HOT, HOT, HOT

Monday 1st June 2026

I wrote a fairly decent set of morning pages today. I could use them in a book, but whether I do or not is yet to be determined. The furthest that I've been is to Not-Paul's shop around the corner from Jen’s for milk, but it’s sour. So Jenni is on pop. We watched the end of the first series of Slow Horses, which was quite engaging. Jen gave me the choice of the second series or a different Mick Herron creation, Cemetery Road. I opted for the latter, and that was eight hours of a story about a search for a missing girl and a military cover-up involving chemical weapons testing on their own troops. Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson were good, but the risks taken seemed too high just to satisfy curiosity about a passing stranger. I've tried to cut down on the big food. I did some over-50s exercises, but no arm physio. OK. 11.05pm.


Tuesday 2nd June 2026

I was up around seven this morning. Worked out the exercises for Waddington Street Centre writing session in morning pages. Showered, shaved, had a chat with Jenni, then off to Gateshead for copier paper and food supplies. Got an X21 bus to Durham. I read a bit of Slough House by Mick Herron. There are lots of characters and long chapters about the movers and shakers of the secret services – too many characters for me to follow. I can read the same page three times and still not be able to say what is happening. The workshop went well. Six exercises: Begin Where You Are, Body Part Dialogue, Five Ways of Seeing, Five Ways of Telling, Wish Lists, History of Coats. Quite tired this evening. I was genuinely moved by some of Jimmy Carr's responses to audience members online tonight and blown away by a Joy Division live bootleg from Paris 1979. Big thanks to Andy Willoughby for booking me to do thirty minutes at Colpitts Poetry later this month. OK. 11.16pm.


Wednesday 3rd June 2026

Busy-busy-busy. Making hay while the sun shines. Or rather, replenishing some of my pamphlet stock before the temperature drops. I wanted to make a start on my gig set for Colpitts. I reread some of my 2023 pamphlet Points of Engagement – a lot of which is bicycle-related – and discovered that today was World Bicycle Day. Ironic, I didn’t get out on either of mine. I've changed the poster for tomorrow's Poetry Jam to reflect the altered line-up. I've made up some copies of P.O.E. I did my over-50’s exercises and sent an invoice for recent workshops. I listened to Venom's Black Metal album; then Anthem and Changeling, both by Toyah. OK. 11.34pm.


Thursday 4th June 2026

Much of this morning was spent sequencing a set of poems for my next half-hour gig. After I timed the set, I decided it had too many safe, thoroughly performed-to-death pieces and needed some more recent material. I'll have another go tomorrow. I got to Waddy about quarter to four. Took about an hour to set up the room for Poetry Jam. We had an ace turnout. All the guests were great. Mark Speeding did some of The Pathos and One Dollar Zombies material, plus poems including Plastic Vortex Magic Box and The Soldier in the Wall. Diane Cockburn read fantastic seasonal poems, richly detailed snapshots of the natural world and its inhabitants. Ian Williams had poems about anxiety, dentistry, family, special ‘knees’ and loads more, keeping us thoroughly entertained for half an hour. There were lots of great turns on the open floor as well. Hard-hitting, humorous, cathartic. I read "Now Then, Philip" and “Damp Trousers”. Thanks to Mark Speeding for the lift home. OK. 11.50pm.


Friday 5th June 2026

After the buzz of last night's Poetry Jam, I didn't go to bed till late, but I still woke up early this morning. I made a blank 140-page sewn notebook as a test for how well a published journal book might look if I decided to release one later this year. I didn't get out on the Sonder bike until after 3pm this afternoon. I just did a basic ninety-minute ride on trails near the River Derwent. I aim to find some good lines elsewhere this summer, but still close to home. I want to check out Muggleswick woods. Tonight I got my set for Colpitts in shape, moved a few things around a couple of times. It's a half-hour set, and I'm pleased with it. I need to get more copies of Failed Rock Star printed. I'm reading seven pieces from it. OK. 11.12pm.

Saturday 6th June 2026

Slow start. Intended to get out for groceries, but too late by the time I sorted myself out. Needed to get into Newcastle and off to Blyth for the Toyah show. Got lost looking for the venue which is actually just a one-minute walk from the library opposite the bus station. Toyota was fantastic. Better than last time. I got back to Gateshead Tesco by eleven then off to Jen's place. OK. 11.42pm.


Sunday 7th June 2026

Jenni and I went to South Shields to see Tom Kelly and Alistair Robinson read at The Word. Both are Red Squirrel Press poets. They read two fifteen-minute sets each to an audience of about thirty people. This evening, Jenni and I watched clips from the League of Gentlemen, then Tip Toe (stream ongoing). OK. 10.40pm.


Monday 8th June 2026

Slow, slow day. Been trying to work since arriving home at half twelve this afternoon. I could do a workshop tomorrow off the cuff, but I want to include some good flash and memoir stuff, so I waded through pages of textbooks to little avail. Finally found what I needed by nine this evening and made some photocopies. Lots of comments about Tip Toe on Facebook today. Jenni and I watched three episodes last night. Brutal stuff. Hopefully, it won't give mob mentality more bad ideas. I read a couple of Paul Morley pieces about Joy Division this evening, then listed about forty-five recently acquired books that I haven't read yet. I could add about forty more unread that I've had for years. I need to put in a lot more effort over the coming weeks and months. OK. 10.30pm.


Tuesday 9th June 2026

Over nine hours of sleep and still felt tired at half eight this morning. Knew I had to pull around quickly because I needed to be at Waddy early enough to get more copies of Failed Rock Star printed. The workshop went well this afternoon. More theory than writing in the first hour: flash nonfiction then flash fiction. The group kindly gave me a thank-you card for still running workshops after leaving the college. The only reason I stopped off in town this afternoon was for a grocery trip, after which, when the bus reached my stop, I realised I'd left my bags behind in the bus shelter. I stayed onboard, went back to Consett. Luckily, the bags were still there, intact. Tonight I had a chicken dinner and watched YouTube music videos. I'm off to bed early. I might read; I might not. OK. 10.07pm.


Wednesday 10th June 2026

Long day. Awake before half four this morning. Out on the Sonder bike for ninety minutes and back by ten o'clock. The Lydia Lunch book arrived. I don't know when I'll get around to reading it, but I'm looking forward to doing so. I printed out my setlist for Durham Colpitts gig. I'll assemble it into an A4 large print stage booklet to go on the lectern. This afternoon and evening, I edited bits of the Waddy Writers anthology. We only need to move a few things around and add a few tiny poems, and it will be okay. My right knee is in a bit of an uproar. I don't know why because I didn't do anything too excessive on the bike today; most of it was just trundling on flat terrain in fifth gear. Roger Taylor of Queen has a new album out and will tour in September. I don't think I'll be going though. I'm done here. 11.02pm.


Thursday 11th June 2026

Early start. Morning pages clarified what needs to be done. Condensed into a twelve-task list. This morning I read a chapter of ‘Lydia lunch: The War Is Never Over’ by Nick Soulsby, photocopied a load of handouts for tomorrow's Washington writing session and made up an A4 stage book of my set for Colpitts poetry night. I've not been outside and I've tried to avoid too much social media coz the feed is pretty fucking depressing and fascist at present. This evening I read the opening pages of Joy Division Piece By Piece, the collected essays by Paul Morley, and checked out some footage of the band on YouTube. I've shaved, had baked potato with curried beans and tuna. And some shortbread, tomato soup, cheese and pickle buns, peanuts, and that's about it really. Up early tomorrow for the workshop. Oh, and I responded to Christine Fowler's poetry pamphlet request. OK. 10.32pm.


Friday 12th June 2026

Awoke a bit early. But got up because I thought I had to make a new morning pages blank notebook. Turns out I don’t need it until Monday. On the bus to Chester-le-Street, I looked over some intros and links for the Colpitts gig, which is just less than two weeks away. I did a rehearsal in the Granary gallery at Arts Centre Washington. The set came in at 27 minutes, and I'm fine with that. Seven people attended today's workshop. I repeated the previous Waddy session content: Begin Where You Are, Body Part Dialogue, Five Ways of Seeing, Five Ways of Telling, Wish Lists, History of Shoes. It went well. Many thanks to Alwyn Bathan for the lift to Gateshead. Then off to Jen's place unannounced coz Facebook was down for a while. I went out for supplies. I've eaten quite a lot. Two pasta meals, fruit, chocolate, and some egg sandwiches. We watched Dolly Parton and David Hockney documentaries on TV tonight. Also Tales of the Unexpected and Hitchcock. OK. 11.57pm.


Saturday 13th June 2026

Big lazy day at Jen’s place, mainly scrolling Facebook. We went to town for supplies. Jenni went out to a talent show and I stayed in and read The Killing Joke by Alan Moore. When Jenni came back with a platter of party food, we pigged out and watched original hits on BBC2. Great songs and video clips. OK. 11.07pm.


Sunday 14th June 2026

Only six hours sleep. Struggled with morning pages. Me and Jenni watched lots of music videos this afternoon. Then went to Tyneside Cinema for Desert Island Flicks, hosted by Dave Johns. The guest was Christopher Eccleston, who talked about his favourite eight films and showed clips. The place was quite packed. The show was two hours. After a pub pitstop at the Centurian, I got back to Moorside around ten. Checked out social media. 10.50pm.


Monday 15th June 2026

If the under-sixteens social media ban was genuinely to protect kids I wouldn't have a problem with it, but it will be used to force adults to prove they're over sixteen just to use the fucking internet. Digital ID, anybody? I cut the grass today. I did some copy-ups. I prepped for tomorrow's workshop at Waddy and I've done a little bit of work on Christine Fowler's pamphlet. I need a good night's sleep. I didn't get to read any Lydia Lunch today. Another month until her Newcastle gig. 11.47pm.


