Poor weather prevented a Sonder Frontier bike ride. More Hammerite on radiators. Chatted with Mam and Ernie on the phone. Hoovered downstairs. Had a big baked potato chicken salad and fruitcake. Listened to a Rollins ‘Stay Fanatic!!!’ interview on the Vinyl Guide Podcast. Listened to the Damned, Annie Dressner and Suede. 11.24pm
Monday 2nd September 2024
Pretty chuffed with ideas that burst out during morning pages. So I posted the entire entry without a single change to Facebook with a link to my workshops. I uploaded the Poetry Jam pix as well. And finally, after much procrastination over the last two months, I got the college paperwork sorted for Thursday delivery. Watched a couple of Adrian Mitchell poetry videos this evening. Got sucked into a thread on the recent scalping shenanigans of the leading concert ticket agency. I avoid dealing with them. And now that I no longer go to rock concerts, it's no problem. No band is worth £350 a head. Just total fucking greed. I'm pleased I'm not young now. I hated the world in my twenties. I'd hate it more if I was twenty-five now. 10.47pm.
Pretty chuffed with ideas that burst out during morning pages. So I posted the entire entry without a single change to Facebook with a link to my workshops. I uploaded the Poetry Jam pix as well. And finally, after much procrastination over the last two months, I got the college paperwork sorted for Thursday delivery. Watched a couple of Adrian Mitchell poetry videos this evening. Got sucked into a thread on the recent scalping shenanigans of the leading concert ticket agency. I avoid dealing with them. And now that I no longer go to rock concerts, it's no problem. No band is worth £350 a head. Just total fucking greed. I'm pleased I'm not young now. I hated the world in my twenties. I'd hate it more if I was twenty-five now. 10.47pm.
Tuesday 3rd September 2024
Amazing day out on the Sonder Frontier. Rode some ace singletrack in the woods opposite Allensford that I'd never seen before. Lots of rocks and roots – and treacherous off-camber bits perfect for ankle snapping. I rode a few sections clean and stayed out for about five hours. Warm, no wind, no punctures. Really tired when I got home. I think I fell asleep for an hour. Baked potato, cheese, tuna and beans for tea. Too tired to read. I watched all the extras on the repackaged original Hellraiser DVD. Then I did positive and negative lists from my August blog. Positives outweighed negatives by about two hundred percent. I will be home all day tomorrow for work prep. Waddington Street Centre on Thursday then hopefully another bike ride before the weekend. Yep, a great day. Loving the Sonder bike. 10.27pm.
Wednesday 4th September 2024
Most of this morning on the couch with various poetry collections and how-to books, making notes for the first couple of workshops of the season. It was good to get so many ideas for exercises down in addition to the big list made on Monday. This afternoon I started to remove stuff from the back room and went through a load of papers – some reusable, some I'll bin tomorrow. After the session, I read extracts from last year's little September Scrapbook pamphlet. I’m going to read from it at Poetry Jam tomorrow night. I just found out Attila the Stockbroker is on the bill for Morecambe Poetry Festival later this month. I'm looking forward to getting a copy of the anthology with a bit of my writing in it alongside many great names. I've eaten bread with every meal today. OK. 10.58pm.
Thursday 5th September 2024
Aye, so I wanted to read a novel but spent more time working out how to get over to Weardale Wordfest in October on public transport. I got ready for my journey to Durham and was out about one. I read a few chapters of The Stand-Up Mam by Kay Wilson then went into Durham City for ATM and a birthday card. I got all the college paperwork photocopied. My next course is secure and has already reached the minimum required number of enrolments with nearly a fortnight still to go. Poetry Jam was ace tonight. Great to see Rosemary Sladden do a full set. And some surprises in open floor, including Pip McDonald, Greg Freeman from Write Out Loud, Gary the Hat, Lian Maltas… Joey Avary was great with all new stuff – self-deprecating. And of course, Elaine was ace. All new poems from her MA Course. Great night. Bus was swift. Home by eleven. OK. 11.38pm.
Friday 6th September 2024
Early hours of the morning taking photos of my tiny, paused Poetry Jam videos on the camcorder to send to Greg Freeman with names and notes as a reminder of who read last night. Then a lot of the day cutting proper pix from video clips for the Facebook post. I was rough when I woke up and the room was spinning. Not enough water over the previous seventeen hours. Only about a litre. This afternoon I got the Jam pix uploaded then walked into Consett for the bus to Gateshead. Me and Jenni went to Silly Billies comedy night at Alphabetti theatre. Fernando was standing in on hosting duties for Jack and Sam – and was brilliant. Guests were Matty Ride-Smith, Pamela Tracey, Singing Peter, Adrian Hanlon and Joby Mageean. Then over to Tesco for pasties, squash and biscuits. Now back in the attic just chilling and looking at responses to Poetry Jam. I’ve had some ‘Nice’ biscuits and a cup of dandelion and burdock. OK. 11.39pm.
