Watched videos of Ali Clarkson ride in a biketrial comp on a full suspension bike in Scotland and Jeff Lenosky ride a veterans’ trial at Bentonville USA. I went to Consett for food and stationery. Didn’t get back till mid-afternoon. Fell asleep on the couch. Replied to a letter from Stephen Clark. Read a Michael Gira (Swans) interview. Watched Toyah sing Heroes at Glastonbury on YouTube and Rick Astley sing There Is a Light that Never Goes Out. 11.40pm.
Sunday 2nd July 2023
Worked all afternoon and evening on CYCLE booklet. Changed typeface. Layout almost there. Need a cover photo. Journal. OK. 11.20pm.
Monday 3rd July 2023
Wrote a piece about Blackhill teenage years inspired by indie music and someone I knew who listened to it. I sent out “Points of Engagement”. I rode the Rockhopper bike to the post office in the Grove and was tempted to stay out and ride along the cycle path but had to head back to do more work. I got Poetry Jam pix uploaded at long last. I’ve reworked pages for the Waddington Street Writers booklet. This evening I wore a wrist splint whilst riding my trail bike down by the River Derwent. I rode okay, but think I need somewhere new to play. The wrist splint got all sweated up. I could do with a couple of spares. Steve D sent his bio note for CYCLE booklet. I still need cover. And there’s a job still to apply for. 11.20pm.
Tuesday 4th July 2023
Trimmed a book this morning and my wrist was in an uproar. Wore the splint most of the day. The Waddington Street Writers group edit session went well. Got a lot done. Almost there. Unfortunately, the CYCLE booklet is causing headaches. The material sequence doesn’t allows key elements to sit on the correct left/right pages. I’m not happy with the way it prints out on the big office machine. Think I’m going to be quite busy for the next couple of weeks. I’m annoyed about the RSI in my left wrist. Tingling again this evening. The grass needs mowing so that’s likely to cause more aggravation. Not happy at present. Wish my work was all done. Need a month to myself. 11.05pm.
Wednesday 5th July 2023
Work on CYCLE book started around half-six after morning pages. Got the cover done. All the pages in order. Corrections sorted. I used blank j-pegs to mask a few unwanted page numbers. Was invited to read at Ouseburn a week on Sunday. 11.18pm.
Thursday 6th July 2023
Morning Pages. Email checks. Bag pack for print sessions at Waddy. It was a pain. The margins aren’t right. I need more time. Poetry Jam was good and took my mind off other hassles. 11.43pm.
Thanks to all at Waddy today for help with books and with Poetry Jam. Guests were good – Gary the Hat, Olya Bowers and Bob Beagrie. Great open floor readings. Thanks to Elaine for feedback on the CYCLE booklet. 11.45pm.
Friday 7th July 2023
Hassles with home laser printer. Got help over the phone from Peter at Waddy. Did booklet cover tweaks. Went to Durham and got them printed. Then a workshop at Bullion Hall: Shadorma, Pantoum, Fib, Exquisite Corpse, writing discussion. Proofed the CYCLE booklet tonight, almost good to go. Margins are ready and should be okay tomorrow. 11.55pm.
Saturday 8th July 2023
Only four hours sleep. I was up till twenty past two doing margin tweaks for CYCLE. This morning I was in Waddy to get pages printed. I had to tweak a page at home. I watched an Ali Clarkson bike video and two Sonic Youth songs on YouTube. 10 past eight bus to Consett this evening then on to Newcastle. Jenni is watching an episode of Black Mirror about a bloke on a spaceship who goes to visit another man’s wife during sleep. I’m way too tired to take it in. OK. 10.51pm.
Sunday 9th July 2023
Better sleep. Got a dream piece in morning pages. It’s a keeper and might go in a zine. Me and Jenni had chilli/curry for dinner. I got some super reduced-price sandwiches this afternoon. Me and Jenni watched a WHAM! documentary and a creepy Australian film called Run Rabbit Run about dark family secrets and mental illness. Then I sent a bunch of bike pix to Steve D for the CYCLE show. Thanks to Jenni for help with job application. 10.32pm.