Tuesday 16th June 2026

A good day at Waddy. The writing session was productive. We've nearly finished the little anthology. Only a few things to move. And a cover and a title. I had a good chat with Ali Lee at lunchtime. I'm pleased she's going to see one of her favourite bands THE CURE next week. I got a load of shopping in after work and thankfully didn't forget to bring it home when I boarded the bus. Had a big chicken dinner tonight. I've been lying down since and reading up on how the under-sixteens internet ban will affect adult usage. I've written a few messages to my friend Stephen Clark, as it's forty years this week since we first met on a youth training scheme in Harelaw, County Durham. And it's thirty-four years to the day, since we saw Rollins Band and Beastie Boys at Newcastle Riverside club. I'm wrecked and will be in bed soon. 10.21pm.


Wednesday 17th June 2026

Awake at five this morning. I tried to get back to sleep but couldn't, so I read thirty pages of The Sign of Saturn – poems by Sharon Olds. I bought this nearly thirty-five years ago. Lots of it today read as if new to me, but I remembered some of the content: the boy in the garden, the sister in the night, language of the brag. I stayed offline as much as possible. Didn't scroll social media. I have prepped next week's Belmont Carers' writing workshop. Numbers are still a little low, so fingers crossed it goes ahead. I printed out a few copies of my July 2023 pamphlet Soon Will Come Thunder. I put my set together for the Cooking Pot gig, which takes place at Baba Yaga's House in Whitley Bay on Monday 6th July. I've rehearsed a bit more for Colpitts and listened to a podcast of Henry Rollins talking about producing The Cramps ‘Gravest Gravy’ archive album. I read a couple of chapters of Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over. A lot of it for a second time, as I had no recollection of reading it just a couple of days ago. OK. 10.15pm.


Thursday 18th June 2026

Last night it was Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division. This evening, I've been rocking Nirvana – Live and Loud. I prefer to watch live videos of bands rather than just listen to the songs. I've put in a full day at the computer; it's been on for about twelve hours. The Poetry Jam stuff is up for July. I've saved all my book files to a USB stick; I will make more backups of it. I printed out a couple of Letting the Minimalism Slip pamphlets for the Colpitts gig and will make up Failed Rock Star as well. I had a canny chat with brother Mark on the phone for half an hour this evening. I fancy something nice for supper. The Man Who Sold the World is on now. I think I heard Nirvana's version before Bowie's. I didn't get outside today. Hopefully on the bike tomorrow. OK. 11.00pm.


Friday 19th June 2026

Spent a lot of today book-building. Got out on the Rockhopper bike for a little while. I picked up A Dance of Ghosts by Kevin Brooks from Consett library. I read the first couple of chapters on the bus to Newcastle this evening. Written from the point of view of a depressed private investigator who gets into bother with a benefit fraudster. Oh, and I got some pamphlets folded and assembled. Jenni went to York for a reunion with her Gerbil Squad school friends. I think I got up a bit too early this morning. Really knackered. Jenni is now watching episodes of Inside No 9. I've had four chicken dinners this week. 10.50pm.


Saturday 20th June 2026

Awake too early this morning, so quite tired for a fair bit of the day. Quite hot in the attic. Jenni and I went out for supplies, then watched four episodes of Midsomer Murders. I think I fell asleep for a while. I've eaten lots of chicken sandwiches today and had a Biscoff choc ice. Drank lots of squash. Prince's Trust concert from 1986 on TV this evening: Bryan Adams, Tina Turner, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Paul Young, (members of) Status Quo, Suzanne Vega, Level 42, and Paul McCartney. OK. 10.51pm


Sunday 21st June 2026

Jenni was away at a train convention today, so I took the opportunity to give her room a bit of a declutter. This evening, she returned with bits of soot on her face from one of the vintage trains, then went outside to escape the attic heat. We walked to Gateshead. She went to the pub; I crossed the Tyne and caught the X45 bus to Consett. Walked home, ate nuts and sultanas. OK. 11.17pm.


Monday 22nd June 2026

My hypomanic brain does what it wants and sometimes just says Stuff You Stevie, lad – and I zonk out mid-afternoon. So today I had to lie low for ninety minutes after trimming copies of Failed Rock Star and inking covers of Letting The Minimalism Slip. But after a sleepy, after a baked potato with curried beans and tuna, I rattled through the reportage, then booted up the desktop computer and did the latest round of corrections for the little Waddy Writers anthology. At around half ten, it struck me that I hadn't rehearsed again for Colpitts. So I had a good run through the entire set. I've got about six pieces that are memorized and a lot of the rest don't need it anyway. But one or two of the new ones will get there eventually, probably next year. Or the year after. Today was a canny day. Lots more to come. OK. 11.46pm.


Tuesday 23rd June 2026

Today was pretty bloody great! I read a couple of chapters of A Dance Of Ghosts by Kevin Brooks. I think I've retained the storyline. I worked for about two hours before the Waddy workshop, getting our little anthology a couple of steps closer to completion. We have a big colour canvas artwork by one of the writers from which to borrow a detail for a wrap-around cover. All the poems are proofed, save the cover artist's pieces. And we should get all the margins sorted in the next week. We did some basic writing prompts in the session and shared our thoughts on the anthology selection. The temperature in Durham today was ridiculous. The bus back to Consett was a greenhouse. But the town was pleasantly breezy. I needed a lie down tonight due to poor sleep last night. I listened to The Head on the Door album by The Cure. Then sorted my bag for tomorrow's Durham Carers Workshop and had another Colpitts rehearsal. OK. 10.35pm.


Wednesday 24th June 2026

Another good day. Nice little taster workshop at Belmont Community Centre for Durham Carers Support. I read The Dark House, My Box, Piece of String and Little Miss Sleepyhead. We got through seven exercises: one-minute sentences, adj-noun-verb compositions, acrostics, objects and lies, ten images from twenty-four hours, letters to lost things and 'I Am' poems. This evening I packed book stock for the Colpitts gig and photocopied handouts for Friday's Arts Centre Washington workshop. Also, another rehearsal for tomorrow night. OK. 10.30pm.


Thursday 25th June 2026

Had a cracking day today. Up at half six. Got the pages done. Then the best freezer defrost ever; my new hairdryer blasted through loads of ice, and I cleared the abundance in about eighty minutes. I went out at half eleven to Consett. Had a big homemade steak and cheese sandwich for dinner. Got a 78-bus to South Moor Library. Really enjoyed Bobby Cussons' book talk for her novel SHOTLEY BRIDGE MURDERS. Very informative. Loads of good questions answered. The bus ride from Stanley to Durham on the 16A was canny. Much cooler than the bus I set out on this morning. I had chicken jalfrezi and rice at Waddy this afternoon and did a final rehearsal downstairs in the lounge. Then had a great gig at Colpitts. Andy Willoughby, the host, said set duration was flexible, so I didn’t feel rushed. I adlibbed quite a bit between poems. Tony Gadd was concerned about his voice letting him down, but he was ace. A well-balanced set, a lot of it outward-looking. Enjoyed his I Remember, Pink Slice and Chunky Chips, The musicians, John and Maggie Burge, were good. I particularly enjoyed Maggie’s piano playing. Open mic was pretty much an A-Game special. Big thanks to all involved. And thanks to people for buying books. Last bus home for me tonight. 11.15pm.


Friday 26th June 2026

The kitchen might stink for a few days with the carpet peeled back, while the concrete floor dries by the freezer. Then, when the carpet is dry, it needs baking soda to neutralise the odour. I've done it before, by the freezer and at the other side of the room near the back door. Unfortunately, the carpet needed cutting in two places to allow a section the necessary exposure to warm air. Today, I was pleased to be away. The workshop at Arts Centre Washington went well. Present tense memoir pieces. This evening I had chicken and chips; then wrote a testimonial for The Black Light Engine Room archive, but Facebook swallowed it. I tried to write it again but couldn't remember the words. One Dollar Zombies were brilliant at Heart in Consett tonight. I bought supplies at Tesco afterwards. Back home, I ate the rest of the chicken. It's hot upstairs. Tired. 11.46pm.


Saturday 27th June 2026

Awake about half five. I rewrote the testimonial for The Black Light Engine Room and submitted it. I wrote some feedback for One Dollar Zombies. Then blasted the patch of kitchen carpet near the freezer with a hairdryer; I put bowls of distilled white vinegar down to kill the smell. Then I walked to Consett for the crime fiction talk by author Miles Hudson. He was very informative and animated his novel extracts well. I enjoyed it. Then over to Jen's place. Out for supplies. Then watched game shows followed by forty Glastonbury tracks. OK. 11.00pm.


Sunday 28th June 2026

Morning pages were just preparation for the week. Today has been a big day off after doing stuff for six days in a row. Jenni and I watched a History of the Railways series this afternoon. Madonna interview tonight and more Glastonbury highlights. I have mostly been eating tuna, oranges and bananas. Had a couple of choc ices as well. OK. 10.38pm.


Monday 29th June 2026

Jenni and I forgot our anniversary this morning. She remembered first and messaged me when I got home. Big thanks to all the people who responded to the photo Jenni posted of us online. Big thanks to Jenni for all the love and support and laughs and cuddles and creativity and inspiration over the last sixteen years. And thanks for the ace carpet double-sided tape. The kitchen carpet is now back in place. I’ve sprayed it with a vinegar and water solution. It smells okay some ten hours later, but I’ll still sprinkle baking soda on it tomorrow. I tweaked the Waddy Writers anthology and mocked up the cover. I listened to Nirvana – Live and Loud. Then watched Sex Pistols fronted by Frank Carter on YouTube from this year’s Isle of Wight Festival. OK. 11.35pm.

Tuesday 30th June 2026

Today was quite stressful. I thought we’d be good to go with the Waddy anthology today, but discussions about some of the content and more last-minute changes to the text have set us back a few days. And trimming the white border off the cover knocks all the margins out. All to reposition tomorrow. Fingers crossed everything comes right by the weekend. But this evening I still have Poetry Jam pix to upload and a morning pages book to make. OK. 7.50pm.