Saturday 7th September 2024
Early rise. Good morning pages session then out to The Little Theatre in Gateshead for a guided tour of the building: rehearsal space, props and furniture, dressing room, backstage, set builds, onstage, control room, various costumes… Then, after a spicy beanburger pitstop, off to Station East for The Smoke Room unplugged music session featuring Bedsit Manor, Groundbird, Your Casket or Mine, and Nev Clay. Great day out. Got the 7.20pm bus to Consett, bought food, then home. OK. 10.56pm.
Sunday 8th September 2024
Weather today is absolute toilet. So no bike ride. Spent the morning looking through my Poetry Jam files and booked our final guest for National Poetry Day. Had an afternoon nap then checked out more music from Your Casket or Mine. Tuna salad for tea. Online chats with Jenni and read about 70 pages of Kay Wilson’s novel The Stand-Up Mam, which I’m enjoying. Still raining. 10.36pm.
Monday 9th September 2024
Not a great day. Only did a little bit of workshop prep, college safeguarding revision, and some typing. At around one this afternoon I noticed a trickle of water down the side of the toilet cistern dripping onto the carpet. Big wet patch. Wasn't aware of it earlier today. I took the cistern lid off to find a fine spray of water, almost mist, coming up from the pipe. If I replace the lid, the water drips and fills a bowl on the floor. I rang cousin Gordon the plumber who is coming out tomorrow. I hope it doesn't get any worse in the night. I had a poor ride on the Sonder in very slippery conditions. Enjoyed reading more of Kay's novel this evening. OK. 11.26pm.
Tuesday 10th September 2024
Up a few times in the night to check the toilet. Gordon arrived at quarter past eight and installed a new valve. I spent a lot of the morning tidying up the mess in the cupboard under the kitchen sink that has been building up for the last ten or twenty years. Had a tuna salad then spent two hours coming up with activities for Friday’s workshop. Picked up a copy of The Ritual by Adam Nevill from Consett Library. Read more Stand-Up Mam on the bus to Gateshead. Reached Jen's place just after six. We saw Canoeing for Beginners at The Little Theatre. Based on John Darwin fake suicide. A good farce. OK. 11.06pm.
Wednesday 11th September 2024
Good chat with Jenni about how to make it financially through the hard times. She knows what to say. Confident I’ll make it to the other side of winter in a better position. Home about half one. Didn’t start work on the Washington session till about three. I reread Points of Engagement. A couple of the poems will be put into autumn sets and might make the final cut for my next official full-length collection. Some of the ambitions I wrote about in the prose sections I’m still working on this year. Everything seems to take longer these days. I want to do another journal book this autumn. I’m slowly getting back into the swing of writing workshop prep. First one since July. 11.36pm.
Thursday 12th September 2024
Today was good. I got the last bits of the workshop sorted for tomorrow. It’s the first of a new run so I’m pretty much taking a full bag of tricks. Even though I’ll only use a fraction of the material. This afternoon I made more copies of the ‘Lucky Dip of Life’ Washington Writers booklet and four copies of my September Scrapbook from last year. The scoring tool that Mam and Ernie bought me makes folding glossy covers without cracking the print a doddle. Tonight, I read the last 75 pages of Kay Wilson’s novel, ‘The Stand-Up Mam’. A great story about a mother of three taking to the stage and finding herself through performance. The conflicts were good. The pace built and gripped. Was she a bad mother? Did she win the grand final of the stand-up comp in London. Read it and find out. Well done, Kay, keep it going. 11.00pm.
Friday 13th September 2024
Today was my first workshop for two months. I prepped for over ten hours. And we got through all the handouts. We didn’t do much writing. It was more like a taster for the sorts of things we are likely to do over the next few months, but we looked at a lot of stuff, discussed approaches and barriers. Thanks to Alwyn for a lift to Metro Centre. I prepped the next session on the bus to Consett. Back home, I fixed a rear puncture on the Sonder Frontier. The tyre came off the rim surprisingly easily. The puncture was tiny. So was the bit of protruding thorn. I edited my morning pages into a review of Kay Wilson’s novel, The Stand-Up Mam, then listened to Suede songs and wished I’d seen them on tour in July. 11.17pm.
