Monday 1st January 2024
Me and Jenni watched a few episodes of Wednesday (Addams). It was highly engaging and goth as you like. Produced by Tim Burton with music by Danny Elfman, it has elements of Harry Potter about it with the school factions. The casual misanthropy from Ms Addams is quite hilarious. We stopped after three episodes so we could watch other things. I ate chicken sandwiches for dinner and a big veg and meat dinner for tea. We watched a bunch of gameshows including Jeopardy from Stephen Fry. This evening a couple of soap operas and a documentary called Deep Roots of Led Zeppelin, which is all original blues: Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, etc. Canny but I am so sleepy. Hope to have a bit more energy in the coming days. I got another order for the FINAL pamphlet. It contains a couple of really negative poems, but they are fictional so okay. 10.10pm.
Tuesday 2nd January 2024
Me and Jenni went for a little walk down to the Post Office in Gateshead this morning. I sent out a copy of FINAL. Then we went to an antique shop that sells old books and vinyl. I was tempted by a Siouxsie and the Banshees Peekaboo 12-inch single. Jenni got some 7-inch singles and a few books on trains and Winnie the Pooh. This afternoon we watched Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. Yet more sickening corruption. And people wonder why some individuals don’t trust governments and corporations. Tonight, we had Xmas pudding and custard and watched series thirteen episode one of Waterloo Road. Then I got a bus to the Metro Centre and one to Consett. Walked home in the drizzle. Unpacked. Got changed. Soon be suppertime and bed. 11.50pm.
Wednesday 3rd January 2024
Full on workday. Took a while to get my invoices sorted. Then tax return. I wrote a ‘welcome back’ letter for Washington writers then sorted out book stock, and printed pages for a multiple book order. Got my papers together for a DBS form renewal. This evening, I typed up two lesson plans whilst listening to Bastette, South of Salem and Toyah. I'd like to see them all in concert this year. I'd like to see them all in CONSETT this year but that will never happen. I want to get back into reading hard-copy books this year. I've turned off the computer and intend to read for an hour in bed. I've eaten almost half a stollen loaf today. Nine quid reduced to £4.50 reduced to 90p. Me and Jenni know how to do bargains. I am back at Waddy tomorrow for the final session of the late autumn term. The new one begins next week. OK. 10.20pm.
Thursday 4th January 2024
Didn't sleep well last night. Despite ten hours in bed. Think I did morning pages before six but didn't get up till nine. Half ten bus to Waddy. Spent an hour setting up for the final session. We recapped the whole course and did some repeat exercises. Four-paragraph flash fiction plus some alternative Lunes counting full words, not syllables. I bought Best of British Stories 2023 from Waterstones. I got another ream of paper. I sold a copy of Final to a Waddy writer. And I did some test prints for a deluxe version of last April's BULLET YOUR WHOLE DAY. The bus broke down on the way home in Lanchester. Third bus in just over a week. I went to Tesco for supplies. Home by ten past seven. Tomato pasta with chips. Finances. Then tried to watch Hellraiser 2022 but fell asleep. 11.23pm.
Friday 5th January 2024
Still seem to be just playing catch-up. The bus strike knock-on effect last autumn meant I worked through December which is usually my big wind-down month. I think it will be February before I feel anywhere near stable and recharged for new work. Today I made a deluxe Bullet Your Whole Day for a book order. Chuffed to produce a hand-sewn monograph with a glued cover. I printed out some of my other titles. I sent out a couple of orders and did a preparatory run-through of my reading set for this coming Monday's 'Blyth Scribes' Meet the Author event. I didn't include much new material. After a read-through, I listed over fifty recent pieces that might work in future sets. I did a lot last year. I've no idea how 2024 will go. I ate a lot of Reese's chocolate peanut pretzels tonight. A pot noodle. Drank hot chocolate. I am late to bed. Hopefully some good daylight for work tomorrow. 10.59pm.