 

MAY

Friday 1st May 2026

Good session at Washington Arts Centre this afternoon. We got through a lot of reading for the anthology. Forty pieces with a few more to go in. I was supposed to be going to Waddington Street Centre to pick up another test proof of my pamphlet Failed Rock Star but I got an email from staff saying they hadn't received the PDF. Tonight I listened to the new Venom album Into Oblivion. It's not as raw as the early stuff. I had a chicken dinner and lots of peanuts. I'm in a foul mood because I am tired and have to be up early again tomorrow because buses are unreliable these days. I need to be at Waddy by ten o'clock. I aim to leave home before eight. OK. 10.50pm.


Saturday 2nd May 2026

Up around six. Wheelie case packed for eight o'clock bus to Durham. Peter was at Waddy very early and kindly ran me off a proof copy of Failed Rock Star before going for a haircut. This gave me time to assemble and check some margins on the pamphlet. Two hours later, with a few minor adjustments, everything was printed. A run of Failed Rock Star will be assembled midweek for next Saturday's gigs. Chuffed. 11.44pm.


Sunday 3rd May 2026

Prepped a workshop for Waddy this morning. Out this afternoon to Consett, then on to Jen's place. Watched Britain's Got Talent, ate hot cross buns, watched House of Fools (Vic and Bob) and Still Game. Prepped poem sheets for tomorrow. 10.27pm.


Monday 4th May 2026

I rehearsed some poems this morning for The Cooking Pot open mic. Only used a couple of them. Very mild at the coast. Baba Yaga’s was packed. Lots of good readers. Aaron, Jen Wilson, Penny Blackburn, Martin Monasse, Christine Fowler, Peter Mortimer, Steve Lancaster… Lots of laughs and clever rhymes. A young child read a horror story. Jenni was on good form, enjoyed her set. The Metro back to Gateshead was good. We watched the snooker final on catch-up. Wu Yize beat Shaun Murphy. OK. 11.44pm.


Tuesday 5th May 2026

Final session for NaPoWriMo stuff at Waddy this afternoon. We are low on numbers. If I was still employed by the college there is no way I'd be able to justify the course. I'm pleased I got out. One of the tutors says I dodged a bullet. I wrote some one-minute sentences and some tiny prose pieces from topics on an A2Z list. Uploaded the Poetry Jam images tonight. Did a bit of physio and printed set lists for The Smoke Room. No work on the actual booklet assembly. I'll be doing that tomorrow. I don't need to be out again until Poetry Jam on Thursday. OK. 11.54pm.


Wednesday 6th May 2026

Up about eight for morning pages, which gave me some ideas for new projects, then a whole day at the drop-leaf table making up copies of Failed Rock Star whilst listening to audio recordings of my intros for the next gigs. Almost everything I used to say at my early gigs was scripted. I wondered if I'd be able to speed up memorisation of material by playing new recordings about sixty to one hundred times. My brain just doesn't let me retrieve info at will. Stuff goes in, and eventually will rise to the surface, but I never know when it will be retrievable. So I'll still need notes written on enlarged copies of my poems. Hope I do okay on Saturday. Hope people take my sets in the way they are intended. Hope I don't bore people. Failed Rock Star looks great. OK. 10.59pm.


Thursday 7th May 2026

Big rehearsals for The Smoke Room sets this morning. I had to cut some of the intros and links. I'm seeing more connections with each rehearsal. Chuffed. I didn't get to Waddy till quarter to four this afternoon. Massive headache. Felt sick. Luckily, it passed and I got set up for the Poetry Jam. It went well. All the guests did good. Pip MacDonald performed with a migraine. She was great. Renata Connors work is somewhat surreal and magical at the same time. David Farn was partly himself and partly Owen Brecon. It was a good night. Lots of heavy open floor poems and some humour. I waited till the end to mention seventeen years and Happy Birthday to us. Big tidy up. Big thanks to Mark Speeding for the lift home to Moorside. OK. 11.56pm.


Friday 8th May 2026

Keep waking up around five in the morning no matter how late I go to bed. I spent a lot of today sorting intros and links my Late Shows set. They need editing down a bit. I didn't get to Jen's place until after five. I went to three Greggs but none had spicy wedges. We went to see Captured Souls - the Graeme Humphreys documentary at the Tyneside Cinema with a Q&A but didn't check out the merch at the end. Went to Tesco for supplies. I feel a bit under the weather. Hope I get through the gigs okay tomorrow. I've rehearsed the evening set more today from the book. OK. 11.33pm.


Saturday 9th May 2026

Lazy morning then a big day at Station East in Gateshead. Great to do sets alongside Nev Clay, JonJo and Ade, Phil Tyler and Your Casket Or Mine. And there was some great stuff at The Late Shows open mic in the same venue tonight. Jenni is finishing her pint, then we're off. I'm taking things easy next week. OK. 10.50pm.


Sunday 10th May 2026

A bit deflated. Come down after the adrenaline of yesterday. But okay. I did a bit of admin while Jenni slept. This afternoon we watched The Day The World Stood Still, and a bit of snooker. Ate ham and pease pudding sandwiches. Was chuffed to get ace pics and feedback for yesterday. Columbo in London on TV then bus back to Consett. OK. 11.52pm.


Monday 11th May 2026

Pulled a workshop together for the Waddy writers. I read a bit of STAY FANATIC!!! Vol.3 by Henry Rollins. I can only manage short burts because it gets a bit much after a while. I checked out a couple of the bands raved about and wasn't impressed. I left my new Wilkinson razors at Jen's, so had to shave very carefully with an inferior brand. This evening I wanted to hear the new Darkthrone album Prehistoric Metal. I fell asleep after about five minutes. I have lots of plans for the next six months. But today I'm struggling to stay focused or motivated. Reading seems like being lazy. I have lots to edit and format. OK. 10.35pm.


Tuesday 12th May 2026

Morning pages. Then sewed buttons back onto my coat. Caught a bus to Durham. Printed some flyers for my nephew's men's health group. I hope they are okay. I think the text is too small on the A5 version. Writing session went well. A lot more discussion than usual. Two pro creatives with differing views on practice (novelist Paul Auster and record producer Rick Rubin). Some flash fiction prompts. And some character sketches. I went to Jen's place for a while afterwards, then out to Tyneside Cinema to see Hokum. Only about seven people in. The film is a folk horror set in Ireland. A hotel witch story. A bit like The Shining meets escape rooms. A bit long-winded in the middle, think I fell asleep a little. I'm on the X45 bus to Consett, hoping to catch the last to Moorside. OK. 10.58pm.


Wednesday 13th May 2026

Late rise after getting home from Newcastle at midnight. I trimmed Kyle's men's group leaflets, then went into town for a work meeting. This afternoon I got my supplies, then made a chicken dinner – first proper meal for a couple of days. Tonight I read two essays by Paul Auster: Pages for Kafka and The Art of Hunger from his Groundwork book. Then I listened to all the tracks that Jarboe will be playing on her UK dates next week. Nine songs. Only recognised one. I ate a chicken and cheese sandwich, then peshwari naan with banana. Read some political stuff on Facebook. If Farage gets in at the next general election, we are fucked, and over half of his voters will sob with regret within six months. 11.25pm.


Thursday 14th May 2026

Didn't get grass cut. Haven’t been on a bike for a month. The torrential downpours of late will probably have made the riverside trails all muddy. I've prepared a Washington workshop for tomorrow. Listened to quite a bit of Jarboe online. Her 2008 album Mahakali is magnificent. I spotted a digipak copy in near fine condition on Discogs for six quid including postage and ordered it. Still haven't got a Lydia Lunch ticket. I haven't had the big computer on recently. This evening I looked through my January notebooks. I'd like to publish a new volume of essays and journal entries later in the year. Nicky Hall was in touch this evening, referring to an ex-Waddy poet. I need to work on the next anthology. OK. 10.21pm.


Friday 15th May 2026

Long bus ride to Washington this morning. A quick setup for the workshop. It went okay. We did some finish-the-sentence warm-ups., used A2Z word banks to generate prose pieces, tried a few NaPoWriMo prompts, including Villanelle. Big thanks to Nicola Spain for lift to Chester-le-Street. I fell asleep on the 78 bus to Consett. All the chocolate moons have gone from Barry's Bargain Superstore. I got home and had a reduced-price chicken tikka and rice at half four. Then returned to Consett to buy a new kettle. My only source of hot water besides the microwave oven. I secured all the loose buttons on my black coat, then watched When Nirvana Came to Britain documentary, but fell asleep at the end. I'm tired and way behind on my editing. No bike rides yet. OK. 10.37pm.


Saturday 16th May 2026

Big lie-in then up to open a letter from NHS. I have a preliminary appointment on Monday for a hernia operation. I took advantage of the fine weather and got the grass cut. Took about three hours because it's so long since last time. Tonight I'm at Jen's place. I have eaten some reheated chips and survived the Eurovision song contest entries. OK. 10.31pm.


Sunday 17th May 2026

Big lie in. Left arm aching badly. Read some reviews of the essay anthology Bread Alone edited by Prudhoe-born writer Kate Pasola. It’s all about working-class struggles and the glass ceiling of careers in literature. Tesco this afternoon for supplies. Some TV game shows – The Chase and Tipping Point - then the horror film Possum starring Alun Armstrong. Enjoyed it. Chicken sandwiches, chocolate. OK. 11.03pm.


Monday 18th May 2026

I went to Durham from Jen's, had soup at Waddy and printed more flyers for Kyle's men's health group, then went to the hospital for hernia medical. They didn't tell me anything new about it – so I've waited nine months to be told my operation will be a further three months. I missed two buses. Didn't get home until six this evening. I've worked on the new Waddy anthology. Thirty-six pages formatted, and only a few bits to move around. OK. 11.36pm.


Tuesday 19th May 2026

Tired all day. Think yesterday took a lot out of me. But we had a good edit session on the Waddy booklet this afternoon. It's always a long process getting pieces polished for publication. With my own stuff, I usually select material from folders and notebooks from a few years back. I rarely use things just recently created. Tonight I tried to read but fell asleep. I listened to a bit more of a recent Jarboe interview relating to her new Sightings album. She also talked about touring with Swans back in the day. She is in Newcastle on Friday. Her 2023 show was disappointing. But I really enjoyed seeing her in Leicester back in 2017. And before that, 2005, with her full band at Scala Cinema in London. OK. 10.37pm.


