Big lie-in. Then out on the bike. All the trails are muddy again. I did a couple of decent manoeuvres but on the final obstacle I stood on a piece of fence and a nail went into my foot. Not much blood. I'm hoping to get a tetanus shot on Monday. Jenni made paninis with cheese, tomato and mushrooms. Ok. 11.07pm.
Sunday 2nd June 2024
Big lie-in and lazy Sunday. I think I slept quite a lot this afternoon too. Me and Jenni watched four episodes of Some Mother's Do Have 'Em. We had paninis again and baked potatoes with mixed beans. We watched Britain's Got Talent, and I read about thirty pages of Rebus on the bus home. Right shoulder giving me jip. OK. 11.44pm
Monday 3rd June 2024
Type-ups, session prep, and reading. Then went for first tetanus jab since 1986. Tonight, I got the May Poetry Jam pix uploaded, booked a guest for July. Two done, one to go. I watched two cracking tracks from Nadine Shah (Greatest Dancer and Topless Mother) on iPlayer recorded at Later with Jools Holland. Surprised to hear Sex Pistols (minus John Lydon) are playing two London fundraiser gigs in August at 400-capacity Bush Hall. I don’t think I’ll be going to many more electric gigs – my ears are wrecked. I did some physio for my shoulders today. Watched a Jeff Lenosky bike video online. Chuffed to be feeling better. 11.02pm.
Tuesday 4th June 2024
Genuinely thought it was Wednesday. Frantically rescripted my workshop. Managed to get to Waddy by five past eleven. I did my photocopies in haste and set up in the seminar room. I did some memoir then fiction and some villanelle stuff. Back home I found out that poet Geoff Hattersley died yesterday. I didn’t even know he had a new book out last year. His first for over a decade. I shall buy it asap. I read bits and pieces of Crowley tonight. I think he was an interesting character but highly delusional and abhorrent in many ways. Lots to plough through this year. Done here. 10.30pm.
Wednesday 5th June 2024
Stayed at home today. Put a little bit about Geoff Hattersley on Matthew Stewart’s post. Ordered a copy of Geoff’s final collection Instead of an Alibi. I was going to cut grass, but it started to rain. The college has been in touch: I’m behind with my online training. And the remote access link isn’t working. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Every fucking year the same hassle. I’ll end up having to go on campus to do it. I can’t remember what else I did, except physio for shoulders. Also, listening to Anni Dressner, David Bowie and Ozzy Osbourne. And a bit of political spin. No-one decent to vote for. Bed soon. 10.51pm.
Thursday 6th June 2024
Chuffed to get the grass cut by half ten this morning. After a bit of back and forth via email I think I might finally have the correct online training links and instructions. I slept on the bus to Waddy. Dropped my bag off then went into Durham for supplies. Had a big chicken potato salad for tea. I didn’t attempt the online training coz I was way too tired. Poetry Jam was good. Canny turnout and good sets. Chris Short did a strong and varied opening set. Musical accompaniment on some of the open floor turns. And I’ve not booked the first guest for next month. And I may be doing a pamphlet for Joan Johnston. I enjoyed her set. Aidan was on fire from memory as usual. I got the food home and had a cheese sandwich. I’d like to read but my head is splitting. I’ll try to do college stuff tomorrow then ride the Sonder bike. OK. 11.35pm.
Friday 7th June 2024
The trails were a bit drier today and I managed a stream crossing and cleaned a root section by the river. But I’m still unfit. This year hasn’t been great for the bike so far. I got the college online training done. I fell asleep on the couch this afternoon. This evening, I watched the election debate – only coz it featured seven different party reps and I could access it on my mobile device. I won’t need to watch any more. Most present reached the conclusion Labour will win. Tories seem to be deliberately shooting themselves in the foot. Fine by me. Send Rishi out in the rain, propose National Service then leave D-Day early. I don’t really want to vote Labour either but will have to put some sort of mark on a ballot paper. OK. 10.30pm.
Saturday 8th June 2024
Cracking night at the Little Buildings. Frenchy and the Punk were superb and the support acts Social Youth Cult and Stock Image were great as well. I haven’t seen young goths in a room like that for ages. Young men all in Ian Curtis coats and shirts. A girl with pigtails, studs electric blue streaked hair in pigtails and a Venom Black Metal backplate on her jacket. I stood on the stairs for the support acts. Only stayed in the room for the main event. Danced all the way through Frenchy and the Punk’s set. Top night. OK 11.44pm.
