Yew’ by Margaret Armstrong tonight. And ate too much chocolate. The nights are getting chilly. 10.50pm.
Sunday 18th September 2022
Full day at the computer. Mostly working on the tweaks and notes for Rowan McCabe’s writing group pamphlet. Been listening to The Struts and answering book and bike messages from Stephen Clark and brother Mark. Took a little time out to ask Sonder Bike Owners group if anyone could give info on engagement points and crank ratcheting on a Hope Pro 4 Boost hub. I got a positive response, making me want to upgrade. 10.59pm.
Monday 19th September 2022
Steered clear of social media today and felt better for it. Jenni did likewise. I prepped a lesson for tomorrow. Was going to read short fiction tonight but did some booklet tweaks and looked through some typed journal entries from 2009 instead. I used to write two sides of lined A4 a day and they were detailed accounts of my days with full-on internal monologues. I will have to look through the original diary. I only typed a few months of it. I cannot keep up with personal output. But it’s good to know there is lots of material in those hardback books. Someone else might scour them in my absence. Or maybe the council will just incinerate all my scribble, along with my eighty-year-old worn-out corpse. Just kidding. 10.20pm.
Tuesday 20th September 2022
Great night at Richmondshire Cricket Club for the Walking and Book Festival Poetry Evening. Lovely to see Patrick Green again. And meet some of the local poets. The last open miker told me she helped set up Waddington Street Centre back in the early eighties. She read an ace poem about chocolate. And one about plastic pandemic daffodils. There were some exceptionally high calibre literary poems. Gill Lambert did a fifteen-minute set. With a superb one called Running Up that Hill about a relative in hospital. I felt a bit guilty doing a thirty-minute set after that, but that’s what was agreed via email and what I rehearsed. It went down well. There was a short break afterwards. Then Simma did a set of poems and songs. I knew all his poems from Last Night I Married the Audience. He didn’t use a mike or amp for guitar. Totally unplugged. Loved it. I sold a couple of books and swapped one with Gill. I was the first to arrive and last to leave. I boarded the X26 Arriva bus at the only bus stop in Richmond town centre. The driver scratched his head when he saw my train to bus transfer ticket. “They tell us nothing,” he said. I don’t know what time I will get to Darlington. Hope I catch an early train. This bus is boiling. The audience was great tonight. So chuffed to get a feature set. Felt like it flew over. Mint night. 11.10pm.
Wednesday 21st September 2022
Really nice to have a day off at Jen’s place midweek. We had pizza and waffles and watched the entire new series of Cunk on Earth, written by Charlie Brooker and starting Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, giving us a rather sketchy history of the planet featuring some hilarious interviews with experts. Jen showed me her new musical gadgetry. Special effects for kazoo and ukulele. Then we went to Coatsworth Road for a few more supplies. Watched some Richard Osmond House of Games and a brilliant supermarket episode of Still Game. Then the pilot episode of Dead Canny set in Consett and written by local author Anna Costello. I hauled all my stuff into Newcastle at nine o’clock and got a bus back to Consett then walked home. Ate a sausage sandwich for supper. 11.43pm.
Thursday 22nd September 2022
Reluctance to do much first thing. An achievement just to get morning pages out the way and make it down to the kitchen before ten o’clock. The Poetry Jam event page took a while, but it turned out pretty good. And I now have all the guests booked for the rest of the year. It will be interesting to see how things are in December. Tonight, I checked out some Martin Atkins video interviews. He’s a drummer and entrepreneur who played with John Lydon in Public Image Limited in the late seventies, and later with Nine Inch Nails and an industrial supergroup called Pigface. A lecturer and frenetic ideas man. I saw an advert online for his upcoming spoken word tour and decided to check him out. I’m not a touring musician but would be interested in reading his book Tour Smart. I love the artwork on his records – some are punk photocopy DIY and some garishly colourful. Not so sure about the music but he’s an interesting guy when interviewed. 10.22pm.
Friday 23rd September 2022
Session at Bullion Hall in Chester-le-Street was good today. We did absurd words, A2Z word banks and steppingstones, big discussions about writing from a personal perspective, ended with Kennings. Tonight I went out for a few supplies and got three packs of 120gsm paper for the group pamphlet. Saw a clip of the original members of Hanoi Rocks reunited for Michael Monroe’s 60th Birthday bash. “A Million Miles Away” live from Helsinki Ice Hall. Gyp Casino was original drummer, but since 85 this song has always been dedicated to his replacement Nicholas Razzle Dingley (RIP). The camera pulled back to reveal a full arena crowd. Someone posted the setlist on Facebook. Thirty-eight songs. Solo stuff. Demolition 23. Early Hanoi. Mint gig. I had Dairylea on a wholemeal crust and a Fry’s orange crème bar for supper.11.30pm.