Wednesday 20th May 2026

Sluggish. Dull. Unmotivated. Hard to concentrate. Took most of the day just to catch up with stray notebook entries. I'm struggling to read for more than about 10 minutes at a time. A little bit of STAY FANATIC!!! Vol.3 by Henry Rollins. A bit of the big Behemoth biography. I watched most of the long Jarboe interview. Lots of info on living conditions with the band Swans and tech issues playing gigs with dodgy equipment. I listened to a few Swans and solo Jarboe tracks, also watched a bit of Mantas and Abbadon (Venom) footage from Keep it True festival. I stained my brain with more shit about the state of the world. I try to keep my opinions to myself. I'm currently watching Jarboe onstage with Italian duo Father Murphy. I saw this show in Leicester. It was brilliant. OK. 10.52pm.


Thursday 21st May 2026

First time out on a bike for about six weeks. I used the old Specialized Rockhopper, with only a couple of short stretches of tarmac between home and Chopwell Woods. I discovered some amazing trails but didn't have time to ride any of them. I was merely checking the place out. You could spend a week there and wouldn't get through it all. I tried to ride one route before I left but missed a turning from the main path. A lot of the stuff isn't signposted. I will give myself a couple of months to get fit and maybe go back with my Sonder Frontier adventure bike to ride on some technical downhill stuff. But four hours was a bit long to be out on my first proper ride in months. Tonight was a total head-mash: stupidly slow desktop computer, but I got the Poetry Jam publicity sorted. I bought a Lydia Lunch ticket. OK. 11.38pm.


Friday 22nd May 2026

Chicken jalfrezi and rice for dinner. Bus to Gateshead. Gave Jenni some chocolate. Had a 10p tin of Heinz butternut squash soup with bread rolls. Then off to Heaton to meet Stephen Clark. We saw Jarboe and Joy Von Spain play at The Star and Shadow. They were ace. I moved to a better vantage point halfway through the show for a clear view of Jarboe's facial expressions. After the gig, I walked back to Jen's place. OK. 11.37pm.


Saturday 23rd May 2026

About six hours sleep. I've read some interesting pieces about an actress with bipolar disorder, some stuff about bogus well-being cults, and a bunch of Meg Pokrass flash fiction pieces. I've eaten too many pork pies. OK. 9.46pm.


Sunday 24th May 2026

Morning pages gave me three workshop plans, then Jenni screened a load of Tiny Desk concerts, including Robert Plant, Clipping, Kronos Quartet and Foo Fighters. Had a nice chicken dinner with veg and some lush Ben and Jerry's chocolate ice cream. Tonight we saw the three-part Kylie documentary and a few episodes of crime series Slow Horses. OK. 11.38pm.


Monday 25th May 2026

A warm morning and a scorching hot afternoon this Spring Bank Holiday Monday. Jenni didn't want to stay in because her room would be too hot by evening, so she went out to the pub, and I got a bus back to Consett. Doomscrolling punishment: loads of Israel/Gaza stuff that infuriated me. Read a few chapters of Antony Bray's VENOM book. OK. 11.00pm.


Tuesday 26th May 2026

Better sleep than expected. I got to Waddy about twenty to twelve. The session didn’t require paper handouts. Enough fiction exercises to last two hours. Afterwards, I read a couple of Meg Pokrass interviews and some of her flash fiction. I stayed at Waddy until twenty past five. Then checked four of my pieces selected for open mic. I went to the library because the pub was awful. I borrowed a copy of Slough House by Mick Herron, off the back of seeing a few episodes of Slow Horses at the weekend. Colpitts Poetry event was great. Jenni did a mint feature set. The Darlington takeover group were engaging. And some class Durham turns too. Poem of the night had to be Pink Slice by Tony Gadd. Thanks to Andy Willoughby for organising and hosting. I felt chilly in Durham but really warm now at home. OK. 11.45pm.


Wednesday 27th May 2026

Today was a wasted day. Besides a few copy-ups I've achieved little. I wanted to ride a bike this afternoon but fell asleep. When I woke up, my stomach was totally bloated; looked like I'd put on two stone in about an hour. No way would I have been able to ride the bike tonight. I watched an interesting interview in which Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols talked about being in the band in the mid-seventies. I also saw a short film about psychobilly band The Cramps. I’ve only heard one best-of compilation but used to see their logo on shirts and jackets all over the place in my teens. Hope I have a productive day tomorrow. And a bike ride. Fingers crossed. OK. 10.40pm.


Thursday 28th May 2026

Good little ride on my Sonder Frontier bike after breakfast. Did some standing hill-climbs and rode my favourite trail from Shotley Bridge to Allensford. This afternoon, at long last, I finished reading STAY FANATIC Vol.3 by Henry Rollins. Vol.4 is close to hand but will probably take till about October to get through all 334 A4 pages. Had a steak and veg dinner. Cut my scalp whilst shaving and had to use a piece of folded toilet roll secured with black electrical tape to stem the blood. I watched some live footage of The Cramps from The Tube in 1986. I'd like to check out more of their music. OK. 10.27pm.


Friday 29th May 2026

I read about twenty pages of Slough House on the bus to Chester-le-Street today. The fiction workshop went well at Arts Centre Washington with six participants. Big thanks to Alwyn Bathan for a lift to Gateshead. I tried to read again on the bus to Consett but fell asleep. I bought loads of naan and cheese crackers from Barry's Bargain Superstore then went to get fresh meat and veg at Lidl. Tonight's For Better or Verse at Blackhill Club was superb: Caitlin Kendall, John Swinton and James Thoroughgood. Loads of great open floor readers. Over forty people in the room. Afterwards, I went to Tesco for a ream of copier paper then walked home. OK. 11.47pm.


Saturday 30th May 2026

Productive day. An hour cutting grass and thirty minutes tidying edges. Poetry Jam pictures uploaded. But the computer is being super slow. I fear I need a new one before the year is through. I listened to Toyah Willcox’s album Prostitute this evening and a young artist called Mimi Barks. Tuesday’s Waddy session ideas are listed. It’s a freebie, so I don’t need a load of printed exercises. I might read for a while. 10.13pm.


Sunday 31st May 2026

I thought I wasn’t going to be able to complete the blog today. Computer took an hour from original boot up to restart for updates before finally allowing me onto my home screen. I know someone who is very good with computers who, if I ask nicely, might pay me a visit to give it an annual check-up. I had a good little ride down by the River Derwent on the Sonder Frontier adventure bike first thing. Did a few decent hill climbs and some technical trails, but some major fails as well. Feet down more than usual on trails I’ve cleaned easily in the past. I’ve put on nearly a stone in weight since last autumn. Need to hit the tuna and chicken salads again. Hope next month is a good one. Thanks for reading. 12.20pm.

CRUELLEST MONTH

Wednesday 1st April 2026

I started in on the new book today. The page margins are the same as Laughter To Split Glass. I've pulled about 40 pages of poems into a file and have a load more to gather up. Then I'll do a big printout and see if I can arrange them into a preliminary running order. I could only manage about four hours because my head started to hurt. I watched some ace bike trials videos this evening. I didn't even get the rider's name, but he was using an old Onza T-Rex bike, pretty much the same set-up as brother Mark had two decades ago. Then another video, in which he was using a thirty-year-old Giant mountain bike. I nipped out for supplies, then watched Queen Live at the Rainbow while doing physio. 10.35pm.


Thursday 2nd April 2026

I was in Consett early this morning for a bank transaction and to get food supplies. I did a bit of work on Ann Porro's pamphlet this afternoon and prepped for Poetry Jam. We had a full house tonight. All the guests were ace. James Whitman took a hilarious swipe at Reform UK Limited and read a few dog-stained haiku, plus four poems about teenagers and parents. Helen Alexandra read heartfelt and hard-hitting poems about domestic abuse and survival. Bob Beagrie treated us to a phenomenal forty-minute set, including a preview of his 'Hand of Glory: A Biography' book show. The open floor jam was packed with talent, some new and familiar faces. Two of the Waddy writers read, and Helen's daughter read a poem about a soldier. Hester, Rosemary, Ivy, Kevin, lots of people, including a newcomer from one of my library events. OK. 11.14pm.


Friday 3rd April 2026

I did a couple of this year's NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) prompts – but not today's, which was to write about an unconventional perception of a job or vocation. I'll try it in Morning Pages tomorrow. I wanted to get out on the bike, but the high wind this afternoon wasn't appealing. And the risk of rain wasn’t great either. I tried to read 'STAY FANATIC Vol. 3' by Henry Rollins but fell asleep. Chuffed to get the downstairs carpets looking a bit better. The rest of the house is a shithole. My priorities are probably all wrong. OK. 10.50pm.


Saturday 4th April 2026

Morning pages gave me two drafts from NaPoWriMo. I read a few pages of STAY FANATIC Vol. 3 by Henry Rollins, then did bicep physio with additional shoulder exercises. I wrote a new NaPoWriMo draft on the bus to Gateshead, picked up essential supplies, and went to Jen's place. Watched standard Saturday TV, then Whitechapel. It's very windy. Hope my place is okay. 11.13pm.


Sunday 5th April 2026

Up around eight. Wrote some fast-flowing prose in morning pages. Keyed in a recent NaPoWriMo poem and posted one on Facebook. Jenni and I spent a couple of hours with John and Hilary this afternoon. Then back to the attic for the snooker final – but it was too slow, not very engaging. We watched The Imitation Game. OK. 10.40pm.