Amazing day out on the Sonder Frontier. Rode some ace singletrack in the woods opposite Allensford that I'd never seen before. Lots of rocks and roots – and treacherous off-camber bits perfect for ankle snapping. I rode a few sections clean and stayed out for about five hours. Warm, no wind, no punctures. Really tired when I got home. I think I fell asleep for an hour. Baked potato, cheese, tuna and beans for tea. Too tired to read. I watched all the extras on the repackaged original Hellraiser DVD. Then I did positive and negative lists from my August blog. Positives outweighed negatives by about two hundred percent. I will be home all day tomorrow for work prep. Waddington Street Centre on Thursday then hopefully another bike ride before the weekend. Yep, a great day. Loving the Sonder bike. 10.27pm.
Wednesday 4th September 2024
Most of this morning on the couch with various poetry collections and how-to books, making notes for the first couple of workshops of the season. It was good to get so many ideas for exercises down in addition to the big list made on Monday. This afternoon I started to remove stuff from the back room and went through a load of papers – some reusable, some I'll bin tomorrow. After the session, I read extracts from last year's little September Scrapbook pamphlet. I’m going to read from it at Poetry Jam tomorrow night. I just found out Attila the Stockbroker is on the bill for Morecambe Poetry Festival later this month. I'm looking forward to getting a copy of the anthology with a bit of my writing in it alongside many great names. I've eaten bread with every meal today. OK. 10.58pm.
Thursday 5th September 2024
Aye, so I wanted to read a novel but spent more time working out how to get over to Weardale Wordfest in October on public transport. I got ready for my journey to Durham and was out about one. I read a few chapters of The Stand-Up Mam by Kay Wilson then went into Durham City for ATM and a birthday card. I got all the college paperwork photocopied. My next course is secure and has already reached the minimum required number of enrolments with nearly a fortnight still to go. Poetry Jam was ace tonight. Great to see Rosemary Sladden do a full set. And some surprises in open floor, including Pip McDonald, Greg Freeman from Write Out Loud, Gary the Hat, Lian Maltas… Joey Avary was great with all new stuff – self-deprecating. And of course, Elaine was ace. All new poems from her MA Course. Great night. Bus was swift. Home by eleven. OK. 11.38pm.
Friday 6th September 2024
Early hours of the morning taking photos of my tiny, paused Poetry Jam videos on the camcorder to send to Greg Freeman with names and notes as a reminder of who read last night. Then a lot of the day cutting proper pix from video clips for the Facebook post. I was rough when I woke up and the room was spinning. Not enough water over the previous seventeen hours. Only about a litre. This afternoon I got the Jam pix uploaded then walked into Consett for the bus to Gateshead. Me and Jenni went to Silly Billies comedy night at Alphabetti theatre. Fernando was standing in on hosting duties for Jack and Sam – and was brilliant. Guests were Matty Ride-Smith, Pamela Tracey, Singing Peter, Adrian Hanlon and Joby Mageean. Then over to Tesco for pasties, squash and biscuits. Now back in the attic just chilling and looking at responses to Poetry Jam. I’ve had some ‘Nice’ biscuits and a cup of dandelion and burdock. OK. 11.39pm.
Saturday 7th September 2024
Early rise. Good morning pages session then out to The Little Theatre in Gateshead for a guided tour of the building: rehearsal space, props and furniture, dressing room, backstage, set builds, onstage, control room, various costumes… Then, after a spicy beanburger pitstop, off to Station East for The Smoke Room unplugged music session featuring Bedsit Manor, Groundbird, Your Casket or Mine, and Nev Clay. Great day out. Got the 7.20pm bus to Consett, bought food, then home. OK. 10.56pm.
Sunday 8th September 2024
Weather today is absolute toilet. So no bike ride. Spent the morning looking through my Poetry Jam files and booked our final guest for National Poetry Day. Had an afternoon nap then checked out more music from Your Casket or Mine. Tuna salad for tea. Online chats with Jenni and read about 70 pages of Kay Wilson’s novel The Stand-Up Mam, which I’m enjoying. Still raining. 10.36pm.
