Books, Marathons, Gigs, Longboarding...

Monday 26th May 2014

Me and Jen stayed up till quarter to three this morning. Writing after six hours sleep. Made up a HOME TOWN SLOG hardback for Wednesday. Don’t anticipate much, but hope to keep up the 100 page exercise every month for the rest of the year. Listened to more Swans ‘To Be Kind’ this afternoon. Lazy evening. 10.15 pm.

Tuesday 27th May 2014

Danny MacAskell’s Epecuen trials video just been released. Awesome riding in an abandoned flood-damaged town. Jenni returned to Gateshead this afternoon then on to Whitley Bay to judge a short story competition. I walked into town to buy cloth to make a board bag. Still haven’t ridden yet. Still no news on knee x-rays. 11.16 pm.

Wednesday 28th May 2014

It’s rained for the last three Home Town Slog solo writing marathons, but I wasn’t outside much so it wasn’t a problem. Did two and a half hours in the library then moved onto the Empire Theatre café bar. Did another couple of hours then down to Tesco to get bombarded by screaming infants, their mothers paying them little attention, much to the annoyance of several customers. Did my final stint in Wetherspoons. Got home to find out Maya Angelou has died at the age of eighty-six. Pleased she got a good tribute in the BBC News. 10.55 pm.

Thursday 29th May 2014

Didn’t go to bed till four this morning. Checked out Happy Valley on iPlayer and got hooked. Five episodes in one sitting. One of the most compelling crime dramas I’ve seen. Going to check out Sally Wainwright’s other writing for tv. Had a bit of a tidy up in the back room. Floor is clear, can get to my free weights, should try using them. Doc rang at ten to eight about my knees. Pleased there’s no major cartilage damage; exercise she showed me last week is working. Just got to take things easy. 11.00 pm.

Friday 30th May 2014

Whole day revolved around writing marathon prep. In town by half-nine for bank transactions, then all the food. Took a while to get case packed. Down to Waddy this afternoon to pick up the key for tomorrow. A couple of hours preparing the room means I don’t have to be there so early in the morning. Read more Board Free on the way back. Saw Joe McElderry hanging around the back of Consett Empire. His music isn't my cup of tea but he's fairly harmless – and he sold out two nights – good luck to him. One of these days the Empire will get someone on I'd really like to see. Probably when they're on the way down in about twenty years from now. Went to Tesco for razors. Washed trousers in the sink tonight and ordered the new signed limited edition of A Grim Detail book by Henry Rollins. Only released today via the 2-13-61 website. Listened to Queen live in Montreal and shaved my head. Jenni has been putting Facebook likes on pictures from our 2012 London trip. Hope to have a book of journals from that year in print before the end of 2014. Early night for me, I reckon. 10.40 pm.

Saturday 31st May 2014

“HUGE THANKS to all the Writing Marathon participants at Waddington Street Centre today. Lots of great pieces created over the four hours, I look forward to seeing some of the work again – on stage or page.” – So much easier having done the main set-up yesterday. Didn’t get all cleared away until after five. No Consett bus till six, so I didn’t get home until half seven. Uploaded pix. Really tired now. Was hoping to get out for exercise tomorrow but think I’ll have to cancel that. OK. 10.31 pm.

Sunday 1st June 2014

Was meant to be working today but marathon comedown had me messing around with needle and thread instead. Been longboarding tonight. I said I wouldn’t go down hills. I said I wouldn’t crouch down or try to carve at speed. Loving it. Watched Fargo and had a bath. Jen says York was boiling. Must get my facilitator head on bigstyle tomorrow. 10.57 pm.

Monday 2nd June 2014

Hard to get out of bed. Muscles sore. Jesus, how much does it take to stand on a plank of wood rolling down a road? Prep for work. Prefer marathons to lessons. Had a good night at Lit and Phil. Amazing turn out for Ellen Phethean, Alistair Robinson and Sylvia Forrest. A lot of people went to the pub after the launch. Busy week ahead. Out every evening until Friday. 10.35 pm.

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

Writing for All mini-marathon this afternoon. Some interesting stuff. Very drained afterwards. Wanted to sleep but couldn’t find a decent space to crash. Evening session went okay. Read the rest of Ellen’s book on the bus home. Thigh muscles still aching. But no knee pain. Good. 10.40 pm.

Wednesday 4th June 2014

Got the morning group to think about poems for an end of term anthology. Evening class enjoyed the picture marathon. Wanted to watch the final episode of Happy Valley but iPlayer isn’t streaming well tonight. Last week I saw five episodes back to back without a glitch. Probably best to just get done and off to bed, can watch it tomorrow after the Consett workshop. Then off to Durham for Poetry Jam. Hope we get a good turn out. 10.45 pm.

Thursday 5th June 2014

Of course the sun comes out when I’m working. Just read the first few chapters of Viv Albertine’s memoir. I don’t know much about the band she was in, The Slits, but “Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys” has had good reviews. Albertine lived through the whole 70’s punk thing and I’m looking forward to her take on the era.

At Consett bus station an old woman lost her bus ticket. A young man paid her fare and sat talking to her all the way to Lanchester. Half marathon at MIND was good this morning. Got a few things down that I quite liked. Would read one or two tonight but they aren’t ready yet. Saw the final episode of Happy Valley this afternoon. Best tv series I’ve seen for years. Looking forward to Poetry Jam. And the weekend. 5.50 pm.

Friday 6th June 2014

MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who filled Waddington Street Centre with energy and appreciation for last night's Poetry Jam. Superb sets from our three wonderful guests Mark Speeding, Sarah Hammersley and Aidan Clarke, loads of good stuff from the open floor jammers, and great to have some acoustic musical backing to some of the performances. Thanks for all the feedback. Really chuffed with the way the jams have grown over the last couple of years. Thanks to Robert Lonsdale for thumbing-up the writing marathons. Big thanks as ever to Fergus who sets up the space and runs the cafe. Cheers to Mark for all the laughs on the ride home. We're back next month with more amazing guests and open floor surprises. POETRY JAM - SPREAD THE WORD.

Didn’t get up until nearly ten o’clock. Uploaded the Poetry Jam pix. This afternoon I was out cutting the grass, front and back. Took ninety minutes. This evening I went longboarding again in Blackhill and Consett Park. Got some bemused looks, a few smiles from the neighbourhood watch team. After carving slopes for a while some young kids came over and asked my age. When I said “Forty-four,” one kid said “Woarghhh!” And off I went. Was on Number One industrial estate when I realised I’d left a board-glove behind. Lucky I got it back. Bath time. 11.03 pm.