Saturday 6th January 2024
Most of the daylight was spent bookmaking, replenishing pamphlet stock, and ensuring I had the right stuff for Blyth. I ran out of steam by four. Had a splitting headache and had to lie down for a while. I tried the new remake of Hellraiser again. Some good visuals here and there but no strong characters and some very annoying ones. Read some Carol Ann Duffy before bed. Good stuff. 10.00pm
Sunday 7th January 2024
Got the rest of the books trimmed and inked up. Everything is packed for tomorrow. Got some bits and pieces pulled together for Tuesday's start to the new Waddy term. Buses to Gateshead were okay tonight. No breakdowns. Got to Jen's around eight. We watched Deal or No Deal and Vera. Very tired. Hope I don't sleep in tomorrow. Hope I do well at the gig. 11.00pm.
Monday 8th January 2024
Up at half five to do morning pages then ready to leave Bensham at half seven for Newcastle and onto Blyth. Reached the library at 9.15am, greeted by Elaine Cusack who showed me the writers' group area. I set up all my books. The group arrived early so I did my thing from ten past ten till half twelve. Two performance sets and two Q&As. Good to meet the group and talk about what I do. Was knackered afterwards. Went to Tesco for supplies. Then back to Jen's. Ace tomato and spinach quiche with curly fries for tea. I sent emails to Blyth Scribes. I've been paid by Sunderland Council and should be able to sort my finances. Watched the rest of Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Heads should fucking roll. 9.43pm.
Tuesday 9th January 2024
Rough day. Tickly throat. aggravating. Good chat with Jenni first thing. I got some prep done on the bus to Durham. The session this afternoon was a little strained. Focused too much on New Year resolutions, creative goals, and aims. People weren't ready for it. Most people have lives and more important things to do than scribble. But I think if you have time and talent…. Tonight, I reread ‘Book of Matches’ by Simon Armitage. Upon publication, over three decades ago, one reviewer said it was just marking time. I like half the sequence. Some bits are quite brilliant. 9.55pm.
Wednesday 10th January 2024
Disappointing day. Took a lot longer than expected to scan and send some stuff off. Then I sat number-crunching for an hour or so trying to work out earnings and getting different figures every time. I keyed in some notes, but sitting stationary at the computer just makes me get colder and my brain shuts down. My feet are now numb. I need a hot water bottle. I watched FB reels of John Bishop, Peter Kay, some mountain bike stuff, and bits of rock music. I'm drinking hot Ribena, eating mince pies and crisps. I've not been on a bike for over two months. 11.07pm.
Thursday 11th January 2024
Lazy day. I stayed in bed till nine. My morning pages were ideas for tomorrow's Washington session. Probably got too much material. But pleased to get it done and make it to King Ink in Sunderland tonight. Some great turns. Enjoyed Aaron Wright's THE WORD a lot. Gary the Hat did a good piece about a conversation with a grandson about heaven. Helen Rogers' poem about her son was ace. Joey Avery did some good short pieces including one about vandalism. Chris Hodgson read a piece for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Gaeron played a blues song and read a poem about cold weather. Helen Easley’s set was highly political and well-performed. I was unable to get the five to nine bus back. Now on the five past ten. Still tired on the way back to Consett. 10.41pm.
Friday 12th January 2024
Disappointing day. Took a lot longer than expected to scan and send some stuff off. Then I sat number-crunching for an hour or so trying to work out earnings and getting different figures every time. I keyed in some notes, but sitting stationary at the computer just makes me get colder and my brain shuts down. My feet are now numb. I need a hot water bottle. I watched FB reels of John Bishop, Peter Kay, some mountain bike stuff, and bits of rock music. I'm drinking hot Ribena, eating mince pies and crisps. I've not been on a bike for over two months. 11.07pm.