Monday 9th September 2024
Not a great day. Only did a little bit of workshop prep, college safeguarding revision, and some typing. At around one this afternoon I noticed a trickle of water down the side of the toilet cistern dripping onto the carpet. Big wet patch. Wasn't aware of it earlier today. I took the cistern lid off to find a fine spray of water, almost mist, coming up from the pipe. If I replace the lid, the water drips and fills a bowl on the floor. I rang cousin Gordon the plumber who is coming out tomorrow. I hope it doesn't get any worse in the night. I had a poor ride on the Sonder in very slippery conditions. Enjoyed reading more of Kay's novel this evening. OK. 11.26pm.
Tuesday 10th September 2024
Up a few times in the night to check the toilet. Gordon arrived at quarter past eight and installed a new valve. I spent a lot of the morning tidying up the mess in the cupboard under the kitchen sink that has been building up for the last ten or twenty years. Had a tuna salad then spent two hours coming up with activities for Friday’s workshop. Picked up a copy of The Ritual by Adam Nevill from Consett Library. Read more Stand-Up Mam on the bus to Gateshead. Reached Jen's place just after six. We saw Canoeing for Beginners at The Little Theatre. Based on John Darwin fake suicide. A good farce. OK. 11.06pm.
Wednesday 11th September 2024
Good chat with Jenni about how to make it financially through the hard times. She knows what to say. Confident I’ll make it to the other side of winter in a better position. Home about half one. Didn’t start work on the Washington session till about three. I reread Points of Engagement. A couple of the poems will be put into autumn sets and might make the final cut for my next official full-length collection. Some of the ambitions I wrote about in the prose sections I’m still working on this year. Everything seems to take longer these days. I want to do another journal book this autumn. I’m slowly getting back into the swing of writing workshop prep. First one since July. 11.36pm.
Thursday 12th September 2024
Today was good. I got the last bits of the workshop sorted for tomorrow. It’s the first of a new run so I’m pretty much taking a full bag of tricks. Even though I’ll only use a fraction of the material. This afternoon I made more copies of the ‘Lucky Dip of Life’ Washington Writers booklet and four copies of my September Scrapbook from last year. The scoring tool that Mam and Ernie bought me makes folding glossy covers without cracking the print a doddle. Tonight, I read the last 75 pages of Kay Wilson’s novel, ‘The Stand-Up Mam’. A great story about a mother of three taking to the stage and finding herself through performance. The conflicts were good. The pace built and gripped. Was she a bad mother? Did she win the grand final of the stand-up comp in London. Read it and find out. Well done, Kay, keep it going. 11.00pm.
Friday 13th September 2024
Today was my first workshop for two months. I prepped for over ten hours. And we got through all the handouts. We didn’t do much writing. It was more like a taster for the sorts of things we are likely to do over the next few months, but we looked at a lot of stuff, discussed approaches and barriers. Thanks to Alwyn for a lift to Metro Centre. I prepped the next session on the bus to Consett. Back home, I fixed a rear puncture on the Sonder Frontier. The tyre came off the rim surprisingly easily. The puncture was tiny. So was the bit of protruding thorn. I edited my morning pages into a review of Kay Wilson’s novel, The Stand-Up Mam, then listened to Suede songs and wished I’d seen them on tour in July. 11.17pm.
Saturday 14th September 2024
Made a new morning pages book for Monday then gave the Sonder bike a clean. An hour later I was in the woods. Terrain, tyre pressure, temperature? I don’t know, but I had an ace ride. Some big climbs over technical trails. Cleaned three bridges/slopes. Rode my favourite big trail and didn’t puncture. Rode about three hours then home for a curry. Later, off to Jen’s. Spicy bean burger. Slept through Strictly. 9.20pm.
Sunday 15th September 2024
Big lie in then write-up of yesterday’s bike ride in morning pages. Then two peanut butter sandwiches left over from yesterday’s trail supplies. Me and Jenni watched The Voice. Had beanz, mushrooms and eggs for dinner and soup for tea. Tonight, we watched about four episodes of Sounds of the 70s. Cream crackers and blackcurrant squash. 10.18pm.
Monday 16th September 2024
Surprisingly warm weather. Had to remove my hoodie on the bus. Sweating with two bags of shopping, walking from Consett to Moorside. Cut the grass. A month since last time. Hardly grown. Could easily have left it another week. Lush salad with chicken breast and baked potato. Lemmy documentary… Today I was offered a repeat of last year’s creative writing workshop for teenagers who are into making music. Pleased to be asked back. My tinnitus is really bad again. Toothache trying to annoy me. I want to read The Ritual by Adam Nevill. 10.55pm.