Sunday 9th June 2024
Jenni was working today so I walked into town with her to pick up some sweet tooth supplies for a solo lazy Sunday. I did a load of washing up and read a few more political scare stories. Then slept for a while. Jen’s bus after work was diverted and she didn’t get back till just before eight. We watched a couple of episodes of Inside Number Nine. We had apple pie and I ate another chicken sandwich. OK. 11.29pm.
Monday 10th June 2024
Up quite early. Bag packed and a bit of apple pie for breakfast then bus back to Consett. Read more Jumpstart Poetry by Cliff Yates. Bought a Father’s Day card and garden voucher for Ernie. Bought more chicken and veg. Home to lesson plan type-ups. I’m a bit distracted. The temperature is fairly low for June. I’d have liked to be out on the bike. I’m supposed to be attending a wellbeing workshop, but I might come home and read or ride instead. I listened to bit more of Frenchy and the Punk and the 2022 Behemoth album. Watched some bike clips. Didn’t do any physical exercises. I hope the workshop goes well tomorrow. Anyway, enough here. Should be off to bed fairly soon. 10.50pm.
Tuesday 11th June 2024
Today wasn’t great. I did my finances and found that I’m still waiting on over three hundred quid of workshop payments. At Waddy we did wellbeing prompts, fiction under the microscope and sonnets. Tonight I wanted to be at a workshop in South Shields at The Word but the metros weren’t going there due to a damaged line or train. I tried to get a connecting bus from Bede but to no avail. I didn’t get back home till quarter past eight. Scrolled more politics. I read a bit of The Magic of Aleister Crowley by John Symonds and enjoyed the biographical chapters but the actual magick just seems like a load of deluded drug-induced wishful thinking in order to justify depraved sexual practices. A bit weak and pathetic really. A bloke with asthma, bronchitis, and a chronic heroin addiction, who eats human excrement to communicate with the dead is not a magician – he’s a fucking lunatic. 10.09pm.
Wednesday 12th June 2024
Keyed in notes and tweaked two booklets I’ve been working on for people. Listened to a lot of Alison Moyet songs, a bit of Venom. I’ve watched a documentary on the origins of human sacrifice. I say fuck religion. All ruling classes. I’ve watched some moving John Lydon interviews in which he talks about his late wife Nora. And I’ve cursed the unseasonal fucking cold. My feet have been numb most of the day. And at one point I was tempted to put my woolly hat back on. Tomorrow I will get my workshop sorted for Friday. I’ll pull together a bunch of pieces done at Waddy. I’ll include some prize-winning flash fiction under the microscope. And some poetry. Maybe Sijo and Villanelle. I’m going to have an early night and hope tomorrow is a bit better. 10.05pm.
Thursday 13th June 2024
Well, at least the weather was a bit better today. I prepped a workshop then went out on the Sonder Frontier. I often feel awful for the first ten minutes or so, and today was one of those days. But I managed to perk up. I managed a stream crossing and bridged a rock gap by the River Derwent. Back home I got all the photocopying done for tomorrow then tweaked the Washington anthology a bit more. My tinnitus is really loud now. I don’t think I’ll be attending any more rock concerts – maybe solo acoustic performers, but I think seeing bands now is over for me. I’ve seen almost everyone I’ve wanted to along the way anyway. I watched the news then a Mission gig from Denver USA. Most of the songs were 30 years old at least. Early night for me, I think. 9.52pm.
Friday 14th June 2024
Awake at half six after eight good hours of sleep. Pages and pack up for Washington. Half eight bus didn’t turn up but I got there just after eleven. Session was fine. We didn’t listen to all the Geoff Hattersley stuff coz the recording wasn’t loud enough. But people liked his poems. We mostly read and discussed poetry and fiction. Comp winners. Anthology stuff. Buses were shit. I did food shopping. Had a chicken and baked potato salad. People were annoyed tonight coz bus station doors wouldn’t open. Bus late. I sat reading the Mersey Poets anthology and wrote about sixteen lines. Me and Jenni ate cherry bakewells. We watched the final episode of Inside Number Nine. It was okay, but not one the best for me. I’m not a big superfan like Jenni. We saw bits of Celebrity Bake-Off. Anyway, I’m done with today. OK. 11.06pm.