Monday 10th July 2023
Helped Jenni get the food haul upstairs then walked to Newcastle. Bought heavy endpaper for the CYCLE booklets. Had to cut large sheets roughly to size in the shop coz the stuff I bought for a previous project was rolled and got crushed. I wrote preliminary notes for job application on the bus to Consett. Got home around two o’clock this afternoon. Didn’t get started on books till three. Pages and endpapers folded. Still trying to get my poetry set down to eight minutes for the CYCLE event first half. And then another six minutes for the second half. I’ve rescripted all the intros to ensure the poems fit. I’m tired and I want to go to bed but I should get this set sorted so I can tell Steve D what order my photos should run on the backdrop screen. 11.56pm.
Tuesday 11th July 2023
Reprinted a couple of CYCLE pages. Folded, stapled, trimmed, and packed books for Friday. Today was another twelve-hour shift. Thanks to Elaine Cusack and all the people who put likes on the pix today. Pleased to have it all done now. OK. 11.33pm.
Wednesday 12th July 2023
Today was a toughie. Fourteen and a half hours to design a new writer CV and edit Monday’s bus notes into a covering letter for a writing job. My head is mashed. Big thanks to Jenni for telling me what’s good and what needs tweaked, and for encouraging me to do it in the first place. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks. The CYCLE booklets are done, the job application will go tomorrow morning, then I’ll go buy yet another ream of A4 so I can make handouts for Friday’s workshop at Washington Arts Centre. The computer is still whirring. After tomorrow, I really don’t want to use it until Monday, if possible. Good of Steve Pledger to send over the flyer for Sunday’s gig. 11.46pm.
Thursday 13th July 2023
Smashed! I got the application done then made extra copies of “Points of Engagement” and “Thirteen Days in May”. I cut the grass then got changed, walked to an ATM, then bought supplies. I’ve done my session plan for tomorrow and made a setlist book for CYCLE. I fell asleep on the bed. I’ve done a preliminary set for Sunday afternoon’s North East Against Racism gig. 11.07pm.
Friday 14th July 2023
Morning pages. Bag pack. Looked at my sets for the CYCLE gig on the bus to Washington. Enjoyed workshop: Thumbs up, thumbs down; Shadorma, Fib and Triolet poems; Dear Chai Latte exercise. Then I rehearsed a bit more for tonight. Thanks to all at the Arts Centre for a lovely workshop. Thanks to all at The Cycle Hub. Thanks to Rob, Elaine and Steve D for inviting me to perform and make the book. And all who came out on a rotten night to make it a great event. 11.25pm.
Saturday 15th July 2023
Only been outside to buy orange squash and toilet roll. Me and Jenni watched Bill Bailey’s Craft Masters. Then documentaries about Vincent Price, Jethro Tull, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Skipped two hours of Ringo Star and Friends coz ‘The Voice – Kids’ is better. Jenni did baked potatoes then spicey bean burgers. Chocolate chip cookies and Quorn eggs. OK. 11.05pm.
Sunday 16th July 2023
Bag pack for NEAR gig. Did two sets with Jenni. Random picks from Laughter to Split Glass and elsewhere. Thanks to all at Little Buildings for an ace afternoon. Inter Acting. Beano. Steve Pledger. Tabitha McGowan. All the NEAR team. Bar staff. OK. 11.21pm.
Monday 17th July 2023
Read a great article by Jane Burn about submitting poems to magazines. Then bused from Bensham back to Consett. Good that I had my wheelie case with me: I got tinned curry and chilli; and three bottles of Vimto for a quid. This afternoon I did about five hours of tweaks to the Waddington Street Writers booklet that we will be reading from on Friday afternoon. Tonight, I went out on my Sonder Frontier bike for the first time in a fortnight. It was good to do a couple of little hill climbs in harder gears. And I made it up off the bridge at Shotley without stopping, but my foot went down at the last minute. OK. 11.25pm.