Thursday 11th January 2024
Lazy day. I stayed in bed till nine. My morning pages were ideas for tomorrow's Washington session. Probably got too much material. But pleased to get it done and make it to King Ink in Sunderland tonight. Some great turns. Enjoyed Aaron Wright's THE WORD a lot. Gary the Hat did a good piece about a conversation with a grandson about heaven. Helen Rogers' poem about her son was ace. Joey Avery did some good short pieces including one about vandalism. Chris Hodgson read a piece for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Gaeron played a blues song and read a poem about cold weather. Helen Easley’s set was highly political and well-performed. I was unable to get the five to nine bus back. Now on the five past ten. Still tired on the way back to Consett. 10.41pm.
Friday 12th January 2024
Long day. Enjoyable workshop at Arts Centre Washington. Eleven people came. We looked at past achievements and new goals. Talked about competitions, real writing, keeping going, personal routines, etc. Daniel said we should be able to keep it going permanently. I've been on buses a lot. I've eaten lots of cake. I've read a few articles in Writing Magazine. But all the theory just puts more barriers in my way. I don't think I'm cut out for fiction. I don't think I've got it in me to write anything but thinly veiled autobiography and observed reality. Slices of life. I tried reading some short adult fiction this evening and it bored me. The teenage story ‘Raven’ that I read on the bus to Sunderland last night held my attention, even if the end was a little poor. Fucking freezing. 9.55pm.
Saturday 13th January 2024
Slow day. Got more workshop ideas down in the morning pages and a bit more catch-up on last term's college paperwork. I had a huge chicken jalfrezi with chips, rice and naan for tea then watched Sean Hogan's film The Devil's Business. I fell asleep five minutes in so had to start again when I woke up. Stumbled across a pretty good electro-pop Euro darkwave band called Agent Sidegrinder. 11.16pm.
Sunday 14th January 2024
Most of the day at the computer. I got a new card designed for the 12 pamphlets as a promo handout at gigs. I submitted some writing to Lewis Brown's Spooky Poems anthology. I reposted my Steve Achieves #14 and got lots of nice responses to it. Tried to watch Sanitorium on DVD but fell asleep. Really cold. 11.30pm.
Monday 15th January 2024
Still chugging away at the backlog. I got the autumn term college paperwork sorted out tonight. Half was sent electronically to the office. The hard copy half will be at Waddy tomorrow. I knocked up a couple more copies of FINAL. And I keyed in a load of notes from last year. The Wi-Fi has been poor today. This evening Facebook is on the blink. I've not been on Twitter for a week now. I'll see how long I go. I only started it to follow the writing of Julia Eff. But they've not put out a zine for a good while now. According to the net it's minus four degrees in Moorside tonight. Only my feet feel cold. I haven't shaved for days. I'll need to get sorted in the morning. Listened to a lot of Depeche Mode today. And a bit of Lou Reed. I'm going to turn in early tonight. I aim to be at Under the Arches spoken word night tomorrow. 10.16pm.
Tuesday 16th January 2024
I've been to Tynemouth for Under the Arches. Spoken word gig. It was a great night. I met Sky Hawkins on the way. She accompanied me to the gig. A great mix of poetry and prose. Memoir as well. Time travel. The beauty of pylons. Abusive military man getting his comeuppance. A tender tale about a care home. A great gripe about Christmas waste and reduced-price calendars in January. Two sat navs in one car arguing. Size zero critiques. Also, a poem about why running in winter isn't advisable. Lots of great stuff. Chuffed I got to read some Tiny Tales and a piece from Final. Canny metro ride with Christine and Gaeron. Good workshop today. All poetry. Line breaks. Monologues. OK. 10.15pm.
Wednesday 17th January 2024
So apparently, it's minus six tonight. My feet feel like they've been resting on the metal bars of a freezer for hours and the notebook is making my hand chilly but the rest of me is okay. Today was pretty good. I got the blog up for last November. and the Poetry Jam flyer for February. I've enjoyed an evening of bike vids, and clips of Michael Monroe and Hanoi Rocks that I've been singing along to. Thanks to Jen for her concerns about me in the cold. Thanks to Sky Hawkins for feedback on my Tiny Tales pamphlet. And thanks to Amy from Beamish Hall for asking me to be involved in a wellbeing taster day taking place in May. Concerned about the house at minus six. But temp is set to rise to minus four by midnight so pipes should be okay. I'm off to bed soon. 10.02pm.