Saturday 15th June 2024
Bit of a lie in. Me and Jenni had carrot cake and a social media session. I went to Hexham this afternoon to attend Words on the Wall. Harry Man and Hannah Stone did good sets. And 22 open floor readers. Great hosting from Joe Williams. Had some sausage rolls after the gig and waited till quarter past six for the bus back to Tyneside. Me and Jenni had spicy bean burger. Watched two episodes of Camden then some gameshows and bloopers. OK. 10.16pm.
Sunday 16th June 2024
Low key Sunday, I was up early and made notes for the week. Had maple flavour peanuts and carrot cake for breakfast. Me and Jenni watched a bunch of episodes of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave Em. Then three Ian Rankin documentaries and one about Dad’s Army actor John le Mesurier. Bus home was cold due to vaping youngsters opening windows. Tinnitus. 11.55pm.
Monday 17th June 2024
I listened to the first 33 minutes of a live Swans video from April this year. I checked the setlist and the songs on the list aren’t what the band are playing. They are playing the final bars of any rock band’s last seconds onstage before saying goodbye after a triumphant set. But Swans are opening their set with those chord strums and keeping then going for about half an hour with no words, just a few bellows and moans. I played a little of the studio versions of the setlist and they sounded okay, but onstage the band are just playing an extended jam session and it’s like watching paint dry. In other news: I got my notebooks up to date, prepped a session for tomorrow and did a bit of physio. I’ve had a chicken and baked potato salad and will soon be off to bed. 10.56pm.
Tuesday 18th June 2024
Woke to find that tinnitus was considerably reduced this morning. I got up with renewed enthusiasm, got sorted for the day, then out on the bus just after ten o'clock. Waddy session went well. We mainly did short poems, looked at some Hattersley poems. By the end of the session, my ears were ringing louder again. So I guess I’m going to be stuck with it. Mainly the right ear. It comes and goes in volume. I had a chicken and baked potato salad. And read over sixty pages of Dreaming to Some Purpose, the autobiography of Colin Wilson. I stuck with it for best part of four hours. I reckon I could read it in a week. I’d like to bike tomorrow but I have lots to do. I’m hoping for a dry day. I feel okay and optimistic for the future. 10.35pm.
Up quite early. Bag packed and a bit of apple pie for breakfast then bus back to Consett. Read more Jumpstart Poetry by Cliff Yates. Bought a Father’s Day card and garden voucher for Ernie. Bought more chicken and veg. Home to lesson plan type-ups. I’m a bit distracted. The temperature is fairly low for June. I’d have liked to be out on the bike. I’m supposed to be attending a wellbeing workshop, but I might come home and read or ride instead. I listened to bit more of Frenchy and the Punk and the 2022 Behemoth album. Watched some bike clips. Didn’t do any physical exercises. I hope the workshop goes well tomorrow. Anyway, enough here. Should be off to bed fairly soon. 10.50pm.
Tuesday 11th June 2024
Today wasn’t great. I did my finances and found that I’m still waiting on over three hundred quid of workshop payments. At Waddy we did wellbeing prompts, fiction under the microscope and sonnets. Tonight I wanted to be at a workshop in South Shields at The Word but the metros weren’t going there due to a damaged line or train. I tried to get a connecting bus from Bede but to no avail. I didn’t get back home till quarter past eight. Scrolled more politics. I read a bit of The Magic of Aleister Crowley by John Symonds and enjoyed the biographical chapters but the actual magick just seems like a load of deluded drug-induced wishful thinking in order to justify depraved sexual practices. A bit weak and pathetic really. A bloke with asthma, bronchitis, and a chronic heroin addiction, who eats human excrement to communicate with the dead is not a magician – he’s a fucking lunatic. 10.09pm.
