Short Entries

Thursday 1st June 2023

Prepped some papers for tomorrow’s Washington workshop then went to Waddington Street Centre for Poetry Jam. The guests were great tonight. Sharon Milley. Ian Williams and Kirsten Luckins. Lots of good open floor including newcomers. I read Abracadabra and Insomnia. I left Durham at ten past ten and was home by eleven. 11.40pm.

 

Friday 2nd June 2023

Three buses to Arts Centre Washington. Set up in the studio for a characterisation session previously done as an evening class. I found out this afternoon that my cheapskate neither contract nor pay as you go mobile device gets free WiFi in Chester le Street Tesco toilets. Good to chat to Jenni online whilst shopping. Tonight I watched The Smiths documentary from South Bank Show on YouTube then switched to Denim and Leather heavy metal book. 11.05pm.

Saturday 3rd June 2023

Walked into Consett and bought tins of Chilli that Jenni requested. Slept on the bus to Gateshead after a bit of Denim and Leather by Michael Hann. Chats with Jenni and two episodes of Inside Number 9. 10.45pm.

Sunday 4th June 2023

Checked out a few items in Gateshead charity shops. Jenni bought a Tiger suit. We watched BGT tonight and a Redbull documentary about a guy riding his BMX bike in a skatepark suspended from a hot air balloon.  11.00pm.

Monday 5th June 2023

Stayed an extra night at Jen’s. Read some articles from Writing Magazine on bus to Consett. Walked to Moorside. Prepped a workshop for Waddy. Went out on my Sonder bike tonight. Everywhere was dry and I cleaned some climbs that I failed on last time. Back home, I watched some footage of an Adam and the Ants tribute band called ANT TROUBLE. Marco Pirroni guested on guitar for Kings of the Wild Frontier. 11.05pm.

Tuesday 6th June 2023

Physical exercise before leaving for Durham. Session today mainly a focus on publishing poetry. Mince and veg with Yorkshire puddings for tea. Tried a few tracks from Noel Gallagher’s album Council Skies. Seemed a bit flimsy, not exactly Rock and Roll Star. 11.10pm.

Wednesday 7th June 2023

Number-crunching for HMRC this morning. Then sequenced some pieces for my set/s at next month's CYCLE gig. Modified a poster for next run of Bullion Hall workshops. Chipped away at notes for the next pamphlet. Watched John Robb and Marco Pirroni in conversation from 2020 on YouTube. Fancy being able to tell your schoolmates you saw the Pistols the night before. Then play with the Banshees and later become co-songwriter for Adam Ant. I didn’t get a bike ride tonight. 11.45pm.

Thursday 8th June 2023

Got a good piece in morning pages that might be the start of the next pamphlet. I was out mowing the grass at ten o’clock. My arms ached a lot. This afternoon I got a set of writing prompts together for tomorrow’s half marathon at Bullion Hall. Watched a 20-min YouTube review of 10X World Biketrial Champion Jack Carthy’s bike. The handlebar position is extreme. I’m aiming for ten hours sleep tonight. 10.10pm.

Friday 9th June 2023

Awake at five. Did abdominal exercises. Read some Adrian Mitchell poems before the workshop. Got through seven writing prompts at Bullion Hall this afternoon. Definitely stuff I can use in future. Hoe before seven, quick sandwich then back out for supplies. 10.45pm.

Saturday 10th June 2023 

Rode my bike for an hour but had breathing troubles on hill climbs. Back home I did the preliminary set-up for a student pamphlet. Walked to Consett and bused to Jen’s. Very tired. Too hot tonight. 10.25pm.

Sunday 11th June 2023

Breathing difficulty after climbing the stairs to Jen’s attic room. Today we ate vegetable chilli and rice then watched Murder on Tyne and Dial M for Middlesbrough. This evening I watched a music journalism documentary; all the writers were American and mostly unfamiliar. Jen is going to watch Inside Number 9. I am tired and want a cooler night’s sleep. 10.22pm.

Monday 12th June 2023

Prepped a writing half marathon for Waddington Street Writers. Out on the bike tonight. Every tiny triumph, a hill climb or section cleaned, followed by gasps and inability to get a full breath. My chances of doing the C2C ride this year don’t look good. The house needs a full clean. Sometimes I wonder what I’m trying to achieve. Sometimes I feel like jacking everything in and taking a safe little easy job two or three days a week. I am not great. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. 11.03pm.

Tuesday 13th June 2023

Chest hellish tight this morning. Still unsure what’s wrong. Read up on cyclists who get asthma. I showed a Waddy writer a pamphlet draft and she was thrilled with how her work is starting to look. The half marathon went well. At least forty pieces produced by me and the group. This evening I just read more about heavy metal. 10.50pm.

Wednesday 14th June 2023

Rode at a modest pace to Stanhope and back today. Felt much better in the fresh air. Made it up Crawleyside Bank seated without fighting for breath. I keyed in some of the group’s half marathon pieces this afternoon.  Did readthroughs of my set/s for next month’s CYCLE event in Newcastle. Poems and biking anecdotes. Good day, but lots more work to do. 10. 30pm.

Thursday 15th June 2023

Prepped a workshop for Arts Centre Washington. Typed up more Waddy booklet poems. Went with Jenni to The Geet Muckle Slam at Northern Stage. Good atmosphere. Canny mix of voices. Brilliantly hosted by Donald Jenkins and the Born Lippy team. Well done Cooper Robson for the win, And everyone who took part. 11.28pm.