Tuesday 18th July 2023
Readthrough of morning pages for next book. Big day of proofing, corrections, and printing up Waddy booklet. More reading on the bus home. Thanks to Elaine Cusack for mentioning my performance at CYCLE in her new blog post. OK. 11.23pm.
Wednesday 19th July 2023
Made up a batch of books for the Waddy Writers this morning. Invoice and other bits of admin. Watched a Michael Pederson book launch on YouTube this afternoon. Jenni sent me a link for York Zine Fair. We are going on Saturday. Summer is slipping away. It’s raining on and off again. Don’t fancy a soaking on the bike. 9.46pm.
Thursday 20th July 2023
Messaged Ann Porro about her bio and pic for Poetry Jam. I’m really chuffed that she is up for headlining next month. I think it will be one of the best Poetry Jams ever. This afternoon I went out on the Sonder bike. Only got as far as Allensford Park when I noticed the left crank arm was loose. And the Allen key required to tighten it was the only one missing from my backpack. Pushed the bike back home, got the Allen key out of the other backpack. Twenty second job. Then back out. I found it tough going. After all the rain a lot of the trails are moist. My back tyre was pretty caked and lethal on tree roots. Rode for a couple of hours then back for tea. Sausage, fish fingers and grilled potato slices. Copied up a month of work log then tweaked the Poetry Jam poster and event page. Watched a scary Andrei Burton trials bike clip. Ate porridge. 10.54pm.
Friday 21st July 2023
Got the ten o’clock bus to Durham. Then straight into Waddington Street Centre for Celebrating Learning Day. The music group were up first. They had an amazing singer who sounded like she’d been a recording artist for years. Totally ace. The group had some original songs and covers, including ‘Friday, I’m in Love’. They did over half an hour and were mint. There was a packed lunch laid on. Then some speeches and learner certificate presentations. Lots of big cheers. At half two the writers did the Half Marathon set of pieces. It went down very well. A good blend of serious and funny. I stayed back to take part in a wind-down quiz. After a bus to Gateshead, I went to Tesco to escape the rain for a while. Lots of laughs at Jen’s. Tim Minchin on The Last Leg. 10.35pm.
Saturday 22nd July 2023
A lot of the stuff at York Zine Fair was art-related, rather than text-heavy personal zine stuff. Jenni bought more than me. She took me to the Van Gogh immersive experience and showed me around the city. Found a fantastic little bookshop which stocked lots of poetry, fiction and music biographies. The weather was lousy most of the day. Got back into town at half eight then went to Tesco for supplies. Very sleepy now. 10.14pm.
Sunday 23rd July 2023
Weather was atrocious so we didn’t go to South Shields for Bjorn Again outdoor gig even though it still went ahead. We watched a film called The Program about cyclist Lance Armstrong. Then an ace four-part series called The Sixth Commandment starring Timothy Spall as a headmaster who has a relationship with a much younger man. Ghastly deception, coercion and murder based on a true story. Finishing off tonight with a bit of Paul Heaton in concert. 10.35pm.
Morning Pages. Email checks. Bag pack for print sessions at Waddy. It was a pain. The margins aren’t right. I need more time. Poetry Jam was good and took my mind off other hassles. 11.43pm.
Thanks to all at Waddy today for help with books and with Poetry Jam. Guests were good – Gary the Hat, Olya Bowers and Bob Beagrie. Great open floor readings. Thanks to Elaine for feedback on the CYCLE booklet. 11.45pm.
Friday 7th July 2023
Hassles with home laser printer. Got help over the phone from Peter at Waddy. Did booklet cover tweaks. Went to Durham and got them printed. Then a workshop at Bullion Hall: Shadorma, Pantoum, Fib, Exquisite Corpse, writing discussion. Proofed the CYCLE booklet tonight, almost good to go. Margins are ready and should be okay tomorrow. 11.55pm.