Wednesday 12th June 2024
Keyed in notes and tweaked two booklets I’ve been working on for people. Listened to a lot of Alison Moyet songs, a bit of Venom. I’ve watched a documentary on the origins of human sacrifice. I say fuck religion. All ruling classes. I’ve watched some moving John Lydon interviews in which he talks about his late wife Nora. And I’ve cursed the unseasonal fucking cold. My feet have been numb most of the day. And at one point I was tempted to put my woolly hat back on. Tomorrow I will get my workshop sorted for Friday. I’ll pull together a bunch of pieces done at Waddy. I’ll include some prize-winning flash fiction under the microscope. And some poetry. Maybe Sijo and Villanelle. I’m going to have an early night and hope tomorrow is a bit better. 10.05pm.
Thursday 13th June 2024
Well, at least the weather was a bit better today. I prepped a workshop then went out on the Sonder Frontier. I often feel awful for the first ten minutes or so, and today was one of those days. But I managed to perk up. I managed a stream crossing and bridged a rock gap by the River Derwent. Back home I got all the photocopying done for tomorrow then tweaked the Washington anthology a bit more. My tinnitus is really loud now. I don’t think I’ll be attending any more rock concerts – maybe solo acoustic performers, but I think seeing bands now is over for me. I’ve seen almost everyone I’ve wanted to along the way anyway. I watched the news then a Mission gig from Denver USA. Most of the songs were 30 years old at least. Early night for me, I think. 9.52pm.
Friday 14th June 2024
Awake at half six after eight good hours of sleep. Pages and pack up for Washington. Half eight bus didn’t turn up but I got there just after eleven. Session was fine. We didn’t listen to all the Geoff Hattersley stuff coz the recording wasn’t loud enough. But people liked his poems. We mostly read and discussed poetry and fiction. Comp winners. Anthology stuff. Buses were shit. I did food shopping. Had a chicken and baked potato salad. People were annoyed tonight coz bus station doors wouldn’t open. Bus late. I sat reading the Mersey Poets anthology and wrote about sixteen lines. Me and Jenni ate cherry bakewells. We watched the final episode of Inside Number Nine. It was okay, but not one the best for me. I’m not a big superfan like Jenni. We saw bits of Celebrity Bake-Off. Anyway, I’m done with today. OK. 11.06pm.
Saturday 15th June 2024
Bit of a lie in. Me and Jenni had carrot cake and a social media session. I went to Hexham this afternoon to attend Words on the Wall. Harry Man and Hannah Stone did good sets. And 22 open floor readers. Great hosting from Joe Williams. Had some sausage rolls after the gig and waited till quarter past six for the bus back to Tyneside. Me and Jenni had spicy bean burger. Watched two episodes of Camden then some gameshows and bloopers. OK. 10.16pm.
Sunday 16th June 2024
Low key Sunday, I was up early and made notes for the week. Had maple flavour peanuts and carrot cake for breakfast. Me and Jenni watched a bunch of episodes of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave Em. Then three Ian Rankin documentaries and one about Dad’s Army actor John le Mesurier. Bus home was cold due to vaping youngsters opening windows. Tinnitus. 11.55pm.
Monday 17th June 2024
I listened to the first 33 minutes of a live Swans video from April this year. I checked the setlist and the songs on the list aren’t what the band are playing. They are playing the final bars of any rock band’s last seconds onstage before saying goodbye after a triumphant set. But Swans are opening their set with those chord strums and keeping then going for about half an hour with no words, just a few bellows and moans. I played a little of the studio versions of the setlist and they sounded okay, but onstage the band are just playing an extended jam session and it’s like watching paint dry. In other news: I got my notebooks up to date, prepped a session for tomorrow and did a bit of physio. I’ve had a chicken and baked potato salad and will soon be off to bed. 10.56pm.
Tuesday 18th June 2024
Woke to find that tinnitus was considerably reduced this morning. I got up with renewed enthusiasm, got sorted for the day, then out on the bus just after ten o'clock. Waddy session went well. We mainly did short poems, looked at some Hattersley poems. By the end of the session, my ears were ringing louder again. So I guess I’m going to be stuck with it. Mainly the right ear. It comes and goes in volume. I had a chicken and baked potato salad. And read over sixty pages of Dreaming to Some Purpose, the autobiography of Colin Wilson. I stuck with it for best part of four hours. I reckon I could read it in a week. I’d like to bike tomorrow but I have lots to do. I’m hoping for a dry day. I feel okay and optimistic for the future. 10.35pm.
