Gigs, Gripes, Extremes and Excuses

Tuesday 15th April 2014

Catching up. Got the last of college paperwork done and preliminary rehearsals for Thursday at Jazz Café. Still undecided how to close the set. Trying to strike a balance between light and shade and keep to the timeframe. Garden malarkey was hell this afternoon. Made the trials riding seem like an antigravity trip. Grass chewed rather than mowed. Took nearly two hours; three sides of the house have grass and it isn’t a lawn either. Bastard. NaPoWriMo was terza rima. I’ve done a few in collaboration with students at Waddy but my solo effort took a while. Trying not to eat too much today, but end up feeling tired if not downing sweet snacks. Listened to Swans, Nick Cave, The Cure and The Mission today. Think I’ll have an early night.

Wednesday 16th April 2014

These last three weeks I’ve been working at about 30% my usual pace and have been distracted by extreme sports and tempting related products. My street bike would ride much better with shorter rigid forks; the front disc brake needs attention and it needs a new front derailleur as well. The trials bike would benefit from riser bars and I’m itching to have a go on a longboard. Got the marathon prompts and booklets ready today. Managed to stick to prompt for NaPoWriMo again. Been cutting back on the food intake the last few days, but had to take ibuprofen to stave off headaches. Just succumbed to munchies and downed a 300 calorie bag of peanuts. Pleased to get Words and Hearts and Minds set nailed today. A few of the poems have art references. I’m out from mid afternoon. Up early to buy writing marathon food. Oh yes! 10.05 pm.

Thursday 17th April 2014

Morning pages in bed then an hour working on my hour-long appearance at Gateshead library on Monday 28th April. Got food in for marathon. Didn’t have time to put the Poetry Jam publicity up on Facebook. Just about to get ready to perform at the revamped Jazz Café. 15 mins set. 9.34 pm.

Friday 18th April 2014

Long lie in then online to check latest updates. Helped Jenni get motivated for an afternoon in town. Met up with Steven Heslewood outside the library then over to The Goose for a meal. Think I ate too much there. Really need to get back into some sort of healthier approach to eating and exercising. Went to Native Skates and checked out some longboards. The trucks were really slack which raised concerns about wheel bite – where the wheel touches the underside of the deck when turning, thus catapulting the rider across the tarmac. The boards were rather expensive. Think I’d go for a cheaper model than the £152 Santa Cruz I stood on in the shop. Checked out some mountain bikes at Start Cycles, looked at music mags in WH Smiths then into HMV to check out DVDs. Got the last of the food in the for writing marathon then back to Jen’s to check updates. An evening of soaps and crime drama before an early night. 10.08 pm.

Saturday 19th April 2014

Morning pages a little after 6.00 am. Bag prep and bus to Stockton with Jenni. Meeting room in ARC was a great place for marathon. Seven of us got through fourteen prompts. Jen found her wallet when we got home. I left my coat on the bus in Consett and had to leg it across town to catch it. Home by nine. I’ve yet to key in a NaPoWriMo poem. Will do it before midnight. 11.46 pm.

Sunday 20th April 2014

Really long lie in. Uploaded the marathon pix to Facebook, checked some longboard videos and watched Lords of Dogtown about the rise of the 70s skate scene. Lots of work to do this week but I’m a bit post-marathon wrecked. Had salmon and scrambled egg on baked potato for lunch and cakey tea, now a lazy Sunday evening watching the Big Bang Theory and Fargo. 8.40 pm.

Monday 21st April 2014

Choppy sort of day trying to get stuff sorted for new term. Have a mega list of possible activities for the Waddington Street Writers. Pleased I’m not starting evening classes till next week when I’ve got some stuff road-tested. The NaPoWriMo prompt today was rather complex. 23 ingredients for a New York School poem. Pleased to pull it off okay. This evening I put the Poetry Jam poster and page together. Bit later than usual, but still a good ten days till the gig. Good line-up. AJ McKenna, Tony Williams and Josephine Scott. Jenni has been playing computer games and watching television. Day seems to have flown over. Hope workshop goes okay tomorrow. Seems like ages since I last did a session for Waddy. Suppose it’s just like riding a bike. 11.00 pm.

Tuesday 22nd April 2014

Copy of wheelbase magazine arrived from California this morning. First Writing for All session went okay. Focussed on memoir and NaPoWriMo stuff. Back home I booked up a couple of people for the next writing marathon and uploaded a new poem for the day. Only eight left. Having a really quiet night on the couch, with sporadic visits to the computer. Got some of the previous writing course clutter tidied up in the living room. Me and Jenni each had half a Hot Fella pizza for supper. The chilies made my head itch. Weather is grim but at least it isn’t cold in here tonight. Wrote a silly love poem to a gluepot today. Not really a kid’s poem but I posted it for NaPoWriMo. 10.04 pm.

Wednesday 23rd April 2014

Burnt my throat on some beef cobbler this afternoon then sat on a bus to South Shields for best part of an hour and a half. Fell asleep. Jenni isn’t coming to the gig tonight. She’s still at mine. Wrote another cut-up poem with song titles, used it for NaPoWriMo coz the official prompt was a pile of shit. Tried to rehearse my set for Gateshead but had a few interruptions. I’m now in South Shields Central Library looking forward to Alistair Robinson book launch. I love his readings. Things start at six. Should be a good gig. 5.43 pm.