Tuesday 17th September 2024
Made a new morning pages book for Monday then gave the Sonder bike a clean. An hour later I was in the woods. Terrain, tyre pressure, temperature? I don’t know, but I had an ace ride. Some big climbs over technical trails. Cleaned three bridges/slopes. Rode my favourite big trail and didn’t puncture. Rode about three hours then home for a curry. Later, off to Jen’s. Spicy bean burger. Slept through Strictly. 9.20pm.
Sunday 15th September 2024
Big lie in then write-up of yesterday’s bike ride in morning pages. Then two peanut butter sandwiches left over from yesterday’s trail supplies. Me and Jenni watched The Voice. Had beanz, mushrooms and eggs for dinner and soup for tea. Tonight, we watched about four episodes of Sounds of the 70s. Cream crackers and blackcurrant squash. 10.18pm.
Monday 16th September 2024
Surprisingly warm weather. Had to remove my hoodie on the bus. Sweating with two bags of shopping, walking from Consett to Moorside. Cut the grass. A month since last time. Hardly grown. Could easily have left it another week. Lush salad with chicken breast and baked potato. Lemmy documentary… Today I was offered a repeat of last year’s creative writing workshop for teenagers who are into making music. Pleased to be asked back. My tinnitus is really bad again. Toothache trying to annoy me. I want to read The Ritual by Adam Nevill. 10.55pm.
Tuesday 17th September 2024
Feels like a long day. Very warm for mid-September. I went to New College Durham to pick up an ID badge then walked down to Waddy. My Samsonite bag was rather heavy; my right knee felt as though it might give way. Photocopying and room prep took an hour. Chatted with Dave and Steve about tubeless tyres and Poetry Jam. This afternoon’s workshop could’ve been tighter, but it went well. I spent nearly an hour clearing the aftermath. The bus to Consett was packed with students. Zero breeze, despite all upper deck windows open. I tried to read but fell asleep. Chicken salad for tea. This evening I’ve been reading The Ritual by Adam Nevill. A creepy novel about hikers getting lost in a dark forest and encountering things that scare them shitless. Only 45 pages in. I’m very tired and soon to bed. 10.23pm.
Wednesday 18th September 2024
A great Sonder bike today. Eight hours. I wasn’t riding the whole time. I spent a lot of it setting up shots to get video clips for stills. I also did a few trials bits. I’ve ridden everything clean previously, so I wasn’t too bothered about anything more than tackling the obstacle in front of me. I spent three minutes trying to get up a ledge leading with my non-dominant foot. Got there eventually. Had fish fingers and chips for tea then edited my clips. I’ve posted a few trail trundle videos and an album of pix. 11.52pm.
Wednesday 18th September 2024
A great Sonder bike today. Eight hours. I wasn’t riding the whole time. I spent a lot of it setting up shots to get video clips for stills. I also did a few trials bits. I’ve ridden everything clean previously, so I wasn’t too bothered about anything more than tackling the obstacle in front of me. I spent three minutes trying to get up a ledge leading with my non-dominant foot. Got there eventually. Had fish fingers and chips for tea then edited my clips. I’ve posted a few trail trundle videos and an album of pix. 11.52pm.
Thursday 19th September 2024
Did the Poetry Jam admin for National Poetry Day then edited more bike clips. Brother Mark posted some pix of me on a trials FB group. I’m no longer a trials rider, but it was kind of him. I like my trail trundle clips though. I want some vids of hill-climbs. But they may be tricky to film. Listened to The Cure’s Head on the Door album then packed for the trip to Morecambe. Bit knackered after all the recent activity. 10.36pm.
Friday 20th September 2024
Great first day at the Morecambe Poetry Festival. Rowan McCabe kicked things off with his Door to Door Poetry show. Great to see it again. Then straight over to the Winter Gardens for the Loose Ends BBC recording. Mike Harding, Donna Ashworth, The Lovely Eggs, Henry Normal and a TV chef. Then full sets from Mike Harding and Henry Normal tonight. Mike has the best anti-war poem ever. Henry was really witty. Back at The Kings Arms for a 45-min set from Attila the Stockbroker – new poems, a couple of songs and a bit of his autobiography. Then a brilliant set from Toria Garbutt pushing midnight. We didn’t stay for open mic. Pot Noodles back at the hotel. 1.03am.