Wednesday 19th June 2024
Haven’t been able to work properly coz tinnitus is starting to aggravate again. My ears feel dry and clogged and the pitch of whining sound is a lot higher now than a week ago. I’m hoping it’s just a temporary infection or build-up of ear wax. It was mainly the right one that had the high pitch but now it’s fluctuating. Or both. I don’t want to dwell on it cos it’s mainly when I’m quiet and trying to work. It’s barely even noticeable if I'm out and about town and I can read okay on buses coz the sound of the engine blots out the sound in my head. 10.31pm.
Thursday 20th June 2024
Up quite early and out on the bike by twenty to ten. All the trails are mush again. The bike muddy. Tyres fighting for grip. I rode the wooden steps clean for the first time this year. And two big offroad hill climbs. From Sandy Path across a field to the road then up the old slag heaps. Both clean. This afternoon I rang the arts centre about our anthology. My ears are still ringing badly but I’m trying to just live with it. Not much bother when biking and watching tv. But not good for quiet contemplation or reading. My eyes are sore today as well. Had a bit of a migraine earlier. Big sleep needed. OK. 10.45pm.
Friday 21st June 2024
Quite surprised when Sean at Bits 4 Bikes said he could match the online price of Vittoria Martello tyres so I ordered a pair. And new brake pads. I left my Sonder Frontier at the shop and went for food supplies. Then more work on the Washington anthology. It’s a shiny little thing and has taken longer than most. I sent Acknowledgements and cover layout to the contributors tonight. Tinnitus hasn’t been as bad today. I’ll spend money on the bike rather than seeing bands. 11.56pm.
Saturday 22nd June 2024
Only four hours sleep. Pulled out prompts for two writing half marathons. This evening I did some physio – right shoulder isn’t great. A Tesco worker asked to see a receipt for stuff I didn’t put through self-service. Err -cake from Barry’s Bargain Superstore. And a reduced-price loaf from Heron Foods with a few slices missing. Bus windows open tonight. No stop at Redheugh garage. Into Newcastle then walk back to Bensham. 11.15pm.
Sunday 23rd June 2024
Awake at eight. Chatted with Jenni about politics. We had baked potatoes and chili for dinner. Listened to Radio Two – Michael Ball, Paddy McGuiness. Then left halfway through Elaine Page coz she was annoying Jen. Got black shorts at YMCA charity shop for a quid. Tonight we watched the full first series of Boomers. Jen is now watching The Outsiders. I’m going to bed. 10.32pm.
Monday 24th June 2024
Awake twice in the night. Thirsty! Got up at half five to do morning pages. Jenni got up at eight. I went out for a walk to Watergate Forest Park at nine. Didn’t get back till nearly two. Checked out the boulders where me and brother Mark used to ride. Lots of them have gone now. The place is overgrown. I’m keen to ride the trail through the forest. I aim to bring the Sonder bike next week. I slept quite a bit this afternoon. Had tea with Jenni. She went to the pub to write song lyrics and I got the bus home. Bought paper for booklets and food supplies. My copy of Instead of an Alibi by Geoff Hattersley (RIP) arrived today. I’m hot and my right foot is sore. 10.35pm.
Tuesday 25th June 2024
Read nearly half of Geoff Hattersley’s ‘Instead of an Alibi’ on the bus to Durham this morning. Some of the lines seem more formal than in his earlier work but I laughed out loud a few times. Microfiction chopped into small stanzas is how I’d describe some of it. Very good though. Writing half marathon went well. Used all thirteen prompts. Ball of foot pain really bad today. And I’ve just spent a fair amount on the bike. Tonight I did very little. Asleep for most of it. I think this is one of my worst years for work and biking. Off to bed soon. 11.23pm.
Wednesday 26th June 2024
Tired again. I picked up the Sonder bike with new tyres and brake pads fitted at Bits 4 Bikes this morning and trundled home. I can ride better than I can walk at present. I’ve been using cold/frozen bottle on my foot but the swelling isn’t going down. I got the preliminary copies of Lucky Dip Of Life made up this afternoon. I did some journal typing, listened to a Nine Inch Nails gig on YouTube whilst working. Then caught the late news with election updates. I don’t really want to vote Labour, but I don't want to risk another term with the Tories. I am a bit overwhelmed by ailments. I think I’m generally becoming more arthritic with each year. I hope my foot fixes itself fairly soon. 11.07pm.
