Another Nine Daze On Planet Steve

Tuesday 13th August 2013

Well, so much for taking the day off. Spent most of the morning de-cluttering my room. I usually get this done at the end of term, but as I’ve been working extra sessions at Mind and Waddington Street Centre over the summer – and getting a book together – the piles of print-outs and paperbacks and overflowing wastebaskets have all been left to accumulate for months on end.

After an all-day breakfast at half-one I cut some stills from video-clips of Poetry Jam and posted online. Then edited the biogs for the September guests and made the event poster. Will do a facebook event page next week. A fortnight before the gig is soon enough.

This evening I deleted all the online material that appears in So Much for the Sunshine. It’s only a little book. About a tenth – no, twentieth – of my total 2012 word count. The fully typeset journal book for last year won’t be ready till 2014.

Been selecting poems for my return to Cramlington Writers next week. Workshop content will come together later in the week. 10.27pm.

Wednesday 14th August 2013

Good to hear from Jenni this afternoon. “Mr Urwin, you’re a wicked man,” she said, when I picked up the phone, “That song is bloody terrible.” – She was of course referring the new Roger Taylor single. He of Queen fame. I’d messaged the video link to her an hour earlier with a two-liner: “If you thought Electric Fire was dire get a load of this!! I reckon you’ll last less than a minute.”

   I actually like a lot of Roger’s solo work. Unfortunately he goes for the big political statement on the lead single and it sounds a bit strained, clichéd, badly written – naff. I’m sure the album “Fun On Earth” will have its moments but The Unblinking Eye (Everything is Broken) doesn’t cut it.

   I went out on the 27speed bike today. Only seventy minutes and it damn near killed me. Tweaked my set for the Cramlington Writers Group again. I’ve done a preliminary of the workshop in morning pages.

   Thanks to Toyah Wilcox for musical diversions from duty this evening. And to corned beef and tomato sandwiches. Oh, and counterfeit Tango apple juice. And gel pens. And a long soak in the bath. 10.54pm.

Thursday 15th August 2013

A day of changed plans. Didn’t get to Newcastle – will have to go tomorrow. My week off has been anything but. Not complaining though, been good to be at home with no real schedule. Some people regularly spend weeks at a time like this. I start getting itchy fingers after a day or two. I should be keying in texts for the next book but I’m allowing myself an easy week after Sunshine.

Rehearsed my Cramlington set this afternoon. 30 minutes, 18 poems – at least one from each of my published volumes. Only half of them are memorized, but that’s okay. I’m starting to relax my rules on feature sets, coz I’d rather have the book in my hand than fuck the piece up.

Might read some David Gaffney flash fiction before bed if I can stay awake. Hoping to spend more time on my JibbaJabba set before next week. Ok. 11.31pm.

Friday 16th August 2013

Food and transport and Office Supplies – morning pages posted on facebook. Read some Natalie Goldberg Wild Mind on the bus to Newcastle. My intention was to be there by lunchtime but it was after three when I stepped off the 45 onto Clayton Street. Good to check out art stock at Details. Got some ideas for new projects. Checked out books at Paperchase and some music magazines in WH Smiths. Didn’t get home till after half seven. Downstairs with Punk Britannia on BBC4. 11.20pm.

Saturday 17th August 2013

“One day, before I die, I’d like to play Santa Claus.” – Steven Berkoff.

Read some Wild Mind, prepped for Monday’s Cramlington Writers workshop. Read some David Gaffney, got a preliminary booking for an ACE funded gig for June 2014. Saw some good Jesse Ventura interviews online, listened to Toyah on Spotify, ate lots of jam tarts and cake. Watched some witchcraft on tv and fell asleep.

Sunday 18th August 2013

Off to Jenni’s place for a couple of days. I have a wheelie case and a shoulder bag, both crammed with clothes, presents and workshop materials. I’m hoping Jenni is u[p for a walk to Coatsworth Road  for some food a little later on. That is, if Tesco is open late on a Sunday evening.