Thursday 18th January 2024
Slow cold day. I didn't put the big computer on. I mostly sat on the bed with a hot water bottle to warm my feet and copied up stray worklog and gratitude journal entries. Four months of the latter into the correct notebooks. I didn't finish till eight o'clock tonight. Then an hour pulling material together from three recent workshops to use at Bullion Hall in Chester-le-Street tomorrow afternoon. Hot on the heels of my invite to table a wellbeing event in Beamish Hall in May, I've been asked by Ann Porro to read with other poets at Julie Grant’s gig at the Globe in Newcastle. Also, a request for some of my poems for an anthology. Things are looking up. But I'm getting sick of winter. Haven't biked for over two months. 9.40pm.
Friday 19th January 2024
Up at half eight to get sorted for the Bullion Hall workshop. Out at eleven. Got a little Facebook post done for A WARM SPACE in the library. Then hopped straight onto the Sunderland bus to Chester-le-Street. Paid NI Contributions and went to Bullion Hall. The session was a standard course opener. Like I did at Waddy and Washington. Stayed back twenty minutes to finish an exercise. ‘The Big Why?’ into ‘I shall…’. There were loads of kids in Greggs earlier. I didn’t think school dinners would be so bad these days. 11.20pm.
Saturday 20th January 2024
Me and Jenni stayed in all day and listened to Fury on Spotify and a playlist of old songs. We also listened to ‘High Drama’ the latest Adam Lambert album. Mostly cover versions. We watched a lot of game shows and had the biggest chips ever. With pasties and beans. I’ve slept a bit and had two hot chocolates. And read a bit of John Hegley. OK. 10.20pm.
Sunday 21st January 2024
Planned content for two workshops and sorted my set for Friday’s gig in Blackhill. I went out for a wander this afternoon. Picked up Nutcase by Tony Williams and a Still Game DVD box set in a charity shop. Me and Jenni watched Vera this evening. The wind is nasty now. 10.15pm.
Monday 22nd January 2024
Didn’t sleep well coz of the wild wind. Gusts of 99mph recorded in Northumberland. Luckily just a bit more fence damaged at my place. I got food at Tesco and bus home. Put away all the stuff from the last workshop and set about doing type-ups for the college. Got tomorrow’s session sorted. I’ll be doing more photocopying at Waddy. Listened to a fair bit of Nine Inch Nails this evening. I liked the ‘physical component’ packaging that Reznor did for his EPs. I want to do a journal book midway through the year. Not sure about the sort of content yet. Graphics? Paper stock, etc? I’ve managed to get by today without thermals or sitting with a hot water bottle on my knee. Thinking of going to Morpeth Poetry Library on Thursday. Time is ticking and I’m still behind. 9.37pm.
Tuesday 23rd January 2024
Mam and Ernie visited briefly this morning. I was about to get washed and changed to leave for the half-ten bus to Durham, so they only stayed for a minute or two. I got to Waddy at half-eleven. The set-up didn’t take long. We did automatic writing and reassembled a cut-up Simon Armitage poem. Then we did the Carol Ann Duffy ‘professions’ exercise. Tonight, I tidied the kitchen and sat down to watch a DVD but the TV screen packed in, and I don’t have a DVD drive on the computer. I want to watch films from the comfort of my couch on a TV-size monitor. The microwave oven is dodgy, and the laser printer is leaving faded patches on my pages. Fucking hate being at the mercy of technology. Hot chocolate then bed. 9.15pm.