Monday 6th April 2026

Morning pages are good for NaPoWriMo first drafts this year. Chuffed with my piece again today. Posted it straight to Facebook. I won't be posting every day because I want to keep some back for possible magazine submissions. A flash fiction site called Paragraph Planet popped up on Facebook today. I'd like to submit some prose fragments to that. Jenni and I went to Whitley Bay this afternoon. Got fish and chips then went to the Cooking Pot at Baba Yaga. Our first time at this spoken word night. Been wanting to get there for two years! Jenny Scott's event attracted a good variety of performers – poetry, prose and oral storytelling. Steve Lancaster read a great poem about his dislike of craft fairs and one about digital technology. Hannah, a visitor from London, did a great poem about avoiding school PE, and one about her disdain for flag shaggers. Jenni read some playful NaPoWriMo pieces. I did 'And What Do You Do For A Living?', 'Skip Rat', then 'Madge And Me And The Slippery Digits Disc Jockey'. Great night. We have both been kindly asked to headline. 0K. 11.11pm.


Tuesday 7th April 2026

So, the US Prezza is threatening to wipe out a whole civilisation tonight – and no one in American government has taken the dumb fucker out yet? Failed businessman and proven sexual abuser. Get in the fucking sea! Not fit to serve coffee, much less run a country... I had a canny NaPoWriMo-based workshop with Waddy Writers this afternoon. Only three people in, but we got through six prompts and started a seventh. I already had drafts for each day, but it was good to try again and tidy up some rough stuff. I came straight home after the workshop. I bought a steak pie in Moorside and had it with steamed veg and gravy. Tonight I've done very little. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow. And even if Donny doesn't do as he threatens - after all the noise around the world in opposition - he should still be taken out anyway. What total fuck-up! OK. 9.52pm.


Wednesday 8th April 2026

Warmest day of the year so far. And an opportunity to get out on the Sonder Frontier bike. I didn't clean as many sections as last time. On a stream crossing, my front wheel clipped a rock. I lost balance, resulting in a wet right foot for an hour or two. I'm limited now as to how much hopping and shunting I can do since the torn bicep but still managed to get up ledges and do the rooty hill climbs. Back home, I got my NaPoWriMo poems copied up into a notebook, most of them also typed. I wrote three poems from today's prompt. I hope I can keep going for the full month. It will give me a few more good ones as contenders for the next official poetry book. Tonight I watched Twisted Sister: Live at Wacken Metal Fest from 2004. Great stuff! Saw the band with Alice Cooper in 2005. OK. 11.46pm.


Thursday 9th April 2026

Bit of a lie-in and rusty response to the NaPoWriMo prompt; I don't have much interest in animals or plants but managed to write about a mouse. I went to Consett for groceries. Had a chicken dinner, did physio, then an early Sunderland bus to King Ink. Intended to read on the way, but fell asleep. Had a Ginsters steak bake with Greggs' spicy wedges. Then looked at DVDs and CDs in HMV in The Bridges till six o'clock. King Ink was mint tonight. I enjoyed the open mic stuff. Some really stood out for me: Pip MacDonald, David Hodgson, Steve May. There were gothic pieces, anti-war poems, stuff about hated vegetables. And of course, Aaron Wright with Erasmus Croc and Shmuck; a great headline set to launch their story collection BARK SIDE OF THE MOON. Aaron gave me a lift back to Chester-le-Street. I'm now on the 78-bus to Consett. OK. 10.49pm.


Friday 10th April 2026

Up quite late. I did today's NaPoWriMo prompt in rough in the Morning Pages. Read a bit of STAY FANATIC!!! Vol.3 by Henry Rollins. Then went out to cut the grass. It was quite an ordeal with the damaged left arm and the lawn mower that overheats and cuts out every twenty minutes or so. The grass was really long. During one of the rests, I got a private message from Ann Porro saying her son Luke has died. Such terribly sad news. Understandably, she has put her creativity on hold. It was difficult to finish the grass. Later, I tweaked some NaPoWriMo edits and made a steak and steamed veg dinner. This evening, I tried to read, but my body opted for sleep. Later, I watched Cobain - Montage of Heck and managed to stay awake all the way through. Bed soon. 10.29pm.


Saturday 11th April 2026

The NaPoWriMo prompt today was for Erasure (aka blackout) poetry. I just took lines and individual words from a bunch of songs by an 80s pop duo and tried to make something with them. I'll finish it tomorrow. Jenni is a bit under the weather today and wasn't up for Greg Chapman's Discovery of Witchcraft show at Heddon on the Wall Memorial Hall this afternoon. It was brilliant. Informative, funny, thought-provoking, and very well performed. I've eaten too much chocolate. 10.03pm.


Sunday 12th April 2026

Bit of a lie in. A bit warmer this morning. I wrote a new poem for NaPoWriMo and posted it to Facebook. Then went out to Gateshead for groceries. Lots of reduced-price bread and cold cuts. The radio was on in the attic quite a bit today, but I don't remember much of it. Tonight, the Olivier Awards were on TV. Then Krapp's Last Tape starring Harold Pinter, followed by Aidan Dunbar in a Beckett documentary. Great stuff. 10.57pm.


Monday 13th April 2026

Chilly start. Hard to get comfortable sitting on the attic floor, but I got all my pages done, including another NaPoWriMo new draft. Jenni and I watched some episodes of Inside No 9 and a bit of The League of Gentlemen. I've always found the latter quite grotesque. I walk down to Team Valley for the bus. Didn't get home until after five. I've done quite a bit of prep for the week and some number-crunching. Increased the physio weight load slightly for the first time in a while. I'm at Waddy tomorrow. 10.47pm.


Tuesday 14th April 2026

Chuffed to produce a NaPoWriMo poem without having to use a pen or key in the words – spoken directly into Messenger from my pillow, posted online by 8.30am. Felt pretty good about it all day. The session at Waddy went well. It's a freebie from me, so I'm basically running through all the NaPoWriMo prompts, seven per session for the month, to get the writers a pamphlet's worth of material each, in thirty days. Some really great drafts this afternoon. Hope I'm able to sustain momentum. I could have gone out tonight for supplies, but I wanted to stay in and have a lazy evening. I watched the Kurt Cobain documentary 'Soaked in Bleach' again. And a few more recent ones about his death. I'm not doing physio tonight. I want to turn in quite early to get a good start again tomorrow. OK. 10.17pm.


Wednesday 15th April 2026

NaPoWriMo prompt: a love poem, but not about a romantic relationship. I just riffed on generational views of popular music for a page and a half. Then out to Consett for bank transactions and supplies. I picked up a pair of black trainers in great condition for a fiver. Then bought a '200 best goth albums' magazine. It's okay but could have been better. I've heard nearly a quarter of the 200 albums. This afternoon I got a preliminary sequence of poems ready for The Smoke Room gig. I aim to make an expanded edition of a very limited-run pamphlet I did in 2015. It will contain one or two new pieces. Tonight I listened to the Nirvana album Nevermind whilst doing physio and other exercises. Rain prevented a bike ride. OK. 10.26pm.


Thursday 16th April 2026

Productive day. I got my sets pretty much sequenced for readings at The Smoke Room and was writing intros when the lineup was announced on Facebook. I'm chuffed to be doing a gig with Bedsit Manor, Your Casket or Mine, Phil Tyler and Nev Clay. I'm chuffed to have enough music-related poems to expand the Failed Rock Star pamphlet. I'll have a few runs through the sets just to be sure and will hopefully be able to reformat all the poems in a pamphlet for 9th May. This will function as a sampler in much the same way as the Prohibition pamphlet did in 2024. Tonight I listened to Lodger by David Bowie. I only recognised the single Boys Keep Swinging. There aren't enough hours in the day to go through the full back catalogues of musical legends. I'm off to bed early so I can be up sharp for Washington. OK. 10.14pm.


Friday 17th April 2026

Session at Washington went well. Five of the regulars and two newcomers. We warmed up with Absurd Words, then did a picture half-marathon. The darker images seemed to work best for most people. Big thanks to Alwyn Bathan for the lift to Gateshead. I went to Jen's place for a while, then got the X20 bus to Alnwick. A longer journey than the recommended X18, but I enjoyed the route through Amble in the early evening sunshine. I got to Alnwick Playhouse by 7.000pm. Toyah Willcox was brilliant. More stories than songs. Some of the covers were abbreviated versions, including School's Out and Enter Sandman. She answered my question about obsessive fans, the most recent being a septuagenarian who took loads of paper to sign at a Meet and Greet in Scarborough last night. I spoke briefly to technician John Greenacre afterwards. Got to Alnmouth train station okay, but my train is delayed by almost an hour. Jenni has kept me updated via mobile from the attic. I'm now due onboard at two minutes to midnight. Hey, Iron Maiden song. OK. 11:52pm.

 
NaPoWriMo 2026 Day Twenty-Six

WELL NOW, PHILIP

Rhyme time
A few complaints
One poem in particular
Not exactly Incy Wincy Spider
Anti-family lectures
Down the student union, perhaps

But not the sort of thing we
Encourage for toddlers
We want Wheels on the Bus
We want Jack and Jill
Not some cod psychology

The language from the outset
Mrs Thompson nearly had a coronary
We thought a proper poet would be a treat
But not this crude misery
And rumour has it
You're also a bit of a racist

As far as this library is concerned
Keep your mean-spirited
Verse away from decent folk
Go on, that's all
Cheque's in the post


Saturday 18th April 2026

Not much done today. I listened to some Toyah tracks. My ears are okay. I went to Gateshead for supplies. Then tried to attend a writing workshop, but the venue was deserted. Must have been cancelled. Banana on peshwari naan for tea. I wrote up my trip to Alnwick as an antiquated epic poem for National Poetry Writing Month. Checked out the new Toyah book, Meteorite, but it's very expensive. Washed a load of crockery whilst Jenni was out. Scrolled and slept. 0K. 10.17pm.


Sunday 19th April 2026

Big lie in. Jenni and I had a huge Sunday dinner delivered from Toby Carvery. A bit too expensive for my liking, but the meal was nice. We watched a horror film called Never Let Go starring Halle Berry. Then a bizarrely entertaining 'It Couldn't Happen Here' starring The Pet Shop Boys. I got the 47-bus via Chopwell back to Consett tonight and walked down to Moorside, narrowly avoiding a toilet accident. 0K. 11.50pm.