Saturday 21st September 2024
Me and Jenni had four- and five-course breakfasts. Mine was jam doughnut, cornflakes, yoghurt and fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and bacon on toasted bagel. Then jam on toast. Nice stroll back into town. We visited The Old Pier Bookshop. They had a talking Darth Vadar and some Pan Horror anthologies. Open mic at The Kings Arms was canny. Robin Ince did a great feature set. As did Dominic Berry and Tony Walsh. Then off to Winter Gardens for Ian McMillan hosting The Verb featuring Pam Ayres, Raymond Antrobus and Henry Normal. Tonight’s headliner Alistair McGowan was mint. We didn’t stay back afterwards coz we want to do the full day tomorrow. 11.07pm.
Sunday 22nd September 2024
Fell out of bed in the middle of the night. No damage done. Had another five-course breakfast then another lie down. We bumped into Robin Ince on the seafront. Jenni chatted to him for a while. Morrisons for supplies and back to The Kings Arms till half four: Helen Ivory, Martin Figura, Kate Fox and others. Then over to the Winter Gardens for a full show from Pam Ayres. Jenni got books signed and a selfie. She chatted with Alistair McGowan as well. We saw sets from Amy Abdullah Barry, Raquel McKee and Sasha Terfous then an anarchic headline set from Lemn Sissay. Not many poems but really funny and engaging. Then back to The Kings Arms for Jackie Hagan tribute show: Miles Hadfield, David Viney, Lemn Sissay – yes, a pop-up open mic appearance, Thick Richard, Gerry Potter and top bloke Matt Panesh to finish. Back at the hotel by half one. 1.38am.
Monday 23rd September 20224
Did the Poetry Jam admin for National Poetry Day then edited more bike clips. Brother Mark posted some pix of me on a trials FB group. I’m no longer a trials rider, but it was kind of him. I like my trail trundle clips though. I want some vids of hill-climbs. But they may be tricky to film. Listened to The Cure’s Head on the Door album then packed for the trip to Morecambe. Bit knackered after all the recent activity. 10.36pm.
Friday 20th September 2024
Great first day at the Morecambe Poetry Festival. Rowan McCabe kicked things off with his Door to Door Poetry show. Great to see it again. Then straight over to the Winter Gardens for the Loose Ends BBC recording. Mike Harding, Donna Ashworth, The Lovely Eggs, Henry Normal and a TV chef. Then full sets from Mike Harding and Henry Normal tonight. Mike has the best anti-war poem ever. Henry was really witty. Back at The Kings Arms for a 45-min set from Attila the Stockbroker – new poems, a couple of songs and a bit of his autobiography. Then a brilliant set from Toria Garbutt pushing midnight. We didn’t stay for open mic. Pot Noodles back at the hotel. 1.03am.
Saturday 21st September 2024
Me and Jenni had four- and five-course breakfasts. Mine was jam doughnut, cornflakes, yoghurt and fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and bacon on toasted bagel. Then jam on toast. Nice stroll back into town. We visited The Old Pier Bookshop. They had a talking Darth Vadar and some Pan Horror anthologies. Open mic at The Kings Arms was canny. Robin Ince did a great feature set. As did Dominic Berry and Tony Walsh. Then off to Winter Gardens for Ian McMillan hosting The Verb featuring Pam Ayres, Raymond Antrobus and Henry Normal. Tonight’s headliner Alistair McGowan was mint. We didn’t stay back afterwards coz we want to do the full day tomorrow. 11.07pm.
Sunday 22nd September 2024
Fell out of bed in the middle of the night. No damage done. Had another five-course breakfast then another lie down. We bumped into Robin Ince on the seafront. Jenni chatted to him for a while. Morrisons for supplies and back to The Kings Arms till half four: Helen Ivory, Martin Figura, Kate Fox and others. Then over to the Winter Gardens for a full show from Pam Ayres. Jenni got books signed and a selfie. She chatted with Alistair McGowan as well. We saw sets from Amy Abdullah Barry, Raquel McKee and Sasha Terfous then an anarchic headline set from Lemn Sissay. Not many poems but really funny and engaging. Then back to The Kings Arms for Jackie Hagan tribute show: Miles Hadfield, David Viney, Lemn Sissay – yes, a pop-up open mic appearance, Thick Richard, Gerry Potter and top bloke Matt Panesh to finish. Back at the hotel by half one. 1.38am.
Monday 23rd September 20224
Grotty weather but faired up when we left Morecambe. Then rain again in Lancaster. Carlisle was dry, but back to drizzle in Newcastle. I waited over an hour in Consett for a bus to Moorside. Ended up sharing a taxi with a Swans fan called Rob… Really pleased that me and Jen went to the Poetry Festival. Aaron Wright took lots of ace pictures. As did Sarah L Dixon. Tonight, I went over notes for tomorrow’s workshop. Watched footage of Frank Carter and ex-Pistols live. 10.15pm.