Saturday 24th September 2022
Ace ride on the Sonder Frontier bike near the River Derwent. First feel of autumn. Grey sky, damp earth and fallen leaves. I’m not at Jen’s this weekend. So have spent the evening watching more video footage of Hanoi Rocks from last night’s Michael Monroe 60th birthday gig and discovering new names in extreme horror fiction. 10.02pm.
Sunday 25th September 2022
The dark green card arrived for the Route2Work College anthology endpaper. I read ‘The Residential’ by Gary Budden and ‘Seabound’ by Alison Moore – both from the Out of Darkness horror anthology, both quite subtly uncanny but not too unsettling. Keyed in a fortnight of notes. Watched some short review videos of horror novels. Had a late Sunday sausage and veg dinner. My teeth aren’t great. 10.59pm.
Monday 26th September 2022
It’s ten years to the day since Apples and Snakes paid for me and Jenni to go to London for spoken word gigs: a double-header feature set at Jawdance and Raw Meat Stew at BANG! Said the Gun – we went for a ride out to Highgate Cemetery and took some photos; and played in Hamleys toyshop where Jenni took the best portrait shot of me in existence. It’s been my blogger site profile pic ever since. If I change it, I’ll need one of me wearing glasses. I read a short story tonight by Stephen King called Survivor Type in which a surgeon is shipwrecked with 2 kilos of heroin on an island with no food and eats himself from the feet up. Gnarly stuff… I’ve just snapped a chunk out of a heavily filled tooth. I don’t think there is much hope for it now. Good to get my not-fit-for National-Poetry-Day environment poem edited today. I don’t think there is much hope for it. Think I’ll turn in soon. Busy day tomorrow. 10.40pm.
Tuesday 27th September 2022
Good eight hours sleep. Then bags packed for Waddy and Friday’s Bullion Hall workshop. I gave a copy of my new poem ‘Not What You Asked For?’ to Sam at Waddy. I don’t think it’s the sort of environmental piece than many would appreciate. Workshop went well. Pleased to get the booklet sample printed and posted to Rowan. Bus to Jen’s stalled due to a road accident. Don’t think anyone was seriously hurt but the back of a car was quite mashed. Gateshead Tesco has moved sections around which prompted a brief Michael Douglas ‘Falling Down’ moment. Me and Jenni talked about the economy and the new tory government. I was offered a gig but don’t think I can make it. 10.10pm.
Wednesday 28th September 2022
Woke early but stayed in bed till about ten. Then had a bowl of porridge and washed some crockery for the dinnertime feast. Veggie chilli and rice. We stayed in and watched the news with all the latest about the mini budget that has destabilized the pound. Some people are already thinking about votes of no confidence, a general election by Christmas. I went out for bread and milk. Also got a pie for me and an egg and cress sandwich for Jenni. Taskmaster is on and the competitors are writing 50-word bedtime stories for adults. A2Z of Twitter insults and other bits of radge. OK. 10.28pm.
Thursday 29th September 2022
Me and Jenni had an afternoon in Newcastle. We scoured charity shops for cheap trainers but couldn’t find any I liked. I also wanted a Hellraiser DVD but we didn’t spot that either. There were some bargains in a couple of vintage clothes shops, but I pretty much have enough clothes. This evening we saw a brilliant Talk of the Town show in a secret venue. Elaine Cusack, Steve Drayton and Rob Walton with special guests Jack and Sam. Comedy, poetry, music and prose memoir. We went to Station East afterwards for a drink. Then off to Tesco. Cheap pastry and chocolate. Now it’s the story of Booby Ball on TV. Workshop tomorrow. 11.37pm.
Friday 30th September 2022
Me and Jenni watched two classic episodes of Frasier this morning: the return of Lilith; and Daphne staying at Niles’ house while Nerys is away. I found pair of black trainers almost new in a Gateshead charity shop for a fiver. Well chuffed. Not so thrilled about the torrential rain. I think woodland trails will be a mud bath now. I’ll probably not get out on them again this year. I might have a ride down to Watergate Forest Park at some point – or the rocks in the park near Jen’s place. The writing session at Bullion Hall went well this afternoon; we did character speculations from real life into fiction. I got home around six. Had tea then back out for copier paper and supplies. Prices rising again. Only toilet paper they had was a fiver a pack. Get in the fucking sea! And copier paper is almost double what it cost a year ago. And the fucking persistent rain is a pain. Enjoyed Pink’s version of Somebody to Love. 11.35pm.