Wednesday 24th January 2024
Got session handouts sorted for Friday. Printed more copies of my pamphlet FINAL. Had a chicken dinner and sweet mince pies. Watched some short video reels on Facebook – Metallica, Danny MacAskill, Billy Connolly, amongst others. Pleased the printer is now working better – just had to replace the toner cartridge. Today is my last day at 53. Tomorrow I might go to the Morpeth poetry library, Or I could stay local and go see The Old Oak film in Consett. I’m not getting much work done. Still have a load of copying up to do. It’s probably still too cold to do anything physical indoors. Enough here. 11.23pm.
Thursday 25th January 2024
Saturday 13th January 2024
Slow day. Got more workshop ideas down in the morning pages and a bit more catch-up on last term's college paperwork. I had a huge chicken jalfrezi with chips, rice and naan for tea then watched Sean Hogan's film The Devil's Business. I fell asleep five minutes in so had to start again when I woke up. Stumbled across a pretty good electro-pop Euro darkwave band called Agent Sidegrinder. 11.16pm.
Sunday 14th January 2024
Most of the day at the computer. I got a new card designed for the 12 pamphlets as a promo handout at gigs. I submitted some writing to Lewis Brown's Spooky Poems anthology. I reposted my Steve Achieves #14 and got lots of nice responses to it. Tried to watch Sanitorium on DVD but fell asleep. Really cold. 11.30pm.
Monday 15th January 2024
Still chugging away at the backlog. I got the autumn term college paperwork sorted out tonight. Half was sent electronically to the office. The hard copy half will be at Waddy tomorrow. I knocked up a couple more copies of FINAL. And I keyed in a load of notes from last year. The Wi-Fi has been poor today. This evening Facebook is on the blink. I've not been on Twitter for a week now. I'll see how long I go. I only started it to follow the writing of Julia Eff. But they've not put out a zine for a good while now. According to the net it's minus four degrees in Moorside tonight. Only my feet feel cold. I haven't shaved for days. I'll need to get sorted in the morning. Listened to a lot of Depeche Mode today. And a bit of Lou Reed. I'm going to turn in early tonight. I aim to be at Under the Arches spoken word night tomorrow. 10.16pm.
Tuesday 16th January 2024
I've been to Tynemouth for Under the Arches. Spoken word gig. It was a great night. I met Sky Hawkins on the way. She accompanied me to the gig. A great mix of poetry and prose. Memoir as well. Time travel. The beauty of pylons. Abusive military man getting his comeuppance. A tender tale about a care home. A great gripe about Christmas waste and reduced-price calendars in January. Two sat navs in one car arguing. Size zero critiques. Also, a poem about why running in winter isn't advisable. Lots of great stuff. Chuffed I got to read some Tiny Tales and a piece from Final. Canny metro ride with Christine and Gaeron. Good workshop today. All poetry. Line breaks. Monologues. OK. 10.15pm.
Wednesday 17th January 2024
So apparently, it's minus six tonight. My feet feel like they've been resting on the metal bars of a freezer for hours and the notebook is making my hand chilly but the rest of me is okay. Today was pretty good. I got the blog up for last November. and the Poetry Jam flyer for February. I've enjoyed an evening of bike vids, and clips of Michael Monroe and Hanoi Rocks that I've been singing along to. Thanks to Jen for her concerns about me in the cold. Thanks to Sky Hawkins for feedback on my Tiny Tales pamphlet. And thanks to Amy from Beamish Hall for asking me to be involved in a wellbeing taster day taking place in May. Concerned about the house at minus six. But temp is set to rise to minus four by midnight so pipes should be okay. I'm off to bed soon. 10.02pm.
Thursday 18th January 2024
Slow cold day. I didn't put the big computer on. I mostly sat on the bed with a hot water bottle to warm my feet and copied up stray worklog and gratitude journal entries. Four months of the latter into the correct notebooks. I didn't finish till eight o'clock tonight. Then an hour pulling material together from three recent workshops to use at Bullion Hall in Chester-le-Street tomorrow afternoon. Hot on the heels of my invite to table a wellbeing event in Beamish Hall in May, I've been asked by Ann Porro to read with other poets at Julie Grant’s gig at the Globe in Newcastle. Also, a request for some of my poems for an anthology. Things are looking up. But I'm getting sick of winter. Haven't biked for over two months. 9.40pm.
