Words and Gigs and Books

Monday 25th August 2014

Didn’t realise it’s a Bank Holiday until Aidan Halpin asked how I’m spending it. I rang him for a biog and pic for Poetry Jam. I later forgot about the holiday and lost an hour walking to Tesco and back, not realising it would be closed. Finally got the grass cut. Totally dry day. Quite a few advice requests today. Was hoping to do an all-day solo writing marathon tomorrow but need 100 gsm paper to make a book for it. Washed clothes in the sink this evening. Was going to watch a Kate Bush documentary but have found myself engrossed in a full-length memoir by one of the Consett Writers. Valerie Laws asked me to list ten books that have stayed with me. Couldn’t get past five. 11.12 pm.

Tuesday 26th August 2014

Squandering time on idiots online, throwing their insults around like they own the place. Little people, big chips. Pointing fingers and being just as ignorant as the ones they’re having a go at… Out to town this afternoon for supplies. 100 gsm paper, gel pens, checked out new paperbacks. Trying to get recommended titles via the library. Made up the slog book – hand stitched, trimmed with a Stanley knife. Keyed in remaining poems for this Thursday’s Mind sets at the Civic. It’s creeping round to midnight. Still a lot of sequencing to do. Hope the new ink cartridge arrives tomorrow or I’m screwed. 11.36 pm.

Wednesday 27th August 2014

Did the Home Town Slog freewriting exercise today. On hundred handwritten A5 pages. Started in the library at 11.00 am, finished in The Company Row (Wetherspoons) at 7.20 pm. Got a couple of things that I want to keep. Possibly the easiest I’ve done so far. Only another four to go, then I’ll have a laugh seeing if there’s enough material to make a chapbook. Got asked via email to run another Arts on Prescription course. Hope my availability fits time frame. Printed out eight copies of the poems and prose to be read by Consett Writers at the mental health awareness day in Stanley Civic Hall tomorrow. Over two hundred and seventy sheets. Quite tired now. Got ‘Darkness Visible’ by William Styron and ‘Killing for Company’ by Brian Masters from the library today. Hope I can find time to read them. Tinnitus pretty loud today. Eyes hurting. Bed soon. 11.17 pm.

Thursday 28th August 2014

Up at half six, bit of net research, full head shave. Gig in Stanley went really well. All the Consett writers on good form. Very buoyant afterwards and keen to do more in future. I slept on the bus to Newcastle. Bought grey board at Details, had a chat with Julian Lee at old Eldon Square. Meeting with Aidan Clarke, Annie Moir and Jenni for a new project. More details later. Despite stuffing my face at the Civic buffet, I still managed to get a carvery down my gullet at The Goose. Good to be back at Jibba Jabba. Feels like ages since last time. Room pretty full tonight. 7.50 pm.

Friday 29th August 2014

Brilliant Jibba Jabba last night. So many people, so many wonderful performances. Musician was good - enjoyed his guitar playing and reworking of Sheryl Crow's Mississippi. Loved SPONTANEOUS WRECKS improv, and the Black Light Engine Room set format was a refreshing change - Morbid on particularly good form. All male open mic first half, loads of good stuff - enjoyed Chris Harland's poem; second open mic more female orientated - thank you Jane Burn, totally gobmacked by the words and performance of Kirsten Luckins, and the final open mic Beyonce piece was top stuff too. Fantastic 'Crap Timelord' set from Richard Tyrone Jones. Well done to JibbaJabba for putting on such a quality night. Wall to wall talent.

Put my set together for tomorrow’s ‘Never Mind the Ramones’ gig at Gateshead Caedmon Hall. When I finished I thought it might be cool to print up the poems as a little pamphlet, so I’ve done a 24-pager. Hand lettered cover – dark blue and grey boards, silver ink. Only did half a dozen. Thought it would be good to have in case anyone wanted a particular poem from the set but didn’t want to shell out seven quid for a full-length book. I like the way the poems seem different on book pages rather than A4 manuscript sheets. Like the spaces around the words. I’m publishing a couple of great poets in the coming months. I love making books. It’s been a pretty good day. 11.41 pm.

Saturday 30th August 2014

Brilliant time at Caedmon Hall this afternoon for Never Mind the Ramones: Music and Spoken Word Event. Huge thanks to Mark Speeding for inviting Jenni and me to perform at such a cracking event. Blueshounds were great, Jane Burn Storybook Art gave us something extra special with her illustrated readings. Biscuit Baby is my fave. Nev Clay entertaining as ever. Thanks to people who bought copies of the pamphlet I made of my set list. Really enjoyable gig. Thanks to the attentive audience for staying with me the full half hour. And what can you say about Emergency Librarian but WOW! Kind of dreading footage of my Ace of Spades air guitar stint - well done to Jane for winning that comp. Music quiz was great. All of this on a Saturday afternoon in Gateshead. Thanks again to everyone involved. Loved it.

Sunday 31st August 2014

Bit of net surfing to start the day. Lots of pix up from yesterday. Watched tv, Jenni helped me sort stuff at laundry. I feel asleep during Columbo. Jen taught me how to play Backgammon. Read a Ramsey Campbell story on the bus home. Checked emails and made up a new morning pages booklet. 11.49 pm.

Monday 1st September 2014

Started prep for two new Waddington Street Centre courses. Ways with Words and Writing Shack. The challenge is to deliver new material to people I’ve been working with for a long time, in some cases over a decade. It’s a slow process – cherry picking source material, developing themes. And hoping that when it’s all in place, it’s what people want. Coz if not, I start over again, week by week. Need to spend a few days reading solidly to get back into workshop mode. I read ‘Why Write?’ by Paul Auster this afternoon. A copy of the book was on Amazon for two-and-a-half grand. Mine was a gift over fifteen years ago. 10.24 pm.

Tuesday 2nd September 2014

Had the urge to go longboarding this evening but changed my mind at the last minute. Read some more flash fiction instead, then keyed in some notes. Been listening to Einsturzende Neubauten. They are playing London KOKO on 19th November. I have only seen them once and that was Sunday 7th September 1997 at London Astoria. Have spent much of today amassing material for workshops and reading. Despite comments last week about book purchases I have been swayed into buying ‘Short Circuit: A guide to the Art of the Short Story’ a collection of essays edited by Vanessa Gebbie. Read some Hemingway, Ramsey Campbell, Born of Man and Woman by Richard Matheson – thanks Emma Whitehall – amongst others. So many books I want to read. The curtain net fell down hours ago. I turn and see the pitch black night. Where does time go? I have eaten mainly sandwiches and shortbread. Aim to get out on bike or board at some point tomorrow. 9.34 pm.