Saturday 24th September 2022
Ace ride on the Sonder Frontier bike near the River Derwent. First feel of autumn. Grey sky, damp earth and fallen leaves. I’m not at Jen’s this weekend. So have spent the evening watching more video footage of Hanoi Rocks from last night’s Michael Monroe 60th birthday gig and discovering new names in extreme horror fiction. 10.02pm.
Sunday 25th September 2022
The dark green card arrived for the Route2Work College anthology endpaper. I read ‘The Residential’ by Gary Budden and ‘Seabound’ by Alison Moore – both from the Out of Darkness horror anthology, both quite subtly uncanny but not too unsettling. Keyed in a fortnight of notes. Watched some short review videos of horror novels. Had a late Sunday sausage and veg dinner. My teeth aren’t great. 10.59pm.
Monday 26th September 2022
It’s ten years to the day since Apples and Snakes paid for me and Jenni to go to London for spoken word gigs: a double-header feature set at Jawdance and Raw Meat Stew at BANG! Said the Gun – we went for a ride out to Highgate Cemetery and took some photos; and played in Hamleys toyshop where Jenni took the best portrait shot of me in existence. It’s been my blogger site profile pic ever since. If I change it, I’ll need one of me wearing glasses. I read a short story tonight by Stephen King called Survivor Type in which a surgeon is shipwrecked with 2 kilos of heroin on an island with no food and eats himself from the feet up. Gnarly stuff… I’ve just snapped a chunk out of a heavily filled tooth. I don’t think there is much hope for it now. Good to get my not-fit-for National-Poetry-Day environment poem edited today. I don’t think there is much hope for it. Think I’ll turn in soon. Busy day tomorrow. 10.40pm.
Tuesday 27th September 2022
Good eight hours sleep. Then bags packed for Waddy and Friday’s Bullion Hall workshop. I gave a copy of my new poem ‘Not What You Asked For?’ to Sam at Waddy. I don’t think it’s the sort of environmental piece than many would appreciate. Workshop went well. Pleased to get the booklet sample printed and posted to Rowan. Bus to Jen’s stalled due to a road accident. Don’t think anyone was seriously hurt but the back of a car was quite mashed. Gateshead Tesco has moved sections around which prompted a brief Michael Douglas ‘Falling Down’ moment. Me and Jenni talked about the economy and the new tory government. I was offered a gig but don’t think I can make it. 10.10pm.
Wednesday 28th September 2022
Woke early but stayed in bed till about ten. Then had a bowl of porridge and washed some crockery for the dinnertime feast. Veggie chilli and rice. We stayed in and watched the news with all the latest about the mini budget that has destabilized the pound. Some people are already thinking about votes of no confidence, a general election by Christmas. I went out for bread and milk. Also got a pie for me and an egg and cress sandwich for Jenni. Taskmaster is on and the competitors are writing 50-word bedtime stories for adults. A2Z of Twitter insults and other bits of radge. OK. 10.28pm.
Thursday 29th September 2022
Me and Jenni had an afternoon in Newcastle. We scoured charity shops for cheap trainers but couldn’t find any I liked. I also wanted a Hellraiser DVD but we didn’t spot that either. There were some bargains in a couple of vintage clothes shops, but I pretty much have enough clothes. This evening we saw a brilliant Talk of the Town show in a secret venue. Elaine Cusack, Steve Drayton and Rob Walton with special guests Jack and Sam. Comedy, poetry, music and prose memoir. We went to Station East afterwards for a drink. Then off to Tesco. Cheap pastry and chocolate. Now it’s the story of Booby Ball on TV. Workshop tomorrow. 11.37pm.
Friday 30th September 2022
Me and Jenni watched two classic episodes of Frasier this morning: the return of Lilith; and Daphne staying at Niles’ house while Nerys is away. I found pair of black trainers almost new in a Gateshead charity shop for a fiver. Well chuffed. Not so thrilled about the torrential rain. I think woodland trails will be a mud bath now. I’ll probably not get out on them again this year. I might have a ride down to Watergate Forest Park at some point – or the rocks in the park near Jen’s place. The writing session at Bullion Hall went well this afternoon; we did character speculations from real life into fiction. I got home around six. Had tea then back out for copier paper and supplies. Prices rising again. Only toilet paper they had was a fiver a pack. Get in the fucking sea! And copier paper is almost double what it cost a year ago. And the fucking persistent rain is a pain. Enjoyed Pink’s version of Somebody to Love. 11.35pm.
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