Tuesday 24th September 2024
Bus okay today. Set up at Waddy. We did Finish the Sentence. Mini Morning Pages, Compound Word Definitions and Answer poems. Bus home was packed. Prepped another two sessions in transit. Fell asleep after tea then managed preliminary prep for a November workshop. Chuffed to have a bit more work coming in. 11.04pm.
Wednesday 25th September 2024
The house is getting colder. My wrists were hurting at the keyboard. I bought a big pork pie in Heron Foods for £1.19 and three chocolate bars in Barry's for a quid. The bus to Newcastle took 70 mins. I ate half my pie in Eldon Square and half on the Metro to North Shields, leaving bloody teeth marks in the meat. Jenni’s band is soundchecking at The Klurb for The Stanza. I only brought one set of earplugs. I'll be at the back to prevent worsening tinnitus. My thoughts are short and leap about. It's just writing practice. It's supposed to be a journal entry, but I'll probably write one later. I'm concerned about cash flow at present. Not much coming in till November. I can hear a version of Waiting for The Man but it doesn't sound like Jen's band or Lou Reed. I think I heard Gaeran Southern in the corridor. Don't Worry About A Thing is on now and a barmaid has arrived. Time to move next door for the main event. 6.52pm.
LATER: Cracking night. Great to see Jenni with the band. All the guests were ace. Renata's book reviews were superb. Gary the Hat was all guns blazing. Fantastic to see Just Think Phil going for it as well. Some cracking tunes from the musical duo who opened and some hilarious obscenity from a crocodile - as well as plenty other top-notch open mic. 11.35pm.
Thursday 26th September 2024
Totally pissing down all day so I didn't bother going home. Have enough stuff with me to do the workshop in Washington tomorrow. Me and Jenni had beans on toast for dinner. She went out for a music afternoon at The Sound Room. I did a bit more prep then fell asleep. There was a break in the weather later, so me and Jen went to Tesco. Jen got us Moroccan veg pasties and waffles. The weather is pissing me off. Just over a week ago I was riding a bike on rocky sections of trail and lying down to set my camera up for vids. Today my legs were numb walking in the afternoon chill. Tonight we watched The Voice and a couple of episodes of Corrie. I've just had a 22p-reduced-from-£2.29 chicken salad in a box for supper. Didn’t drink enough water today. OK. 9.52pm.
Friday 27th September 2024
Early rise. Shaved then out to Gateshead. My mobile phone went berserk and started switching itself off and on repeatedly and wouldn't let me intervene. It was a big distraction and fucked up the start of my Washington workshop which didn't go down as well as on Tuesday. Big thanks to Alwyn for chat and lift to Metro Centre. Back in Consett I bought twenty quid's worth of food then home for curry and chips. Then back out to Consett. Kids on the Newcastle bus were dancing to rap music and making videos. I got to Jen's around nine. A programme about Maggie Smith who died today was on the telly. Trillionaire buns tasted working class – stodge and chocolate. TOTP and two editions of Bullseye. Chocolate and cheddar biscuits. Nothing to see here. 11.44pm.
Saturday 28th September 2024
Much of the day listening to music. Chilly. We had beans and waffles and eggs for dinner. We went out to Jen's mam's community karaoke. Lots of good songs. Jen's mam was ace: Eurhythmics and Tina Turner. Got a nice mince pie. Then back to the attic for The Voice and Password. 10.34pm.
Sunday 29th September 2024
New piece of writing in morning pages that might go somewhere. Me and Jenni listened to the radio: Paddy McGuiness is doing a 300-mile endurance ride on a Raleigh Chopper in November. Jenni got us a Sunday dinner delivered from the Toby Carvery. We watched Strictly then a great Jackie Kay documentary. I got the last X45 to Consett and had a cheese and tomato sandwich for supper. 11.53pm.
Monday 30th September 2024
Snapped a rear spoke on the old Rockhopper this morning and got soaked. Need new brake pads as well. Starve Acre from Consett Library and thirty quid housekeeping top-up from the ATM. Most of the afternoon was spent keying in lesson plans. Mainly listening to recent Suede albums. Also compiled a list of favourite songs by The Cure. Nothing since 1989’s Disintegration. September has gone so quickly. Morecambe Poetry Festival was ace. And my big day on the Sonder Frontier making videos. Now it’s drizzle, chilly keyboard sessions at the desktop and concerns about earning a living. Shit at it to be honest. 10.00pm.