Saturday 8th July 2023
Only four hours sleep. I was up till twenty past two doing margin tweaks for CYCLE. This morning I was in Waddy to get pages printed. I had to tweak a page at home. I watched an Ali Clarkson bike video and two Sonic Youth songs on YouTube. 10 past eight bus to Consett this evening then on to Newcastle. Jenni is watching an episode of Black Mirror about a bloke on a spaceship who goes to visit another man’s wife during sleep. I’m way too tired to take it in. OK. 10.51pm.
Sunday 9th July 2023
Better sleep. Got a dream piece in morning pages. It’s a keeper and might go in a zine. Me and Jenni had chilli/curry for dinner. I got some super reduced-price sandwiches this afternoon. Me and Jenni watched a WHAM! documentary and a creepy Australian film called Run Rabbit Run about dark family secrets and mental illness. Then I sent a bunch of bike pix to Steve D for the CYCLE show. Thanks to Jenni for help with job application. 10.32pm.
Monday 10th July 2023
Helped Jenni get the food haul upstairs then walked to Newcastle. Bought heavy endpaper for the CYCLE booklets. Had to cut large sheets roughly to size in the shop coz the stuff I bought for a previous project was rolled and got crushed. I wrote preliminary notes for job application on the bus to Consett. Got home around two o’clock this afternoon. Didn’t get started on books till three. Pages and endpapers folded. Still trying to get my poetry set down to eight minutes for the CYCLE event first half. And then another six minutes for the second half. I’ve rescripted all the intros to ensure the poems fit. I’m tired and I want to go to bed but I should get this set sorted so I can tell Steve D what order my photos should run on the backdrop screen. 11.56pm.
Tuesday 11th July 2023
Reprinted a couple of CYCLE pages. Folded, stapled, trimmed, and packed books for Friday. Today was another twelve-hour shift. Thanks to Elaine Cusack and all the people who put likes on the pix today. Pleased to have it all done now. OK. 11.33pm.
Wednesday 12th July 2023
Today was a toughie. Fourteen and a half hours to design a new writer CV and edit Monday’s bus notes into a covering letter for a writing job. My head is mashed. Big thanks to Jenni for telling me what’s good and what needs tweaked, and for encouraging me to do it in the first place. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks. The CYCLE booklets are done, the job application will go tomorrow morning, then I’ll go buy yet another ream of A4 so I can make handouts for Friday’s workshop at Washington Arts Centre. The computer is still whirring. After tomorrow, I really don’t want to use it until Monday, if possible. Good of Steve Pledger to send over the flyer for Sunday’s gig. 11.46pm.
Thursday 13th July 2023
Smashed! I got the application done then made extra copies of “Points of Engagement” and “Thirteen Days in May”. I cut the grass then got changed, walked to an ATM, then bought supplies. I’ve done my session plan for tomorrow and made a setlist book for CYCLE. I fell asleep on the bed. I’ve done a preliminary set for Sunday afternoon’s North East Against Racism gig. 11.07pm.
Friday 14th July 2023
Morning pages. Bag pack. Looked at my sets for the CYCLE gig on the bus to Washington. Enjoyed workshop: Thumbs up, thumbs down; Shadorma, Fib and Triolet poems; Dear Chai Latte exercise. Then I rehearsed a bit more for tonight. Thanks to all at the Arts Centre for a lovely workshop. Thanks to all at The Cycle Hub. Thanks to Rob, Elaine and Steve D for inviting me to perform and make the book. And all who came out on a rotten night to make it a great event. 11.25pm.
Saturday 15th July 2023
Only been outside to buy orange squash and toilet roll. Me and Jenni watched Bill Bailey’s Craft Masters. Then documentaries about Vincent Price, Jethro Tull, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Skipped two hours of Ringo Star and Friends coz ‘The Voice – Kids’ is better. Jenni did baked potatoes then spicey bean burgers. Chocolate chip cookies and Quorn eggs. OK. 11.05pm.