Haven’t been able to work properly coz tinnitus is starting to aggravate again. My ears feel dry and clogged and the pitch of whining sound is a lot higher now than a week ago. I’m hoping it’s just a temporary infection or build-up of ear wax. It was mainly the right one that had the high pitch but now it’s fluctuating. Or both. I don’t want to dwell on it cos it’s mainly when I’m quiet and trying to work. It’s barely even noticeable if I'm out and about town and I can read okay on buses coz the sound of the engine blots out the sound in my head. 10.31pm.
Thursday 20th June 2024
Up quite early and out on the bike by twenty to ten. All the trails are mush again. The bike muddy. Tyres fighting for grip. I rode the wooden steps clean for the first time this year. And two big offroad hill climbs. From Sandy Path across a field to the road then up the old slag heaps. Both clean. This afternoon I rang the arts centre about our anthology. My ears are still ringing badly but I’m trying to just live with it. Not much bother when biking and watching tv. But not good for quiet contemplation or reading. My eyes are sore today as well. Had a bit of a migraine earlier. Big sleep needed. OK. 10.45pm.
Friday 21st June 2024
Quite surprised when Sean at Bits 4 Bikes said he could match the online price of Vittoria Martello tyres so I ordered a pair. And new brake pads. I left my Sonder Frontier at the shop and went for food supplies. Then more work on the Washington anthology. It’s a shiny little thing and has taken longer than most. I sent Acknowledgements and cover layout to the contributors tonight. Tinnitus hasn’t been as bad today. I’ll spend money on the bike rather than seeing bands. 11.56pm.
Saturday 22nd June 2024
Only four hours sleep. Pulled out prompts for two writing half marathons. This evening I did some physio – right shoulder isn’t great. A Tesco worker asked to see a receipt for stuff I didn’t put through self-service. Err -cake from Barry’s Bargain Superstore. And a reduced-price loaf from Heron Foods with a few slices missing. Bus windows open tonight. No stop at Redheugh garage. Into Newcastle then walk back to Bensham. 11.15pm.
Sunday 23rd June 2024
Awake at eight. Chatted with Jenni about politics. We had baked potatoes and chili for dinner. Listened to Radio Two – Michael Ball, Paddy McGuiness. Then left halfway through Elaine Page coz she was annoying Jen. Got black shorts at YMCA charity shop for a quid. Tonight we watched the full first series of Boomers. Jen is now watching The Outsiders. I’m going to bed. 10.32pm.
Monday 24th June 2024
Awake twice in the night. Thirsty! Got up at half five to do morning pages. Jenni got up at eight. I went out for a walk to Watergate Forest Park at nine. Didn’t get back till nearly two. Checked out the boulders where me and brother Mark used to ride. Lots of them have gone now. The place is overgrown. I’m keen to ride the trail through the forest. I aim to bring the Sonder bike next week. I slept quite a bit this afternoon. Had tea with Jenni. She went to the pub to write song lyrics and I got the bus home. Bought paper for booklets and food supplies. My copy of Instead of an Alibi by Geoff Hattersley (RIP) arrived today. I’m hot and my right foot is sore. 10.35pm.
Tuesday 25th June 2024
Read nearly half of Geoff Hattersley’s ‘Instead of an Alibi’ on the bus to Durham this morning. Some of the lines seem more formal than in his earlier work but I laughed out loud a few times. Microfiction chopped into small stanzas is how I’d describe some of it. Very good though. Writing half marathon went well. Used all thirteen prompts. Ball of foot pain really bad today. And I’ve just spent a fair amount on the bike. Tonight I did very little. Asleep for most of it. I think this is one of my worst years for work and biking. Off to bed soon. 11.23pm.
Wednesday 26th June 2024
Tired again. I picked up the Sonder bike with new tyres and brake pads fitted at Bits 4 Bikes this morning and trundled home. I can ride better than I can walk at present. I’ve been using cold/frozen bottle on my foot but the swelling isn’t going down. I got the preliminary copies of Lucky Dip Of Life made up this afternoon. I did some journal typing, listened to a Nine Inch Nails gig on YouTube whilst working. Then caught the late news with election updates. I don’t really want to vote Labour, but I don't want to risk another term with the Tories. I am a bit overwhelmed by ailments. I think I’m generally becoming more arthritic with each year. I hope my foot fixes itself fairly soon. 11.07pm.