Tuesday 24th September 2024
Bus okay today. Set up at Waddy. We did Finish the Sentence. Mini Morning Pages, Compound Word Definitions and Answer poems. Bus home was packed. Prepped another two sessions in transit. Fell asleep after tea then managed preliminary prep for a November workshop. Chuffed to have a bit more work coming in. 11.04pm.
Wednesday 25th September 2024
The house is getting colder. My wrists were hurting at the keyboard. I bought a big pork pie in Heron Foods for £1.19 and three chocolate bars in Barry's for a quid. The bus to Newcastle took 70 mins. I ate half my pie in Eldon Square and half on the Metro to North Shields, leaving bloody teeth marks in the meat. Jenni’s band is soundchecking at The Klurb for The Stanza. I only brought one set of earplugs. I'll be at the back to prevent worsening tinnitus. My thoughts are short and leap about. It's just writing practice. It's supposed to be a journal entry, but I'll probably write one later. I'm concerned about cash flow at present. Not much coming in till November. I can hear a version of Waiting for The Man but it doesn't sound like Jen's band or Lou Reed. I think I heard Gaeran Southern in the corridor. Don't Worry About A Thing is on now and a barmaid has arrived. Time to move next door for the main event. 6.52pm.
LATER: Cracking night. Great to see Jenni with the band. All the guests were ace. Renata's book reviews were superb. Gary the Hat was all guns blazing. Fantastic to see Just Think Phil going for it as well. Some cracking tunes from the musical duo who opened and some hilarious obscenity from a crocodile - as well as plenty other top-notch open mic. 11.35pm.
Thursday 26th September 2024
Totally pissing down all day so I didn't bother going home. Have enough stuff with me to do the workshop in Washington tomorrow. Me and Jenni had beans on toast for dinner. She went out for a music afternoon at The Sound Room. I did a bit more prep then fell asleep. There was a break in the weather later, so me and Jen went to Tesco. Jen got us Moroccan veg pasties and waffles. The weather is pissing me off. Just over a week ago I was riding a bike on rocky sections of trail and lying down to set my camera up for vids. Today my legs were numb walking in the afternoon chill. Tonight we watched The Voice and a couple of episodes of Corrie. I've just had a 22p-reduced-from-£2.29 chicken salad in a box for supper. Didn’t drink enough water today. OK. 9.52pm.
Friday 27th September 2024
Early rise. Shaved then out to Gateshead. My mobile phone went berserk and started switching itself off and on repeatedly and wouldn't let me intervene. It was a big distraction and fucked up the start of my Washington workshop which didn't go down as well as on Tuesday. Big thanks to Alwyn for chat and lift to Metro Centre. Back in Consett I bought twenty quid's worth of food then home for curry and chips. Then back out to Consett. Kids on the Newcastle bus were dancing to rap music and making videos. I got to Jen's around nine. A programme about Maggie Smith who died today was on the telly. Trillionaire buns tasted working class – stodge and chocolate. TOTP and two editions of Bullseye. Chocolate and cheddar biscuits. Nothing to see here. 11.44pm.
Saturday 28th September 2024
Much of the day listening to music. Chilly. We had beans and waffles and eggs for dinner. We went out to Jen's mam's community karaoke. Lots of good songs. Jen's mam was ace: Eurhythmics and Tina Turner. Got a nice mince pie. Then back to the attic for The Voice and Password. 10.34pm.
Sunday 29th September 2024
New piece of writing in morning pages that might go somewhere. Me and Jenni listened to the radio: Paddy McGuiness is doing a 300-mile endurance ride on a Raleigh Chopper in November. Jenni got us a Sunday dinner delivered from the Toby Carvery. We watched Strictly then a great Jackie Kay documentary. I got the last X45 to Consett and had a cheese and tomato sandwich for supper. 11.53pm.
Monday 30th September 2024
Snapped a rear spoke on the old Rockhopper this morning and got soaked. Need new brake pads as well. Starve Acre from Consett Library and thirty quid housekeeping top-up from the ATM. Most of the afternoon was spent keying in lesson plans. Mainly listening to recent Suede albums. Also compiled a list of favourite songs by The Cure. Nothing since 1989’s Disintegration. September has gone so quickly. Morecambe Poetry Festival was ace. And my big day on the Sonder Frontier making videos. Now it’s drizzle, chilly keyboard sessions at the desktop and concerns about earning a living. Shit at it to be honest. 10.00pm.
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