Sunday 16th July 2023
Bag pack for NEAR gig. Did two sets with Jenni. Random picks from Laughter to Split Glass and elsewhere. Thanks to all at Little Buildings for an ace afternoon. Inter Acting. Beano. Steve Pledger. Tabitha McGowan. All the NEAR team. Bar staff. OK. 11.21pm.
Monday 17th July 2023
Read a great article by Jane Burn about submitting poems to magazines. Then bused from Bensham back to Consett. Good that I had my wheelie case with me: I got tinned curry and chilli; and three bottles of Vimto for a quid. This afternoon I did about five hours of tweaks to the Waddington Street Writers booklet that we will be reading from on Friday afternoon. Tonight, I went out on my Sonder Frontier bike for the first time in a fortnight. It was good to do a couple of little hill climbs in harder gears. And I made it up off the bridge at Shotley without stopping, but my foot went down at the last minute. OK. 11.25pm.
Tuesday 18th July 2023
Readthrough of morning pages for next book. Big day of proofing, corrections, and printing up Waddy booklet. More reading on the bus home. Thanks to Elaine Cusack for mentioning my performance at CYCLE in her new blog post. OK. 11.23pm.
Wednesday 19th July 2023
Made up a batch of books for the Waddy Writers this morning. Invoice and other bits of admin. Watched a Michael Pederson book launch on YouTube this afternoon. Jenni sent me a link for York Zine Fair. We are going on Saturday. Summer is slipping away. It’s raining on and off again. Don’t fancy a soaking on the bike. 9.46pm.
Thursday 20th July 2023
Messaged Ann Porro about her bio and pic for Poetry Jam. I’m really chuffed that she is up for headlining next month. I think it will be one of the best Poetry Jams ever. This afternoon I went out on the Sonder bike. Only got as far as Allensford Park when I noticed the left crank arm was loose. And the Allen key required to tighten it was the only one missing from my backpack. Pushed the bike back home, got the Allen key out of the other backpack. Twenty second job. Then back out. I found it tough going. After all the rain a lot of the trails are moist. My back tyre was pretty caked and lethal on tree roots. Rode for a couple of hours then back for tea. Sausage, fish fingers and grilled potato slices. Copied up a month of work log then tweaked the Poetry Jam poster and event page. Watched a scary Andrei Burton trials bike clip. Ate porridge. 10.54pm.
Friday 21st July 2023
Got the ten o’clock bus to Durham. Then straight into Waddington Street Centre for Celebrating Learning Day. The music group were up first. They had an amazing singer who sounded like she’d been a recording artist for years. Totally ace. The group had some original songs and covers, including ‘Friday, I’m in Love’. They did over half an hour and were mint. There was a packed lunch laid on. Then some speeches and learner certificate presentations. Lots of big cheers. At half two the writers did the Half Marathon set of pieces. It went down very well. A good blend of serious and funny. I stayed back to take part in a wind-down quiz. After a bus to Gateshead, I went to Tesco to escape the rain for a while. Lots of laughs at Jen’s. Tim Minchin on The Last Leg. 10.35pm.
Saturday 22nd July 2023
A lot of the stuff at York Zine Fair was art-related, rather than text-heavy personal zine stuff. Jenni bought more than me. She took me to the Van Gogh immersive experience and showed me around the city. Found a fantastic little bookshop which stocked lots of poetry, fiction and music biographies. The weather was lousy most of the day. Got back into town at half eight then went to Tesco for supplies. Very sleepy now. 10.14pm.
Sunday 23rd July 2023
Weather was atrocious so we didn’t go to South Shields for Bjorn Again outdoor gig even though it still went ahead. We watched a film called The Program about cyclist Lance Armstrong. Then an ace four-part series called The Sixth Commandment starring Timothy Spall as a headmaster who has a relationship with a much younger man. Ghastly deception, coercion and murder based on a true story. Finishing off tonight with a bit of Paul Heaton in concert. 10.35pm.