Monday 20th April 2026

Long day, mostly working downstairs at the drop-leaf table on copy-ups and edits of recent NaPoWriMo efforts. Some of the prompts and examples are stupidly long and really fucking annoying. But I've attempted them – albeit with a rather cavalier approach to the flower dictionary request and anything involving animals. This evening I made a mock-up pamphlet of my forthcoming sets for The Smoke Room, but I don't think the font is right. It was great for Letting The Minimalism Slip, but maybe the next one should look less like a seventies small press pamphlet. Maybe something glossy. Computer updates slowed me down, but I got the Waddy paperwork done. OK. 11.53pm.


Tuesday 21st April 2026

Great day. The Waddy session went well. Just another NaPoWriMo freebie workshop with a couple of the regular participants, but a good opportunity for those without internet access to have a crack at prompts from the last seven days. Afterwards, I tweaked the sampler pamphlet for the upcoming gigs. Had some lush bacon and mushroom sandwiches for tea at Waddy, watched a few Brian May clips online, then walked up to Redhills Hall with Jenni, Hilary and David (Rutherford). Bob Beagrie's Hand of Glory poetry show was brilliant. Musical backing, great performance. Will need to check the book to jog my memory. Strong open mic from a bunch of top North East talent. Fell asleep on the bus back to Moorside. OK. 11.46pm.


Wednesday 22nd April 2026

Lights blazing towards midnight. Cup of squash untouched. Ears fizzing. Computer whirring, whirring, whirring. Feet numb. Stuck to the spot. Eyes glued to the screen, fingers tapping keys, shifting shapes, moving words and images. It can only mean... I'm busy on a book cover. Really chuffed with tonight's design for FAILED ROCK STAR. I think I'm going to run with it. I reckon it could be good to go next week. 0K. 11.57pm.


Thursday 23rd April 2026

It's all trial and error. It's good to get the buzz from a white-heat first draft and want to push it to completion. But rarely do you complete it straight away. Still, it doesn't stop you some days thinking a piece of work is ready and okay to post online. Then five minutes later, you spot a glaring error. You fix it, hoping no one saw. Then repost. And an hour later, another line needs attention. The fear of being called incompetent makes you revise stuff. In the old days, these drafts would go in an envelope, sit in a slush pile for weeks. Then, understandably get rejected. More from that idiot in County Durham! But putting a piece on social media makes you conscientious. It's good to trial and error. No one wants to look incompetent. Letting others see works-in-progress often makes you work harder. Well, it does with me anyway. 11.55pm.


Friday 24th April 2026

Didn't get to Waddy till one o'clock. I sorted a copy of my little sampler pamphlet. It could do with a sharper font, but I should be able to fix it. I got a 21-bus to Newcastle and slept most of the way. Got a steak pie from Tesco and spicy wedges from Greggs for tea. Then the 10-bus to Hexham. Had a great time at Quillseekers. Cat Bell was brilliant. Two sets with a mix of hilarious and hard-hitting poems. And lots of great open floor readings, including Steve Wood. Aaron Wright. James Oates, David Rutherford, amongst others. It was great. I read four pieces: The Dark House, Macy Gray, Villanelle? and Kate Bush. Many thanks to Aaron Wright for the lift back to Gateshead. 11.27pm.


Saturday 25th April 2026 

Slow start. My device wouldn't let me look at today’s NaPoWriMo example poem, so I struggled. I hate being asked to write metaphors on demand. Jenni and I went to see The Ballad of Wallis Island at Tyneside Cinema with a Q&A from Tim Key. Great afternoon. Supplies in Tesco. Then BGT and The Madness of King George. Chicken, hot cross buns. Ordered an out-of-print Behemoth book that is often listed for over one hundred pounds, but mine was twenty plus postage from a Liverpool Oxfam shop. OK. 10.44pm.


Sunday 26th April 2026

NaPoWriMo 2026 Day Twenty-Six

ANOTHER STAB AT A PROSE POEM IN SEARCH OF A DEFINITION OF ITSELF
(With Apologies to Brian Patten for vaguely recalling his title)

Once again, the daily National Poetry Writing Month prompt seems to be chosen deliberately to match a poem I've recently written or read from my back catalogue, thus making it impossible to write another of equal calibre. The same water doesn't flow in the same stretch of river twice over. Any subsequent attempt on my part will be but a pale imitation of the first.

Ars Poetica? What is poetry? Why, to me poetry is whatever it wants to be. Of course this includes chopped-up prose, lacking rhythm, metaphor, simile, imagery. A three-line joke, an excuse to poke and pry, hang dirty linen out to the astonished eye, put a little bit of life under the microscope, but hopefully without paraphrasing a former self or god forbid anyone else...

The journal extract I performed last in the first round of open floor at Quillseekers on Friday night - about listening to poignant popular music on a quiet afternoon - comes close to why I try to capture fleeting thought and feeling. But I personally no longer give a fig if people deem my poetry merely prose. I've been chopping lines and sharing serendipity for nearly four decades. Poetry is just a few scrambled letters away from poverty. Ritual scribbles and personal introspective communion let loose on a mostly indifferent universe. Wax lyrical all you like about metre and scansion. Stack sentences, trim experiences and scatter at the feet of gatekeepers. Shout out loud on small stages, or wait ages for names to be printed down the slim spines of short-run paperbacks. From late teens to mid- thirties for me that was the real deal...

Quite a few of this month's NaPoWriMo prompts could be met with previous moments when my pen hit a good groove alone in my room, at a workshop, or on the upper deck of an X15 bus.

Ars Poetica? I don't care these days about how sacred the artform should be. About how it's a disgrace to share half-baked verse within an echo chamber. I write for myself and anyone else who wants to read it.

Sure, words have weight, carry meaning and responsibility. But what do I care if someone who only allows rarefied, agonised, carefully-considered-for-half-a-decade stanzas to see the light of day takes offence at tongue-in-cheek diaristic output. It's not compulsory to read everything. Or criticise it.

Writing saved my life. I'll do it wherever, whenever and however I like. And until fascists kill our modern methods of publication, I'll continue to spew my innards and document chosen moments to the best of my ability, however mediocre to others that may be.

And that, dear reader, is how it's always been. The talking pen provides the means. Diary, memory, anxiety. Poetry? I'm just a failed rock star wannabe living my own writing dream. Shoot me!


Monday 27th April 2026

Really productive day. I did a draft for the NaPoWriMo prompt and will have another look at it in the Waddy session tomorrow. Then I worked on my Failed Rock Star pamphlet for the upcoming gigs. Took a while to get the set together for the late show open mic but I think I'm there. I ditched an old chestnut in favour of a 2023 NaPoWriMo poem. I put the open mic set in between the two sets for The Smoke Room. I then did the prep for my Durham Carers workshop. It was mainly just replenishing the handouts and checking the files to see what I could I did in Bishop Auckland last time. This evening I reformatted the files for the pamphlet. I've had baked potato, tuna and curried beans. And oxtail soup. And Jacobs club mint biscuits. Still got physio to do. 0K. 11.45pm.


Tuesday 28th April 2026

Long, long day. Up super early to get more work done on the pamphlet, tweaking the page margins to compensate for the loss of print position on the Waddy machine. Thankfully, I've sussed how to do the spacing on fonts to get the left and right page poem titles and page numbers to print level on both sides of the paper. Waddy session was another bunch of NaPoWriMo stuff. I got more booklet covers printed and two test copies of pages on 120gsm paper. Tonight I tweaked the left and right margins to compensate for trimming. Hope to be able to print this weekend at Waddy. 0K. 11.10pm.


Wednesday 29th April 2026

A good workshop in Bishop Auckland this afternoon, overshadowed by printing hassles for the sampler pamphlet that I hope to have ready for the gigs at Station East on the 9th of May. Looks like the format and weight of stock I'd set my heart on might be in jeopardy because I can't get access to the computer I need to print the pages. Two computers in the same room, hooked up to the same printer using the same PDF from my USB stick, and they print it in different sizes. Peter the tech wizard is on holiday next week. If I can't get the job done on Saturday, I'm not going to have pamphlets in time for the gigs. I've not slept well or had decent food. It's not quite half nine. I need to be in bed as soon as possible. Knackered. 9.25pm.


Thursday 30th April 2026

The Behemoth book arrived this morning from Oxfam Books. Mint condition. I only like the band’s recent albums, but an opportunity to grab a copy of their out-of-print illustrated biography for twenty quid was just too good to let pass. I spoke to Waddy staff on the phone. If I can’t get the pamphlet sorted on Saturday, I will be given access to Peter’s computer to finish the job while he is on holiday. I’ve prepped my session for Washington and feel surprisingly chipper considering I’ve been going for thirteen-and-a-half hours with a couple more to go. Cheers for reading. OK. 8.37pm.

MARCH

Sunday 1st March 2026

Initially, I felt a bit anxious, but I’ve been doing okay without my mobile device. I won't see it again until I get home from Jen’s place tomorrow evening. We watched a good Victoria Wood documentary. Ate mixed veg with chicken nuggets. I'm very tired and should be in bed soon. OK. 11.33pm.

Monday 2nd March 2026

I haven't really missed not being online. I read a very short book about Bukowski. Most of it I knew from reading his work since I was nineteen years old. Got Greggs’ spicy wedges and a reduced to 72p Ginsters steak bake from Heron Foods. Went down to the post office at the other side of Gateshead with Jenni, then to an antique shop. They had a Toyah album, a Twisted Sister album, a big pile of ‘Vive le Rock’ magazines, and a pile of NMEs from the early eighties. I got one with Black Flag in it. Jenni bought three 12-inch storage boxes for fifteen quid. She cleaned them up pretty good. I had chicken curry, watched a couple of quiz shows, then headed home. Shaved, social media catch up. Pleased my workshop is already planned for tomorrow. 11.13pm.