From Facebook: Thanks to Sylvia Forrest and Alistair Robinson for signing their books at the Red Squirrel Press event in South Shields library this evening. Also excellent to hear future squirrel William Bonar read a selection of his work too. Well done to all involved. Red Squirrel Press rocks. Nice to get a free World Book Night title from the library staff as well. Great event!

Thursday 24th April 2014

Stalled outside Blackhill Cemetery. More bloody road works. The whole region seems to be one big fucking dig-in! Anyway, session at Mind went okay this morning. Did anti-slam poems and song title compositions. Bought some denim to make a book cover, food supplies, then back to the house. Made up the Home Town Slog book and wrote a dodgy NaPoWriMo, read through notes for Gateshead library. On my way to JibbaJabba now. Very sleepy. Wasn’t going to read anything but am tempted to do Terrible Toes. 6.03 pm.

Friday 25th April 2014

Slept in after a fantastic JibbaJabba last night so didn’t start Home Town Slog until till just after eleven. Toughest one yet as I was too tired but couldn’t postpone it as my days are tied up to the end of the month. Spent most of the time just whingeing onto the page about how shit and stupid an idea it was to attempt 100 pages in a day after so little sleep, but the book filled. I called it Insipid Vomit. At least I got an on prompt NaPoWriMo out of it. Home at nine to learn that Wayne Hussey is playing The Cluny in October. Hopefully better weather tomorrow. 11.45 pm.

Saturday 26th April 2014

Good day. Me and Jenni left Gateshead just after twelve for Whitby. Got there at half-two. Surprisingly warm. Went to Spa Pavilion and Leisure Centre goth markets. Jenni had a good browse and bought some bargains: platform shoes, bag, tie, badges. I got a Sophie Lancaster Foundation patch. We had chips from the Magpie. Then bus back to Middlesbrough for Black Light Engine Room. Have decided to take part in open mic. 7.42 pm.

Sunday 27th April 2014

Bit of a lie in this morning. Listened to an excellent album just released by Simma and wished I’d been at the launch gig on Friday night. Me and Jenni had chicken jalfrezi, lazed some more, had cherry pie and custard from Tesco. Home to Consett in the rain. Watched Fargo then did a NaPoWriMo poem. Really cold today, heating on again. 11.14 pm.

Monday 28th April 2014

Felt shit when I got up. Sore throat and very tired. Struggled to get through a full rehearsal for library gig. Felt better by lunchtime. Great this afternoon. Many thanks to Mark, Chris and the Gateshead Poetry Appreciation Group for such a warm reception. Great time performing and answering questions and chatting afterwards. Thanks to all who bought books; to Darren Turner for photography and Jenni for recording the set on my pocket cam. Afterwards me and Jenni went to the Goose for tea. I bought a copy of The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer in Consett Tesco this evening. 10.03 pm.

Tuesday 29th April 2014

Took a while to get into gear but enjoyed reading more of The Shock of the Fall on the bus. Had a lively full-on session at Writing for All then more of the book on the way home. Prep this evening for tomorrow. Typed up and edited penultimate NaPoWriMo poem but not to prompt. Mine was a tribute to my trials bike inspired by Katie Metcalfe’s Dear Chai Latte. Listened to Attila the Stockbroker and wrote notes to a few people. Darren Turner put up a video of me reading Prose Poem from a Lazy Sunday at Gateshead. My vid that Jen shot is great but stutters towards the end. She got the whole thing but camera let us down a bit. Watched as much as I could. Pretty pleased with my set. 10.20 pm.

Wednesday 30th April 2014

Feel a bit wrecked tonight. Did the last NaPoWriMo in Intermediate Writing this morning, was on Facebook a bit this afternoon then went out to check on the music mags. No-one of interest playing nearby. Jane’s Addiction are playing Nothing’s Shocking in it’s entirety in London and Manchester. I saw them at the Riverside when I was nineteen. Perry still had his purple dreadlocks. The album came in a ribbed rubber sleeve. Session tonight was great. Only five people but it worked well. Had some laughs and wrote a few things. Much more relaxed than the library. Home by ten. Need some big days at home to catch up on stuff. Full-on day tomorrow. 10.56 pm.

Thursday 1st May 2014

Workshop in Mind went well. We had a new writer in who is on the second draft of a memoir. Was good to hear some of his work. We did the letters and some newspaper cut-up stuff. On to one with Paul at Waddy this afternoon, canny night at Poetry Jam. Not as many as in recent months but still a great turnout. Don’t expect to perform again until early June. Need a break. 11.37 pm.

Friday 2nd May 2014

HUGE THANKS to everyone who came down to Waddington Street Centre for Poetry Jam last night. A bit of a NaPoWriMo showcase with the jammers. We had a lively audience and cracking sets from our special guests Josephine Scott, Tony Williams and AJ McKenna. And even a food-related poem from Waddy's own Fergus who mans the cafe and sets the room every month. Last night was a busy one for spoken word across the region. From what I've gleaned via facebook people had a great time at Mind the Gap, The Moon Cannot Be Stolen and Pipe Riot - more and more people switched on to the scene, which is great. Thanks to Mark Speeding for the lift back to base. and hilarious rants along the way. Next one is 5th June.

Pleased to be at home today. Found out that Sunday’s Fish gig is postponed until Monday 29th September – a week before Wayne Hussey at the Cluny. I listened to Nirvana and Hole whilst typing today. I’d like to have a lazy time tomorrow but there’s lots of paperwork to sort for next week. I might have a little pizza this evening. The sun is shining but my legs are freezing. Hands seizing up at the keyboard. Maybe it’s just age. 6.58pm.