Monday 24th July 2023
Didn’t sleep so well last night. Quite chilly and the thin tiger blanket kept slipping. I got up at half seven. Washed crockery and had a bowl of porridge. Chatted briefly with Jenni then got the 9.25am bus back to Consett. Spent thirteen quid on supplies and got a bus home coz the bags were heavy and my left wrist started tingling again. Been wearing a wrist support for the rest of the day. I got a dozen pages of my little zine-style book mocked up today. I’m trying not to use the desktop computer. I am trying to be more zine than poetry pamphlet. I did a double page spread cut-up layout tonight. Had a katsu chicken curry. Very similar to korma and a bit unsatisfactory after the balti and beef madras earlier in the year. I hope the zine thing works out. 11.25pm.
Tuesday 25th July 2023
Another good day of piecing together the pamphlet. But I’m a bit concerned that I might run out of material. I’ve got a good poem for the centre spread. I knocked off at half eight to focus on feedback for one of the Washington Writers. I listened to a few tracks by Scottish band Del Amitri coz ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’ came to mind yesterday. They are still going! Playing Glasgow next month. Might have to do a few writing sessions over the next couple of days to ensure there’s enough material to fill pages. 10.45pm.
Wednesday 26th July 2023
Morning pages. Emails. “Soon Will Come Thunder” is the title of the pamphlet and I’ve got the cover design sorted. It will be hand inked on heavy boards. Thanks to Jenni for letting me know about Sinead O’Connor (RIP). I saw Sinead six times. She was magnificent. 10.53pm.
Thursday 27th July 2023
Pleased the new pamphlet is coming along. I still have a few pages to fill but pieces from the last couple of days might fit. To make it look more rough and ready I’ve spent a lot of time highlighting imperfections, emphasising paste-up marks for the photocopier, distressing the page margins, leaving spiral holes visible. I hope to have copies of “Soon Will Come Thunder” good to go on Saturday morning. The pamphlet is part handwritten and part Olivetti manual typewriter typed. Anyway, enough for today. 11.52pm.
Friday 28th July 2023
Another full day on the pamphlet. I thought long and hard about including a picture of Sinead and the words I put on social media yesterday. Jenni said as I was a massive fan I should. I’m chuffed with the essay I wrote earlier this month about music nostalgia. I spoke to Martin from Bullion Hall about the relaunch of the writing group for September. I will finish my new pamphlet this weekend. It’s been a heavy week. 11.55pm.
Saturday 29th July 2023
Stayed at home this weekend. The pamphlet is being extremely resistant to completion. I have three pages to fill and hopefully after that I will be ready to make copies tomorrow. I went out to Consett this afternoon for supplies: Sharpies and, well, sharpies – Stanley knife blades. I wrote some stuff when I was out. I’m a bit shattered really. I’m going to bed early in hopes I can get up and crack on early tomorrow. 10.04pm.
Sunday 30th July 2023
Got the final piece for “Soon Will Come Thunder” then decided I wanted no blank pages so I made a verso collage of the content titles. Chuffed to do the whole thing old-school without using a computer – well, except the mobile device to spellcheck a few words. But otherwise, handwritten and typed on an Olivetti manual typewriter. Chuffed to do it all at home. Think I need a big rest soon. 10.47pm.
Monday 31st July 2023
Right, it’s time to say goodbye to July. What a bastard of a month. The weather has been shite. I possibly bit off more than I could chew workwise, and I didn’t get to ride my good bike very much. I’m kind of dreading August as well. I don’t want to do loads of housework, but it needs to be done. Some copies of “Soon Will Come Thunder” are out there now. I picked up a copy of the C2C bike ride guide and ‘Rememberings’ by Sinead O’Connor in Consett library this afternoon. Tonight, I uploaded Poetry Jam pix from earlier this month. I watched Ali Clarkson do some amazing rock riding on a full suspension mountain bike. He is seriously good. I’m worn out and should be asleep. 11.12pm.
