Post-Election Lethargy, Late Shows, Publications, Blood Brothers

Monday 11th May 2015

Just can’t stay focused. Should switch Facebook off until I’m on an even keel. Every two minutes some more Tory bullshit appears in the newsfeed. Struggling at present. Has taken all day just to get a few entries typed, a blog post up and register off to the college. There’s been a few moments of nice – like the salmon and scrambled egg baked potato mixed peppers beetroot pickled onions and cucumber evening meal; some decent bits and pieces of correspondence. It’s getting late, but I don’t have to be in at Waddington Street till midday. Oh well. 11.25 pm.

Tuesday 12th May 2015

Good meeting with Tracie from New College Durham after the session. Numbers prevailing, the courses should continue in September. Evening class saw the group contributing some interesting material to the character sketch exercise. I read the rest of Fixer Eraser by Jonas on the bus back to Consett. Bit of admin and research then a cheeseburger. I know, just too much grease at bedtime. Really, really tired tonight. Was crashed out in the office before my session. Hope the weather is good from tomorrow so I can get the grass cut. Enough. 11.05 pm.

Wednesday 13th May 2015

No-one at the Writing for All session. Now, there’s irony. Quite a roomful at Cambian Appletree. Bus home was late. Landline dead. No internet. Took advantage of the incommunicado and blitzed the living room. Cleared out all the papers and books choking up the place. Took over three hours. Pleased to find some marathon notebooks from last year down the side of the couch. Loads of material to edit. Will do my session at Mind tomorrow then contact the phone company. If no joy, I can book time in the library to answer emails and do Facebook updates. I’m writing this in bed after a spicy chicken pizza. 11.14 pm.

Thursday 14th May 2015

Good stuff today: lively writing workshop at Mind; helpful BT Openreach guy who sorted my talktalk landline; great eighties spoken word show from Lhasa Club by Rollins; some highly unexpected ‘likes’ on my highly unexpected Consequences collage poem, written 26 years to the day since I first tried creative writing; enjoyable Sandra Bernhard gig from Lhasa Club, mid eighties; lush salmon and baked potato meal and cheese crackers; The Mission live at Shepherds Bush Empire, March 2008; seeing downstairs all neat and hoovered for the first time in ages; getting paper choices off to Jane for her pamphlet pages; finding two new Papermate gel pens in my bag; getting messages from Jenni; not having to go back into town this evening; taking it easy until tomorrow. 9.38 pm.

Friday 15th May 2015

Good to read some of Tony Benn’s final diaries this morning before breakfast. Did some online research for memoir writing till lunchtime. Had a bowl of that lush lentil and bacon soup you can cut with a knife, comes out the tin in one solid chunk. Got the grass cut this afternoon and read some articles about political erosion of freedom. Worked on Jane Burn’s pamphlet again tonight. Almost there. Still waiting on info from a previous employer and a workshop participant before I can get community anthologies published. Aiming to take the latter half of the year for my own writing and publishing. Haven’t been on a bike or the board for weeks. Good to hear from Jenni. Think we are going to some of the Late Shows tomorrow. Need to do some bank transactions so I can order paper stock and pay the phone bill. Been overeating again. Looking forward to a bit of time to do non-poetry stuff. 11.15 pm.

Saturday 16th May 2015

Me and Jenni had a meal at the Goose this evening. Then off to some of the Late Shows. Great North Museum was a disappointment as only the foyer was open, so we jumped on the free bus to the Biscuit Factory. Lizzie Row exhibition and some great quayside paintings by Rayford. Saw Leila Hussein, Chris Harland and Aaron Wright. Then back on the bus to The Mushroom Works – lots of Alice in Wonderland stuff. Some really freaky stuff in the Baltic – industrial pornographic conceptual art. Chatted with Rowan McCabe before his set at Alphabetti Soup. 11.12 pm.

Sunday 17th May 2015

Enjoyed Alphabetti last night. Rowan McCabe on top form, really winning the crowd over. Me and Jenni went to the Great North Museum this afternoon. Particularly impressed by the T-Rex and the Egyptian artefacts. Had chicken curry afterwards. Fell asleep on the bus home. Watched Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell, checked emails. 11.10 pm.

Monday 18th May 2015

Fucking hate Mondays! Always have. No matter how much I prepare I always feel the need for more. Anxiety at not knowing what people will like. Not knowing if I’ve got all my shit together. Running round like a scalded cat. Checking and rechecking – never mind, I do what I can. Pleased to be nearer the completion of some anthologies. Half eleven before I get the chance to shave my head this evening. Tomorrow morning I’ll wash some shirts for the week, check my bag pack and maybe get an hour to key in some notes. Haven’t been outside today. Put a pic up of me with Toyah Willcox on the group page. Lots of fans doing likewise. It’s her birthday. Good online chat with Jenni. Nice feedback on strawberry (poetry) jam posts. 11.47 pm.

Tuesday 19th May 2015

Already written a load of woe in the notebook this morning. Day was a good one to begin with: papers all ready to go, ticket purchased to see Public Image Limited – then on the bus to work realised I’d forgotten my memory stick. No stick, no print-out samples of Jane’s pamphlet. After staying up till midnight to get things sorted, and re-tweaking the file this morning. Downhill from there. Poorly attended writing half-marathon, torrential rain… Some drunk guy made a doughnut mess on the bus back from Durham. Drunk or smashed on drugs. Wasn’t abusive though. Had suitcases with him. Some holiday. Home to trawl through my records to prove I did paperwork the college don’t seem to have. Pleased it’s not my fault.  Haven’t done the blog this week. Way behind on everything. Fuck! 11.03 pm.

Wednesday 20th May 2015

Today is a mixed bag. Character sketches and monologues this morning and sample copies of pamphlet printed and sent to Jane Burn. Session at Cambian this afternoon didn’t happen. So I got home just after four. Listened to PIL whilst eating my baked potato salmon scrambled eggs mixed peppers beetroot cucumber picked onions tom ketchup tea. Then pasted gig tickets into my notebook and bus to Gateshead. Grabby brakes make for a jolty ride, hard to write. Sunlight through trees dazzling and no ibuprofen till tomorrow. Should be at Jen’s for quarter past eight. 7.37 pm.

Thursday 21st May 2015

Mission gig in Manchester was mint. Two sets. They played ‘Evangeline’ – one of my favourite tracks, irrespective of which musicians featured on the original recording. Venue GORILLA pretty small. Eleven paces from stage to exit. Expensive. Two quid cloakroom compulsory for bag. Two quid for small apple juice. (At half time I nipped out to Sainsbury’s for a 55p carton.) I had a pretty good dance, place was packed. Good to see the audience confetti during ‘Wasteland’ and standing on shoulders during final encore ‘Tower of Strength’. Bar is open till one and my coach is half past, so I’ll stay put by the window for an hour. 11.47 pm.

Friday 22nd May 2015

Megabus didn’t leave Manchester till ten past two this morning. Was concerned I might miss my Carlisle stop and wake up in Glasgow. Walked around at five for a while then scribbled. Slept on and off during the journey into Newcastle, then had a bacon and cheese melt Panini from Eat 4 Less. Tried to buy paper stock in town but decided to double-check with Jane then ordered online. Lethargic all day. Been listening to PIL this evening. Read some stuff about Manchester Boardwalk and Hacienda. Really tired, pleased I didn’t go to a poetry night or another gig. Bit more admin and I’m done. 9.45 pm.