Friday 19th January 2024
Up at half eight to get sorted for the Bullion Hall workshop. Out at eleven. Got a little Facebook post done for A WARM SPACE in the library. Then hopped straight onto the Sunderland bus to Chester-le-Street. Paid NI Contributions and went to Bullion Hall. The session was a standard course opener. Like I did at Waddy and Washington. Stayed back twenty minutes to finish an exercise. ‘The Big Why?’ into ‘I shall…’. There were loads of kids in Greggs earlier. I didn’t think school dinners would be so bad these days. 11.20pm.
Saturday 20th January 2024
Me and Jenni stayed in all day and listened to Fury on Spotify and a playlist of old songs. We also listened to ‘High Drama’ the latest Adam Lambert album. Mostly cover versions. We watched a lot of game shows and had the biggest chips ever. With pasties and beans. I’ve slept a bit and had two hot chocolates. And read a bit of John Hegley. OK. 10.20pm.
Sunday 21st January 2024
Planned content for two workshops and sorted my set for Friday’s gig in Blackhill. I went out for a wander this afternoon. Picked up Nutcase by Tony Williams and a Still Game DVD box set in a charity shop. Me and Jenni watched Vera this evening. The wind is nasty now. 10.15pm.
Monday 22nd January 2024
Didn’t sleep well coz of the wild wind. Gusts of 99mph recorded in Northumberland. Luckily just a bit more fence damaged at my place. I got food at Tesco and bus home. Put away all the stuff from the last workshop and set about doing type-ups for the college. Got tomorrow’s session sorted. I’ll be doing more photocopying at Waddy. Listened to a fair bit of Nine Inch Nails this evening. I liked the ‘physical component’ packaging that Reznor did for his EPs. I want to do a journal book midway through the year. Not sure about the sort of content yet. Graphics? Paper stock, etc? I’ve managed to get by today without thermals or sitting with a hot water bottle on my knee. Thinking of going to Morpeth Poetry Library on Thursday. Time is ticking and I’m still behind. 9.37pm.
Tuesday 23rd January 2024
Mam and Ernie visited briefly this morning. I was about to get washed and changed to leave for the half-ten bus to Durham, so they only stayed for a minute or two. I got to Waddy at half-eleven. The set-up didn’t take long. We did automatic writing and reassembled a cut-up Simon Armitage poem. Then we did the Carol Ann Duffy ‘professions’ exercise. Tonight, I tidied the kitchen and sat down to watch a DVD but the TV screen packed in, and I don’t have a DVD drive on the computer. I want to watch films from the comfort of my couch on a TV-size monitor. The microwave oven is dodgy, and the laser printer is leaving faded patches on my pages. Fucking hate being at the mercy of technology. Hot chocolate then bed. 9.15pm.
Wednesday 24th January 2024
Got session handouts sorted for Friday. Printed more copies of my pamphlet FINAL. Had a chicken dinner and sweet mince pies. Watched some short video reels on Facebook – Metallica, Danny MacAskill, Billy Connolly, amongst others. Pleased the printer is now working better – just had to replace the toner cartridge. Today is my last day at 53. Tomorrow I might go to the Morpeth poetry library, Or I could stay local and go see The Old Oak film in Consett. I’m not getting much work done. Still have a load of copying up to do. It’s probably still too cold to do anything physical indoors. Enough here. 11.23pm.
Thursday 25th January 2024
Awake at six with some ideas for a workshop on sequencing material for a gig or pamphlet to share later. Then I got up and made a big full English breakfast. Opened a card from Mam and Ernie. And the new craft device. It scores booklet covers very well, so the colour print doesn’t crack when folded. I phoned a load of libraries in hopes of booking gigs and responded to birthday greetings on Facebook from numerous kind well-wishers. This afternoon I went to the Heart venue in Consett and sat with less than a dozen people to watch the new Ken Loach film The Old Oak. Poet Chrissie Robinson is in it. I auditioned but didn’t make it. Tonight, I had a chicken tikka with rice and chips and naan. Jenni rang me and we chatted for a while. After a lie down I emailed Durham Library. Fingers crossed for some gigs this year. OK. 11,13pm.