Tuesday 3rd March 2026

Good workshop at Waddington Street Centre today. We did some adjective/noun/verb sentence stems. I read ‘In The Living Room of the Riled Poet’, which I wrote in 2010. We looked at ‘Write Anyplace’ by Natalie Goldberg. We talked about writer’s block. We used ‘How I Got Here’ as a simple five-minute prompt. Then I talked about morning pages. We read an essay called ‘Twelve Minutes’, then I set a stopwatch and told people to write what they liked. After readbacks, we wrote about what drives us. Tonight I went shopping. The buses were slow. Bed soon. 0K. 9.57pm.

Wednesday 4th March 2026

I've pretty much got a twenty-minute set for my headline gig at next Thursday’s King Ink in Sunderland. I've left a space for a new piece. I'm thinking of just taking a notebook and picking a work-in-progress on the day. I ran through the set a couple of times. I've done a bit of Poetry Jam publicity and spent about eight hours trawling through two years of Facebook posts for good photos to go in an album with poems for Mother's Day. I listened to Dog Man Star by Suede as I worked, then let Spotify do as it liked: Echo and the Bunnymen, Manic Street Preachers, House of Love, more Suede. Physio might have to wait until tomorrow. OK. 11.15pm.

Thursday 5th March 2026

Workmen were clattering and banging next door before eight. It didn't take them long to strip the roof. I edited a pile of photographs and hope to have a big album delivered from Amazon by tomorrow evening. I aim to be at Waddy on Saturday to do my printing. Poetry Jam was good. Lots of open floor readers. And great guests: Nicola Spain, Tony Gadd and Brogan Brannan. Waddy said it was okay not to return furniture to its regular layout after the gig, so I got home by eleven. It’s raining, and I've eaten too much cake. OK. 11.23pm.

Friday 6th March 2026

The workshop went well today. Ten people. Figurative language and more character sketches. The Furniture Game. We had a light-hearted beginning-middle-end mix-and-match story game to finish off. Had a chat with Alwyn Bathan afterwards about theatre and writing. Bought some food in Consett, then home to wait for the Amazon delivery. I unboxed the clothbound photo album this evening only to find dodgy streaks across the front and back. Amazon will issue a refund. Think I have another chest infection coming on. Bastard! 10.32pm.

Saturday 7th March 2026

Up at six. Did morning pages on the bus to Newcastle. Arrived at quarter to nine. Tried four shops before I found a decent photo album. Then got a bus to Durham to print the pics. Not sequenced yet, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. Feel a bit rough this evening. Been coughing a lot. Maybe I shouldn't go to the Rob Auton show tomorrow. Damn! 8.44pm.


Sunday 8th March 2026

Put a couple of pics in Mam's photo album this morning. Then found out she doesn't want any more books as presents. Felt rough until dinner time, then much better. Rob Auton’s CAN show was brilliant at The Stand in Newcastle this afternoon. Tony Gadd kindly gave me a lift home. Oxtail soup, then early to bed. OK. 9.45pm.

Monday 9th March 2026

Thirteen hours making up a run of fifty pages for a photo album to give to Mam for Mother's Day. Lots of good images and a bunch of cartoons Jenni made over a decade ago. Also, a few of Jenni's poems, a bunch of mine, some photos of siblings and other family members. I will deliver the album by hand later this week. I’m quite tired now. Just as well that tomorrow's session ideas aren’t difficult to put into practice. I want to do a few more rehearsals for my gig in Sunderland. I have monthly earnings to calculate. The rest of the time, I'll be chipping away at some manuscripts. OK. 11.55pm.


Tuesday 10th March 2026

Waddy session: Flash titles as prompts. Readbacks, then a look at the original flash fictions. We wrote six-sentence paragraphs with a tough constraint. No repeat words. Then experimented with different ways to start stories. This evening I rehearsed my set for King Ink and rewrote three new fragments just to have something new to read. I’m almost falling asleep at the page now. Time for bed. 11.03pm.


Wednesday 11th March 2026

Did a Facebook post for tomorrow's King Ink event, then printed out a dozen NaPoWriMo poems from a few different years that might be usable at some point. I got ready to visit Mam and Ernie. The one o'clock bus didn't show up – surprise, surprise! – so I didn't get to Durham till quarter to three. Then there wasn't a bus to Newton Aycliffe until half past three. I reached Woodham Village around half past four. It was good to have the day away and chat for a couple of hours. Ernie made a nice fry-up with bacon, eggs and sausage. I spoke briefly to Brother Mark on the phone. Then, when it was time to leave, Ernie insisted on giving me a lift home. Forty-five minutes. OK. 9.40pm.


Thursday 12th March 2026

Two hours and thirty-five minutes from my door to Park Lane Interchange, Sunderland. Pepperoni pizza and spicy fries for tea. In Greggs to get warm because the bus was freezing. Now drinking blackcurrant and soda in a pub opposite Pop Recs Ltd. Organiser Helen Wilko is here but hasn't seen me yet. The music playing is ELO and other standard 70s fare. The doctor this morning told me there's no way to measure the severity of my tinnitus. But I've seen several websites that have sound simulators designed to do just that. 5.55pm.

Later: a great night at Pop Recs Ltd for King Ink. Consistently good open floor. Very chuffed to do my 20-minute set and sell some books. Big thanks to Helen and James for inviting me. And people who braved horrid weather to be there. Big thanks to Aaron Wright for the ride to Chester-le-Street. Caught the 78 bus and now on my way to Consett. Big rest tomorrow. OK. 11.12pm.


Friday 13th March 2026

As anticipated, just too tired to do much today. Comedown from last night's gig. I put book stock away, then went food shopping. Chicken tikka masala and rice with naan and spicy wedges for tea. I've been asleep on the settee and have woken up with very cold legs. Think I'm done for the day. Still have lots to do. But no energy. So I'm going to turn in, I think. Tinnitus is very bad tonight. This morning I had an ace dream about a bunch of eccentric university students who all did really good side hustles and were ace at parkour, cake baking, stilt-walking, and generally looking like extras in an Emilie Autumn video or Alice in Wonderland. Great stuff. OK. 8.59pm.


Saturday 14th March 2026

Listened to a good edition of The Verb today: Alistair McGowan, Simon Armitage, and Joelle Taylor. Then voiced in some entries and made up a new morning pages notebook. Went to Newcastle for paper supplies, then to Jen's place. Very sleepy this evening. And cold. Ate lots of chicken and some oaty biscuits. OK. 10.25pm.


Sunday 15th March 2026

Big lie in then rambling morning pages. Jenni and I went out for supplies. Phone our mams, visited John and Hillary this afternoon. I’ve eaten a lot more chicken today. I ordered a pair of Phantom black ten-eyelet boots from EMP. Tonight we watched The Ballad of Wallis Island, a comedy starring Tim Key as a lottery-winner who pays his favourite musicians to play a private gig on a remote beach. Enjoyed it. OK. 11.30pm.


Monday 16th March 2026

Woke up with a tendon strain in my right leg. I was supposed to be going home this morning, but Jenni and I decided to go see Aaron Wright perform at Gateshead Library this afternoon. Then we went to a Helix Arts workshop. I’ve decided to stay another night. Jenni kindly took photos of my rarely worn Grinder boots and will try to sell the massive footwear on Vinted. I went through some of the writing exercises I'm setting at MAKING TRACKS in Newcastle on Thursday. The heating is on in the attic tonight. OK. 10.25pm.


THE REASON I DON’T WANT TO
SWITCH FROM TALKTALK TO BT

The man said it was easy-peasy
Just a few details and an engineer
Would come and rig me up to British Telecom
Said I'd save fortune without a landline
Super-fast high-fibre broadband

But I like the landline, I said
I like my bulky phone and large keypad
I don't want people ringing me on a mobile
I don't want to get a new router
I don't want to lose my email archive
Or pay a monstrous sum to retain it
I don't want to change my TalkTalk address
Or pay a monstrous sum to retain it
I like my landline, it's perfectly fine

GOD, he says, WHY DO PEOPLE HATE BT?

I don't hate British Telecom
I just hate change, even for the better
I'm a fuddy-duddy, set in my ways
Anxious enough without another headmash
Don't give me any more to worry about
I don't want your special offers
I don't want to use a mobile number
I don’t want to give it to anyone and everyone

Do you know how few calls I make?
I don't even know my own mobile number
And I don't want to get a new router
I'm not changing on your say-so
I want to stay with TalkTalk
Even though the broadband is crap

And with that, the sales rep left
Furious to be still working overtime
Trying to persuade this cantankerous sod
And getting absolutely nowhere


Tuesday 17th March 2026

Up and out very early this morning to get stuff for the workshop and dinner before catching the X21 bus from Gateshead to Durham. Spent two hours preparing for the Waddy session, then had lentil and bacon soup. I road-tested the MAKING TRACKS session that I'll be doing on Thursday in Newcastle. And pleased I did. I'm ditching Kennings and A2Z characters. I got through the exercises in the allotted forty-five minutes. Then repeated some NaPoWriMo prompts in the second hour. The bus home was packed. I had a steak dinner with veg. Got a headache so had to lie down for an hour. My right leg seems a lot better. And I've done a bit of physio on my arm. OK. 10.17pm.


Wednesday 18th March 2026

The computer was awfully slow for most of the evening, even after a big update from Microsoft, but I finally got Poetry Jam publicity out on Facebook. I've eaten a steak sandwich and a chicken sandwich. I’ve tweaked the MAKING TRACKS workshop a little and prepared material for Friday’s Arts Centre Washington session. Fingers crossed. 10.40pm.


Thursday 19th March 2026

Ten young participants for MAKING TRACKS today. Exercises fitted the allotted timeframe nicely. Some of the participants were a little reluctant, initially, but most put pen to paper. I read out words from some of the shy ones. The buses back from Newcastle to Moorside took ages. Almost two hours from Central Station to my house. Another steak and veg dinner, then songs by Twisted Sister. OK. 9.30pm.