Friday 16th June 2023

Got to Washington easily and set up with loads of time to spare. Unfortunately, the workshop didn’t go ahead coz only one person came. Hopefully better next time. Me and Jenni are exhausted by the heat but still had curry for tea. Watched Black Mirror and Not the Nine O’Clock News. 10.05pm.

Saturday 17th June 2023

Emails to writers for CYCLE booklet. Considered a writer in residence job application. Went into town for supplies then watched television with Jenni. Mostly gameshows, a film called Postal, and Isle of Wight Festival highlights. 11.03pm.

Sunday 18th June 2023

Great day out with Jenni in cooler temperatures, taking in Star and Shadow, Flea and Quayside markets, a Chris Killip photography exhibition at Baltic, and a look at some ace music biographies and other books on creativity in the shop afterwards. Caught in rain on the way home from Consett. 10.30pm.

Monday 19th June 2023

Full day at the computer. Preliminary formatting of CYCLE booklet. I’m also doing one for Waddington Street Writers, one for myself, and one for a library. I have the house to clean, and I want to ride bikes. Almost made it clean from Shotley Bridge to the top of the slagheaps tonight but a foot down only yards from the end. I’ll try again later. 10.42pm.

Tuesday 20th June 2023

Up at half six for morning pages then worked on Waddy booklet. The first draft is pretty good but needs pieces adding to it. Photocopied more of the writers’ work after today’s session at Waddy. Got advice on breathing issues. Could be due to bad posture or maybe a hernia. I slouched on the bus and was short of breath. Sitting upright at home with no problems. Pleased Jenni enjoyed her day out in York for the Tim Minchin gig. 11.10pm.

Wednesday 21st June 2023

Longest day. Waited till half eight this evening, after all the typing and editing, to ride the bike through woodland and on waste ground. The new rear hub helped me ratchet my way through some uphill sections. Rolled down A68 then more pedalling on exposed singletrack and through woods. Did a little trials manoeuvre on my return to Moorside. 11.10pm

Thursday 22nd June 2023

Really warm in the garden with the mower. Took 45 minutes. I hope all my grass turns yellow and gets killed off by the sun, so I don’t have to touch it till next spring. More work on CYCLE booklet this morning. Got most of the typing done for my new pamphlet. This evening I listened to a bit of Depeche Mode recorded live in Barcelona this year. New arrangements on the big hits refreshing. Dave Ghan looks like an old ghost. Poetry Jam promo is done. 10.56pm.

Friday 23rd June 2023

Chuffed with poems I’ve written for this month’s pamphlet. I overspent on food and toiletries this morning and had to get the bus home to save my puny wrists from aggravation. But trimming a booklet this afternoon, pressing the ruler down, set my left palm tingling. I’m a physical wreck, to be honest. First draft of my pamphlet is 60 pages. Chuffed to be still making books. 11.03pm.

Saturday 24th June 2023

Fifteen-hour shift. Copy-edited, proofread and printed second version of pamphlet. Still haven’t got a title I prefer to the one I won’t be using. I can smell a fire nearby. My chest has been bad. My posture is crap and I’m probably wrecked in other ways. 11.37pm.

Sunday 25th June 2023

Fourteen-hour shift. Seven of which were spent downstairs tidying up my second draft of an untitled pamphlet that I really want completed by Wednesday’s deadline. I don’t have a cover yet either. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. 10.59pm.

Monday 26th June 2023

Started at half-five this morning. Keyed in some pages, re-sequenced and printed another draft of Waddy booklet. Took pics for my pamphlet cover and mocked up the layout. Have just finished my third paper proofread and onscreen corrections. The title is Points of Engagement. I’ve done most of my abdominal exercises, only one more to go. 11.55pm.

Tuesday 27th June 2023

Will this copy-editing and proofreading ever be finished? I did a bit on the bus this morning. And after the workshop. I got some covers printed at Waddy. Colour photo on glossy white card. Think I prefer low-key coloured card with black ink which gives a more DIY perzine look. I like the poems as much as many in my last official collection. Good to get another edit on the Waddy booklet as well. Next week, I start again on the CYCLE booklet. Time is ticking. Close to midnight and not finished here yet. 11.50pm.

Wednesday 28th June 2023

Well, after a frantic weekend of typing and editing, then proofreading and more typing and more proofreading, I have a new pamphlet with a high gloss colour photo on the cover and I like it. Points of Engagement has 44 printed pages and includes detailed prose pieces, rants, and new poems. 11.03pm.

Thursday 29th June 2023

Awake at half four. Up at seven. Pulled stuff together for a visit to Jenni’s and posted out copies of the new pamphlet. Jenni told me all about meeting Julie Hesmondhalgh at Live Theatre. We watched Rick Astley’s hilariously good set from this year’s Glastonbury on iPlayer. Plus selections from Blondie and the final UK performance from Elton John. Some full-band bits he was pure incomprehensible club singer, but okay solo at the piano. We were slow into Newcastle so no ‘13th Anniversary’ carvery for us tonight. Enjoyed “Chop, Dissolve, Burn” by Lissette Auton and Richard Boggie at Alphabetti Theatre. Chips with curry sauce afterwards. 10.48pm.

Friday 30th June 2023

Great poetry workshop at Arts Centre Washington this afternoon. Major traffic hassle due to central motorway closure following a fire near Carliol Square rendered a building structurally unsafe. The carvery was closed so me and Jen had burger and chips in a Newcastle pub. Then Jen went to a hip-hop event. The buses were still very delayed this evening. Torrential rain stopped around half eight, so I walked to Bensham, picked up my things, caught a bus to Metro Centre, then one to Consett in time to catch the last home. 11.15pm.

Points of Engagement is available HERE