Friday 26th January 2024
Today was canny. Even if the buses were a bit shite. Only six in for writing at Washinton today. Two sent apologies. Hope it doesn’t affect the continuity of the course. Still need more work from people for the anthology. We did lots of line break exercises and focused on Carol Ann Duffy’s Education for Leisure at the end. Alwyn gave me a lift to Gateshead and we talked about storm damage. Jenni stayed at home tonight. I did a gig at Blackhill Club. Steve Wood put on a good night. Four people did open mic. I read in the first half and Steve did a full set in the second half. I talked to David Newton, the psychiatric nurse who looked after me in hospital 25 years ago. I sold three books. Only one bus back to Newcastle per hour. I’ve just eaten nine sausage rolls. I won’t reach Jen’s place till about quarter to twelve. 10.56pm.
Saturday 27th January 2024
Jenni gave me a load of lovely presents, including a bike book, a Wednesday Addams book, A Human League album/DVD, a Toy Dolls album/DVD, a ‘crap goth’ David Essex keyring, and a DVD player for the computer. We had some very spicy veg and meat wraps with chips for dinner and watched three episodes of Wednesday on Netflix then standard Saturday TV. 10.15pm.
Sunday 28th January 2024
We watched some Sunday brunch featuring very tedious guests and poor music. I had porridge for two meals in a row. I went out to town for some supplies this afternoon. Watched a few short episodes of Imposter Syndrome on iPlayer – Bradley Wiggins and others. Tonight, George Gently and Murphy’s Law on television. Chicken and mushroom pastries. Hot chocolate and cinnamon buns. OK. 10.42pm.
Monday 29th January 2024
Slow day. Read sixty pages of Nutcase by Tony Williams. Starts with almost cartoonish violence, then gets serious. I’m going to keep it going and hopefully finish it this week. I got some feedback from the libraries and hopefully will be doing some gigs this year. Negotiated a Meet the Author show for Belmont. Listened to ace singer-songwriter Nadine Shah and did lesson plan type-ups. Prepped material for tomorrow’s session. Listened to Don Jolly’s ‘Goth or Not’ BBC Radio programme. Enjoyed it. Chatted online with Jen’s brother Richie. And with Ali Lee. Thanks to Diane and Kyle for birthday money. I didn’t get Poetry Jam stuff done. Will have to be tomorrow night. Almost bedtime. 11.45pm.
Tuesday 30th January 2024
Hand to mouth. Lots of creatures live like that. No bread for a bacon sandwich this morning. Blackcurrant porridge and a quick scrub up at the sink then a walk into town for copier paper. Bus to Durham was slow. Had to buy card so didn’t get to Waddy till twelve. Prep was quite easy. Only used the big Senses chapter from Free Your Mind. Got half the Harry Gallagher second printing done today. This evening, I posted Poetry Jam pix from December. Listened to the South of Salem album. Ate half a box of Toffifee. Read a fair bit more of Nutcase by Tony Williams. I should be done by the weekend. Bus home was over half an hour late. House is cold but not freezing. Hope to get lots done tomorrow. 11.18pm.
Wednesday 31st January 2024
Mixed moods. Had a good morning session making up another run of Echoes of a Pit Village by Harry Gallagher. This afternoon I had online hassle with my invoices and pay-log for the college, but all sorted this evening. I listened to some Creeper songs and pulled out a dozen writing exercises for use over the next week. I don’t have another session till Friday at Bullion Hall. Tomorrow I’m off to Waddy so I can get the second half of Harry’s booklets folded and trimmed. I’ll be tweaking exercises and handouts for the workshop and then getting ready for Poetry Jam. I hope we get a decent turnout. Pleased I got my paperwork and pay log sorted. I still haven’t done December’s blog. Two months behind and here we are hitting February. 10.52pm.