Didn’t sleep so well last night. Quite chilly and the thin tiger blanket kept slipping. I got up at half seven. Washed crockery and had a bowl of porridge. Chatted briefly with Jenni then got the 9.25am bus back to Consett. Spent thirteen quid on supplies and got a bus home coz the bags were heavy and my left wrist started tingling again. Been wearing a wrist support for the rest of the day. I got a dozen pages of my little zine-style book mocked up today. I’m trying not to use the desktop computer. I am trying to be more zine than poetry pamphlet. I did a double page spread cut-up layout tonight. Had a katsu chicken curry. Very similar to korma and a bit unsatisfactory after the balti and beef madras earlier in the year. I hope the zine thing works out. 11.25pm.
Tuesday 25th July 2023
Another good day of piecing together the pamphlet. But I’m a bit concerned that I might run out of material. I’ve got a good poem for the centre spread. I knocked off at half eight to focus on feedback for one of the Washington Writers. I listened to a few tracks by Scottish band Del Amitri coz ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’ came to mind yesterday. They are still going! Playing Glasgow next month. Might have to do a few writing sessions over the next couple of days to ensure there’s enough material to fill pages. 10.45pm.
Wednesday 26th July 2023
Morning pages. Emails. “Soon Will Come Thunder” is the title of the pamphlet and I’ve got the cover design sorted. It will be hand inked on heavy boards. Thanks to Jenni for letting me know about Sinead O’Connor (RIP). I saw Sinead six times. She was magnificent. 10.53pm.
Thursday 27th July 2023
Pleased the new pamphlet is coming along. I still have a few pages to fill but pieces from the last couple of days might fit. To make it look more rough and ready I’ve spent a lot of time highlighting imperfections, emphasising paste-up marks for the photocopier, distressing the page margins, leaving spiral holes visible. I hope to have copies of “Soon Will Come Thunder” good to go on Saturday morning. The pamphlet is part handwritten and part Olivetti manual typewriter typed. Anyway, enough for today. 11.52pm.
Friday 28th July 2023
Another full day on the pamphlet. I thought long and hard about including a picture of Sinead and the words I put on social media yesterday. Jenni said as I was a massive fan I should. I’m chuffed with the essay I wrote earlier this month about music nostalgia. I spoke to Martin from Bullion Hall about the relaunch of the writing group for September. I will finish my new pamphlet this weekend. It’s been a heavy week. 11.55pm.
Saturday 29th July 2023
Stayed at home this weekend. The pamphlet is being extremely resistant to completion. I have three pages to fill and hopefully after that I will be ready to make copies tomorrow. I went out to Consett this afternoon for supplies: Sharpies and, well, sharpies – Stanley knife blades. I wrote some stuff when I was out. I’m a bit shattered really. I’m going to bed early in hopes I can get up and crack on early tomorrow. 10.04pm.
Sunday 30th July 2023
Got the final piece for “Soon Will Come Thunder” then decided I wanted no blank pages so I made a verso collage of the content titles. Chuffed to do the whole thing old-school without using a computer – well, except the mobile device to spellcheck a few words. But otherwise, handwritten and typed on an Olivetti manual typewriter. Chuffed to do it all at home. Think I need a big rest soon. 10.47pm.
Monday 31st July 2023
Right, it’s time to say goodbye to July. What a bastard of a month. The weather has been shite. I possibly bit off more than I could chew workwise, and I didn’t get to ride my good bike very much. I’m kind of dreading August as well. I don’t want to do loads of housework, but it needs to be done. Some copies of “Soon Will Come Thunder” are out there now. I picked up a copy of the C2C bike ride guide and ‘Rememberings’ by Sinead O’Connor in Consett library this afternoon. Tonight, I uploaded Poetry Jam pix from earlier this month. I watched Ali Clarkson do some amazing rock riding on a full suspension mountain bike. He is seriously good. I’m worn out and should be asleep. 11.12pm.
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