Bus is an oven. No windows open. I am looking forward to a lazy evening. 3.28pm.

Later: Sat downstairs with Jenni, Steph, Rob and his Mam for a while.

There’s a programme on tv about foreign objects removed from the human body. Gory stuff. Jenni is job hunting online. I’m off to bed soon. Up early for Cramlington gig.

Monday 19th August 2013

Great morning. Did a half hour reading/performance followed by a ninety minute workshop. Was back at Jenni’s by 25 to two. We sat in the living room with Rob and his mam. Jenni was well chuffed with her birthday presents: gig tickets, cuddly toy, Les Miserables memorabilia book and some dvds.

It was good to go out for food. We had pork and turkey and gammon and lots of veg with gravy, apple, mint and cranberry sauce – then apple and blackberry pie with custard.

A guy came in and sat nearby with the most amazing mountain of food. I was well impressed with his ability to stack the veg. Took ages to reduce the pile to a plate of gravy stains. I wanted to go and congratulate him on his stamina and sheer audacity for such marvellous calorific overload.

Back at Jenni’s place this evening. She is surfing facebook. We have been watching Sherlock Holmes. Have been really sleepy this evening, though. Taggart is on now, but we missed the beginning. It’s been good to have time away from Consett again. 9.34pm.

Tuesday 20th August 2013

Easy morning with Jenni; eating cake, tortilla chips and hobnobs, drinking orange, listening to Rob Auton cd and watching a writerly episode of the Waltons – my first ever. I left before Jenni settled in for Little House on the Prairie. Read a piece about Rob Auton in the Metro on the bus to Consett. Unexpected request for tax info when I got home set me back a couple of hours. Have done some book promotion, packed a few up for despatch and hand delivery. Done a bit of workshop prep and eaten lots of cake. A lot cooler today. Quite autumnal. Won’t be long before bed. 9.56pm.

Wednesday 21st August 2013

Notes from a workshop exercise:

I want to take a longer break from public duty. I want to sit in front of the television watching spooky documentaries and hilarious comedies. I want to eat lots of chocolate and drink lots of coffee. I want to be able to ride my bike without my wrists going into shock.

I don’t want to be beaten over the head with bureaucracy. I don’t want to have to justify my entire existence every time someone pays me a fee. I don’t want to have to mow the lawn after someone’s dog has done it’s business on it. I don’t want to see pictures of royalty all over the newspapers. I don’t want to listen to other people’s horrible music every time the sun shines. I don’t want to argue with people. I don’t want to upset anybody with real life negativity.

I am an endless to-do list. I am a mile of bad road. I am a middle-aged bald bloke with the behavioural habits of a seventeen-year-old. I am always writing in the first person. And I’m sure it annoys people. I am a self-motivated hypomanic ranting obsessive book-maker who will go to the ninth degree to reach an artistic goal when the notion takes me. I am generous and polite. I am messy and a glutton.

I am not a Rubik’s cube, but can solve the puzzle in less than two minutes. I am not a golf ball, but I do have a hard shell and a gooey centre. I am not a box of chocolates. I am not the sort of person who likes to go to the pub on the way home from work. I am not very sociable a lot of the time. I am not very nice when overly tired. I am not easy to shut up when I’m on a mission. I am not everybody’s cup of  tea at the poetry cabaret. I am not a proper grown up. I am not a proper child either. I am not taking myself too seriously in this writing exercise.

Today has been pretty good. More interest in Sunshine book. People keep saying it’s priced too low. But I’m okay with it. Only seven non-allocated copies left. Looking forward to my JibbaJabba set. Poems sticking in my head a bit better but not well enough to go pageless. Haven’t read much over the summer. Would be nice to read a few novels and switch off from work stuff. Listening to Tupelo, Straight to You, Red Right Hand and other Nick Cave classics. Okay, must get some student poems keyed in. 7.32pm.