Friday 26th January 2024
Today was canny. Even if the buses were a bit shite. Only six in for writing at Washinton today. Two sent apologies. Hope it doesn’t affect the continuity of the course. Still need more work from people for the anthology. We did lots of line break exercises and focused on Carol Ann Duffy’s Education for Leisure at the end. Alwyn gave me a lift to Gateshead and we talked about storm damage. Jenni stayed at home tonight. I did a gig at Blackhill Club. Steve Wood put on a good night. Four people did open mic. I read in the first half and Steve did a full set in the second half. I talked to David Newton, the psychiatric nurse who looked after me in hospital 25 years ago. I sold three books. Only one bus back to Newcastle per hour. I’ve just eaten nine sausage rolls. I won’t reach Jen’s place till about quarter to twelve. 10.56pm.
Saturday 27th January 2024
Jenni gave me a load of lovely presents, including a bike book, a Wednesday Addams book, A Human League album/DVD, a Toy Dolls album/DVD, a ‘crap goth’ David Essex keyring, and a DVD player for the computer. We had some very spicy veg and meat wraps with chips for dinner and watched three episodes of Wednesday on Netflix then standard Saturday TV. 10.15pm.
Sunday 28th January 2024
We watched some Sunday brunch featuring very tedious guests and poor music. I had porridge for two meals in a row. I went out to town for some supplies this afternoon. Watched a few short episodes of Imposter Syndrome on iPlayer – Bradley Wiggins and others. Tonight, George Gently and Murphy’s Law on television. Chicken and mushroom pastries. Hot chocolate and cinnamon buns. OK. 10.42pm.
Monday 29th January 2024
Slow day. Read sixty pages of Nutcase by Tony Williams. Starts with almost cartoonish violence, then gets serious. I’m going to keep it going and hopefully finish it this week. I got some feedback from the libraries and hopefully will be doing some gigs this year. Negotiated a Meet the Author show for Belmont. Listened to ace singer-songwriter Nadine Shah and did lesson plan type-ups. Prepped material for tomorrow’s session. Listened to Don Jolly’s ‘Goth or Not’ BBC Radio programme. Enjoyed it. Chatted online with Jen’s brother Richie. And with Ali Lee. Thanks to Diane and Kyle for birthday money. I didn’t get Poetry Jam stuff done. Will have to be tomorrow night. Almost bedtime. 11.45pm.
Tuesday 30th January 2024
Hand to mouth. Lots of creatures live like that. No bread for a bacon sandwich this morning. Blackcurrant porridge and a quick scrub up at the sink then a walk into town for copier paper. Bus to Durham was slow. Had to buy card so didn’t get to Waddy till twelve. Prep was quite easy. Only used the big Senses chapter from Free Your Mind. Got half the Harry Gallagher second printing done today. This evening, I posted Poetry Jam pix from December. Listened to the South of Salem album. Ate half a box of Toffifee. Read a fair bit more of Nutcase by Tony Williams. I should be done by the weekend. Bus home was over half an hour late. House is cold but not freezing. Hope to get lots done tomorrow. 11.18pm.
Wednesday 31st January 2024
Mixed moods. Had a good morning session making up another run of Echoes of a Pit Village by Harry Gallagher. This afternoon I had online hassle with my invoices and pay-log for the college, but all sorted this evening. I listened to some Creeper songs and pulled out a dozen writing exercises for use over the next week. I don’t have another session till Friday at Bullion Hall. Tomorrow I’m off to Waddy so I can get the second half of Harry’s booklets folded and trimmed. I’ll be tweaking exercises and handouts for the workshop and then getting ready for Poetry Jam. I hope we get a decent turnout. Pleased I got my paperwork and pay log sorted. I still haven’t done December’s blog. Two months behind and here we are hitting February. 10.52pm.
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