Bulletins from Planet Bronchitis

Monday 22nd February 2016

Was good to be able to catch my breath again this evening and give some feedback to students. Still have cold. But I’m a bloke so prone to whinge and make more of it than it probably is. Read an Ian Astbury interview about the Hidden City album. Saw The Cult on their Love tour in November 1985. And again in spring 1987 on the Electric tour – but they’d gone all AC/DC by then. I don’t mind AC/DC so long as it is AC/DC. Spent much of the day just keying in work and catching up. My nose is sore. Haven’t had heating on, haven’t used slanket. Jen messaged and said her room is colder than outside. Hope she’s getting enough to eat. A couple more people are interested in the March 26th writing marathon. Need a few more before I can book the venue. Missed The X Files and Gotham. I stop watching telly soon as Jenni goes home. Ears are ringing. Should have used plugs at all those Swans gigs in the eighties and nineties. 11.38 pm.

Tuesday 23rd February 2016

Can’t complain today. Wasn’t stressed or rushed this morning. Plenty time at Waddy before lunch to get my photocopying done. Session afterwards very successful. Good to sit listening to the clatter of keyboards as people put their penned thoughts into computers. Had a chicken rendang and rice for tea. Sat in the office trimming Edward Hopper pix for the evening class. Ten people all wrote seven vignettes in seventy minutes. We had some read backs then I tidied away the chairs, had some walnut cake and filled my pop bottle from the water cooler; checked the android for updates then locked up and walked to the bus station. Read four chapters of ‘All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues’ by Julia Eff. Back home another message for a place on the writing marathon. Watched a Natalie Goldberg Writing Down the Bones 30th anniversary interview. Can’t complain today. 11.14 pm.

Wednesday 24th February 2016

Coughing my guts up this evening. Been a bit pushed for time but have some feedback off to students and sorted out a few things of my own. Contacted Broadacre House for room hire but it’s going to be a few days before they confirm. Tonight was pretty good. Some absurd words lines and vignettes to begin with then a group poem – line by line substitution, writing something a million miles from the original poem. Good to have the heating on when I got home. The new Jessie Lynn McMains mini-zine ‘Last Summer of Girlhood/One Tale Told Three Ways’ is mint. 11.24 pm.

Thursday 25th February 2016

Morning pages, bag pack for Mind: gig opportunity, senses poem read through, a look at some of Tony Walsh’s poems then absurd words, a short story by Rachael H Dixon for read around then back to absurd words for new vignettes. Home to a work offer. Then the bombshell of nine thousand – yes NINE THOUSAND – duplicate emails from TalkTalk. Five thousand of them still processing when I left the house. Think I might have a chest infection, not reading anything at JibbaJabba. Getting rather chilly now and of course the bus to Newcastle is blowing out cold air. Gonna get a hot eat4less, look at music mags in WHSmith then go over to The Cumberland. 5.35 pm.

Thanks: Ani Sandwith, Chris Stewart, Lee Kyle and the mighty Jonny Fluffypunk and open mic people. Plus Jenni and Kirsten for putting on a great gig. 11.40 pm.

Note: wrote six sides but will keep for another time.

Friday 26th February 2016

Today was supposed to be free and easy. Wasn’t hard-pushed but didn’t exactly sit twiddling my thumbs. Got the morning pages keyed in for the last couple of days; writing marathon, gallery, Waddy, audio web pages done. Just need a few permissions for pix. And a gig archive plus one for magazine appearances but site is well on the way. Watched a mint Rollins interview called Top Session with Joe Shanahan of the Metro Chicago venue and host Don Hall. Listened to a load of Emile Autumn stuff. She hasn’t toured for quite a while. I’d rather see her with a full live band than the theatrical cabaret act, but she’s still excellent. Good to get permissions for the writing marathon quotes. Cough not so bad this evening but house is fucking freezing. 11.44 pm.

Saturday 27th February 2016

Read a bit of Jonny Fluffypunk this morning. Most of today just logging five years of selected gigs with hyperlinks. Worked right through from lunchtime till almost quarter to ten this evening. Head starting to pound a bit, so I’ve switched everything off. Just the scratchy pen and my super-loud tinnitus. Wish this fucking winter was over. Going to bed as soon as I’m done scribbling. 10.36 pm.

Sunday 28th February 2016

Another full-on day at the computer. Got my handmade books page done. Need permissions for appraisals but have all the ‘gallery’ picture credits. Thanks to Jenni for help with the 'Hire Me' workshops section and for giving feedback on progress. Reckon I’ve put in about a hundred hours on the site over the last three weeks. Almost done. Still coughing my guts up though. Lovely. 11.40 pm.