Friday 20th March 2026

Today's workshop was good. I wasn't sure how it would go, but the journaling aspect seemed to work. Good feedback. Nicola Spain gave me a nice card saying thanks for asking her to read at Poetry Jam early this month. She says taking part helped her a lot. Had a good chat with Alwyn Bathan on the way back to Gateshead: dark farming literature and rowdy kids at the theatre. I had a great time at For Better or Verse. Sets from Tabitha McGowan and Cooper Robson were brilliant. Mint open floor people as well. I read ‘ScRaPs’ and ‘Family Anecdote’. Tesco shopping afterwards. OK. 11.52pm.


Saturday 21st March 2026

First trail ride down by the River Derwent on the Sonder Frontier adventure bike since I tore the bicep tendon in my left arm. I managed to tackle all the terrain I was riding there last year, but the left shoulder is aching this evening. I've slept quite a bit. Had another grilled beef steak and steamed veg dinner. Read some flash fiction and listen to eighties Queen. OK. 9.57pm.


Sunday 22nd March 2026

I'm at home in Moorside this weekend. Most of the day was spent going through NaPoWriMo files and recent notebooks in search of pieces to go in the next official full-length poetry collection. I now have over one hundred pieces to choose from. Yet another steak dinner and lots of peanuts. OK. 10.26pm.


Monday 23rd March 2026

Today was pretty good. I can't quite remember it all, but I seem to get a fair bit done. I enjoyed tweaking some of my poems for the next book. Chuffed to get a load of stuff sorted for the next couple of writing workshops. I enjoyed listening to an edition of The Verb from a couple of years ago featuring Jackie Kay, Amelia Coburn, Rowan McCabe, and oral storyteller Danyah Miller. The host, Ian McMillan, was on good form as usual, and the show was recorded live in Hebden Bridge. Amelia sang Wuthering Heights and her own Dublin Serenade. Tonight I watched the 'Until the Light Takes Us' black metal documentary. Then a twenty-minute Rollins Band live TV studio performance followed by the Classic Albums: Nirvana – Nevermind documentary. Great stuff. OK. 11.43pm.


Tuesday 24th March 2024

Today’s session at Waddy was good. Take Three Nouns. An episode of The Verb, another look at submissions for our next anthology, plus Guilty Pleasures to finish off. I put up Poetry Jam posters around the building. Back home for chicken dinner, Facebook reels, then physio and supper. OK. 10.20pm.


Wednesday 25th March 2026

My new Phantom boots arrived. Much better fitting than the Grinders from 2023 which Jenni sold on Vinted last week. Canny turnout at the Red Squirrel Press 20th Anniversary event at Newcastle Lit and Phil. Edwin Stockdale read from his new collection Winter Wolf. Pauline Plummer was launching Each Man is a Half-Open Door, a new collection of short stories. David Costello had strong poems about bereavement. Tom Kelly read from his new poetry and prose collection These Are My Bounds. Nice to see fellow Red Squirrel Press poets and of course Sheila Wakefield. Jenni stayed back long after the main event, but I caught the ten past ten X45 back to Consett. OK. 11.59pm.


Thursday 26th March 2026

Today, I will put comfy insoles into my brand-new Phantom boots because they are wide and high, unlike my work boots or Doc Martens from 2017. Today I will eat more dry-roasted peanuts and risk a weight increase that makes yesterday's black jeans redundant. Today I will use toilet paper to stem the flow of water from my nose, because although it's April next week, we aren't out of the woods yet.

Today I will have curried butternut squash soup and a tuna and red pepper sandwich for lunch. Today I will try to complete the current round of anthology updates on the big computer. Today I will probably fail to achieve much of what I set out to do. Today I will try to break down the contents of a book published seven years ago to help me sequence my next official poetry paperback. Today I will try to read more and scroll less.

My machine is on charge. I want to see Fury play at Trillians tonight, but I know my ears will not forgive me for the punishment.

It's a nice blue sky morning, but the temperature is low. I feel like I'm treading water at present. I'm almost at the point where I consider giving up on the morning pages, but I know that I won't.

I made a big list a few days ago of all the stuff I have to do to stay on track. It's getting harder and harder every year. You have to put the effort in.

I talked to Tom Kelly last night about my knackered left arm. How much physio is too much? When does healthy motion become obsession? Tom said in later life his parents sat in armchairs and found it difficult to move.

I am becoming more stationary. Dull. Uninspired. Ready to say: fuck it all.

Creativity sometimes feels like a treadwheel to me. Will my next triumph fulfil me? There is an obsession with logging the moment, creating content good or bad, to feel relevant, to feel active, to feel productive, to justify existence and forward motion.

It just seems like there's always a cycle of struggle to produce good material, anxiety over its development and publication, and slog to make it land with impact. Only to crave another success when the buzz wears off.

Of course, creativity should be play, but so much of it feels like slog. I'm never content for long. Trying to do good feels like wading through sludge. A lot of the time, I just want to say: No, stop! And be able to just potter on without the nagging anxiety of obligation. Of course, I could take a week off to do housework, wash clothes and go for walks - but would soon get the fear that some important commitment was falling by the wayside.

People often tell me that I do a lot and that my output is quite remarkable. But a lot of the time I feel like I'm just faking it and worrying about stuff. I feel the need to reside in a bubble without external influences on my autonomy. If I get involved with lots of people for too long, I feel like I'm starting to suffocate.

These pages every morning are a chore; a lack of bright ideas forces me to double down on my dark stultification and ruminate, expressing thoughts and feelings that otherwise might just come and go without too much trouble.

Putting words on paper makes you focus. Sometimes there is exaggeration or just repetition. Sometimes I get too meta. I waffle for a few sentences. I ramble and often think, For Fuck's Sake, not another blank page – was the quarter of a million words of shit last year not enough?

Today I will eat steak with fresh veg. Today I will get annoyed about not going to see the heavy rock band Fury play in Newcastle. Today I will try to read some of Tom Kelly's poems and maybe one of Pauline Plummer's short stories.

Last night I didn't feel like I had much to say at the 20th anniversary Red Squirrel Press event. There was a good turnout. And 20 years and over 300 books published by Sheila Wakefield is an amazing achievement – she has helped so many poets over the years.

People are always nice and ask me what I'm up to. But often I don’t feel very sociable. I tend to switch off a lot. I notice myself doing it, but sometimes lack the energy or maybe the social skills to be present with people.

I am tired. I didn't get home until midnight. I didn't turn out the bedside light until after one o'clock. I was awake before eight.

Today I will sit at the desktop computer. Today I will consider cleaning the gunk out of my bike bag on the handlebar of the old Specialized Rockhopper. Today I will wash some underwear.

Today I will eat oranges, bananas, tuna, shallots, and sultanas. Today I will pine for a full-length paperback of my best journal extracts. Today, today, today... Time is ticking. I'm getting irritable and irritating.

Jenni is going to a poetry Salon event in Tynemouth tonight. She's going to Washington tomorrow to look at the moon.

 
Could I go to see Fury tonight?
Could I go to Quillseekers in Hexham tomorrow?

I don't have to plan a workshop for next week.
But still feel up against it all. OK. 9.45am.

LATER: So today turned out okay. I did most of what I said I do. And I went to see Fury at Trillians tonight. They were blistering. Really good. I knew most of the songs. And they played a bunch of my favourites, including Breakdown and Road Warrior. Bass player Becky Baldwin was at the admission desk when I arrived. I gave her the thumbs up. Later, I bought a skeletal patch of her face. I got a really good nook to the left side of the stage where the sound wasn't too overpowering. A lot of the crowd were into it. I got the new album, Interceptor, and a DVD, and another patch. I'm now on the x45 bus approaching Ebchester. The bus voice was really loud and high-pitched right above my head. I had to move to another seat. Now the engine drone is in my left ear. Hopefully, I'll be okay tomorrow. 11.22pm.


Friday 27th March 2026

Major tinnitus spike in my right ear this morning. A headwind made this afternoon’s ninety minutes on the Rockhopper bike somewhat arduous. ‘Quillseekers’ spoken word night isn't on this week. So this evening, I tried to stir myself to work, but I've done nothing. I will go to bed early and hopefully get a better start tomorrow. The tinnitus is about equal in both ears at present, but louder than before the Fury gig. I ate steak sandwiches and oxtail soup. Lethargic. 8.45pm.


Saturday 28th March 2026

Got quite a bit of work done for Ann Porro's pamphlet. Sorted some anthology stuff as well. I listened to Fury and did some quick checks of various Darkthrone album track-listings. Walked to Consett and got supplies, then bused to Jen's place. Read some of Tom Kelly's new book. These Are My Bounds. Watched Britain's Got Talent. Played Jen some Queen cover versions by Marc Marcel. Ate cold hot cross buns and a corned beef and potato pasty. OK. 10.50pm.


Sunday 29th March 2026

Big write-up in morning pages of latest book shenanigans after being awake until three. Out to Gateshead for supplies. Read up on the whereabouts of musician Emilie Autumn, which was quite sad. Tonight, at Tyneside Cinema, Jenni and I saw ‘Orwell 2+2=5’. It uses extracts from his writings narrated by Damien Lewis, with footage, old and recent, showing the accuracy of his 1984 speculations. OK. 11.24pm.


Monday 30th March 2026

I had toast and cake and chatted with Jenni, then went to Newcastle to buy cardstock for Ann Porro’s pamphlet. Looked round the revamped HMV then fell asleep on the bus to Consett. The Poetry Jam pics are up on Facebook. I’ve listened to a couple of Darkthrone albums. Ate cold hot cross buns then a Red Leicester and tomato sandwich. OK. 10.57pm.


Tuesday 31st March 2026

Today’s workshop at Waddy was A2Z word banks from which we made prose trinkets. Then we did a Poetry Jam style readaround of anthology submissions in hopes of discovering connections and were pleasantly surprised with the results. I showed the group a few sonnets at the end and let them have a go at their own. Tonight another steak dinner. No music. No doom scrolling. NaPoWriMo starts tomorrow. Will I take up the challenge? I stuck with it a few years ago. But bailed after a few days in 2024. I aim to have this blog online by midnight. OK. 10.26pm.