Thursday 27th June 2024
Swelling gone down on my foot. Still cautious but pain has gone. Pulled together the stuff for tomorrow’s workshop then revisited notes for next month’s King Ink sessions. I had a tuna sandwich then trimmed the Washington Anthology contributors’ copies. Despite threats of rain, I managed to mow the grass front and back in 35 minutes. Quickest ever. My foot held up okay. I packed up everything for tomorrow including tools to make more books at Arts Centre Washington. This evening, I logged college hours, made some learner award nominations for Waddy writers, and inked up the graphic for Susan Brownless’s pamphlet. I caught the end of the political claptrap on Question Time then watched the Rollins Band at Pink Pop Festival 1995. I’m off the bed now in hopes of being half decent for tomorrow. 10.20pm.
Friday 28th June 2024
Frustrating day. I was unable to print the Washington booklet at the Arts Centre coz the laser printer upset the page formatting. There were problems with the logo background. I was out the house ten hours and now I’m looking at putting in a full day to run off, assemble and trim a small batch of books for the launch night next month. Really annoyed coz I wanted to be done with it before the weekend. Tonight I just watched an old Andy Parsons stand-up DVD and some Rollins Band music clips. I ate too much junk food and I’ve got mouth ulcers. No pain, no gain. No more pain in right foot but left one is now playing up. Hauling paper stock, cutting mats, cardstock, stapler, etc all over – takes its toll. 11.50pm.
Saturday 29th June 2024
Hand-fed paper through the printer, toner scuffed page edges. Out to buy more 100gsm and erasers for smudges. These books should take about half an hour from a commercial laser printer. Close on fifteen hours. Pig fucking sick. 11.51pm.
Sunday 30th June 2024
Today was much better. I got the pages all printed and folded. Chatted to Jenni online. Got activities sequenced for two King Ink workshops (5th/13th July). I’ve had a chicken and baked potato dinner. Made up a nice morning pages booklet. Checked out some political commentary on YouTube. Upwards and onwards. OK. 11.02pm.
Swelling gone down on my foot. Still cautious but pain has gone. Pulled together the stuff for tomorrow’s workshop then revisited notes for next month’s King Ink sessions. I had a tuna sandwich then trimmed the Washington Anthology contributors’ copies. Despite threats of rain, I managed to mow the grass front and back in 35 minutes. Quickest ever. My foot held up okay. I packed up everything for tomorrow including tools to make more books at Arts Centre Washington. This evening, I logged college hours, made some learner award nominations for Waddy writers, and inked up the graphic for Susan Brownless’s pamphlet. I caught the end of the political claptrap on Question Time then watched the Rollins Band at Pink Pop Festival 1995. I’m off the bed now in hopes of being half decent for tomorrow. 10.20pm.
Friday 28th June 2024
Frustrating day. I was unable to print the Washington booklet at the Arts Centre coz the laser printer upset the page formatting. There were problems with the logo background. I was out the house ten hours and now I’m looking at putting in a full day to run off, assemble and trim a small batch of books for the launch night next month. Really annoyed coz I wanted to be done with it before the weekend. Tonight I just watched an old Andy Parsons stand-up DVD and some Rollins Band music clips. I ate too much junk food and I’ve got mouth ulcers. No pain, no gain. No more pain in right foot but left one is now playing up. Hauling paper stock, cutting mats, cardstock, stapler, etc all over – takes its toll. 11.50pm.
Saturday 29th June 2024
Hand-fed paper through the printer, toner scuffed page edges. Out to buy more 100gsm and erasers for smudges. These books should take about half an hour from a commercial laser printer. Close on fifteen hours. Pig fucking sick. 11.51pm.
Sunday 30th June 2024
Today was much better. I got the pages all printed and folded. Chatted to Jenni online. Got activities sequenced for two King Ink workshops (5th/13th July). I’ve had a chicken and baked potato dinner. Made up a nice morning pages booklet. Checked out some political commentary on YouTube. Upwards and onwards. OK. 11.02pm.
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