Taking Stock and Staying Out of Trouble

Monday 25th July 2016

Almost didn’t go to hospital coz it seemed a waste of NHS time. Felt less so when various men and women approached reception with similar stories to mine: “I just went over on it.” Or “I was lifting a box and my wrist just went.” Got x-rayed. Nothing broken. Just a sprain. Enjoyed the bus ride back. Got a National Express ticket at Post Office for the journey back from Toyah gig in Middlesbrough on Sunday. Jenni is doing Facebook stuff. QI is on television. I read some Ian McMillan poems today. Thought about blurbs for my Red Squirrel Press book. 11.28 pm.

Tuesday 26th July 2016

Bastard toothache! Another week until I see a dentist. Ibuprofen isn’t actually doing anything for the uproar in my jaw. Me and Jenni had a lazy afternoon watching four more episodes of Breaking Bad Series Five. It’s taken us over a year to get this far and still one more purchase till we reach the big conclusion. I keyed in morning pages and shaved my head. Checked out some chapbooks online. Listened to Toyah. Yes Minister on the TV highly amusing. Meanwhile more terrorist attacks coming thick and fast. A cynical mind might think that we’re being prepared for something appallingly massive. Got to be up to prep for a workshop tomorrow. Ankle on the mend. I’ll be biking and boarding sooner than I thought. 10.34 pm.

Wednesday 27th July 2016

First draft of a new poem in the morning pages. Remains to be seen if it will become anything I can use. Strange pulling away from the holiday break to do a workshop. Keyed in participants’ previous work and packed up for the day. Had an extended session. Overran by half an hour. Basic prompts – colours, simple pleasures, rondelet… Read a few pages of Alice Seabold’s ‘The Lovely Bones’ on the bus there and back. Teeth still bad, appointment isn’t till next Wednesday afternoon. Me and Jenni had salad and ice cream for tea. I listened to The Richie Allen Show tonight then watched a couple of episodes of Room 101. 

Bit tired. Falling asleep on the couch. 11.06 pm.

Thursday 28th July 2016

Keyed in a questionnaire that I dare not post anywhere for fear of my miserablism becoming Technicolor, turned up to eleven in glorious surround sound. Jenni made a fried egg on beans on toast with cheese and mushrooms awesome lunch. I listened to a band called Against Me - thanks to Julia Eff for the heads-up on them. Been enjoying an easy time of late. Very pleased my ankle is a bit better. Well, I’m out and walking on it anyway. In Newcastle this afternoon. Eat4Less baguettes and chips. Two little girls sat opposite us at our table. Pleased their mother came along. The kids reminded Jen of those kids from The Shining. She was going to ask if they’d parked their tricycles outside. Mostly Spoken event tonight. Mandy Maxwell, Aiden Clarke, Rowan McCabe, Kate Fox, Bernie Christie, Charley Rey, Simma and Co. Canny day. 

8.55 pm.

Friday 29th July 2016

Ankle aching this morning. On the way back from the toilet a plumber asked if it would be okay to go into the attic to turn the radiators off. I woke Jen and moments later we couldn’t get drinks or showers. Feeling glum and thirsty, I persuaded Jen to come to the shop with me. Got water then went to Gateshead library. The teen section is awesome: skate books, How to be Creative, volumes of essays from V-bloggers, dystopian fiction… We checked out poetry books. Jenni sat with me a while then went to meet up with Sky Hawkins. In the social sciences section I found Gavin Baddeley’s ‘Street Culture’ and ‘Goth – Vamps and Dandies’. A few feet away the massive music and video section. Gateshead Central library is the best. 12.15 pm.

Saturday 30th July 2016

Been in Newcastle library catching up on emails. Jenni is at Bar Loco with a friend. I’m a little downbeat. Pains in my ankle from walking too much too soon. Plus disappointment at fucking up a poem at Featherstone slam last night. Everyone else on great form. Don’t want to engage with much today. Scrolling facebook for an hour wore me down. Will go to Waterstones and see more enticing books that I will never read. Thanks to Jenni for putting up with Mr Grumpy. 4.15 pm.

Sunday 31st July 2016

Longlands Club in Middlesbrough. Toyah not on stage till ten and my ride home was five to eleven. She finished around ten past eleven. All the hits, some covers. She’s so energized, totally animated the whole time. Very enthusiastic audience. I’m still in the venue and have about six or seven hours to fill. Messaged Jenni so she knows I won’t be home tonight. 11.40 pm.

Monday 1st August 2016

Slept in doorway of Middlesbrough National Express coach station for a few hours till staff opened up at five o’clock. Got the 20 past six back to Gateshead. Slept for a further three hours at Jen’s place. Wanted to go out on the bike this afternoon but ankle isn’t good enough yet. Won’t be longboarding for another couple of weeks. Caught up with the email backlog and keyed in some morning pages, but basically too tired for much. Enjoyed listening to AGAINST ME this evening. I’d like to see them but the tour is December and closest gig is Glasgow. Or Manchester. I’d need a room afterwards. Buses are shit that time of the year. I have loads of work to catch up on tomorrow. Hopefully sleep better tonight, but first a bit of cheese on toast. 11.10 pm.

Tuesday 2nd August 2016

Really fucking annoying when the bread grows mold. I mean, I only bought it this time last week. Actually, Jenni bought it the Sunday after I knackered my ankle. So ten days isn’t too bad. Switched off the desktop computer after being stuck in front of it much of the day and have purposely left the tablet downstairs till tomorrow. Kind of losing my way a bit. All these niggling little ailments. I’m a bit under the weather and can’t really be fucking bothered with much. At least I’ve got some stuff prepped for the workshop at Cambian Appletree tomorrow. Been listening to a lot of AGAINST ME songs today – read some articles about lead singer Laura Jane Grace who has an autobiography out in the autumn. Just before logging off I got an email from a friend in Kielder, so I wrote a reply before I forget. Then made a cheese sandwich which tastes alright, despite the stale bread. An early night should see me right. Tomorrow is another day. 10.07 pm.

Wednesday 3rd August 2016

Workshop at Appletree went well. Finish the sentence, mini fictions. Did quarter of an hour extra. Just got back to Consett in time for my dental appointment. It’s as I thought: lost a filling in an upper right back tooth. The big ouch! is £53.00. And dentist going on holiday till September. Fortunately he didn’t scold me for the shit state of my teeth. Besides a polish and the buggered cavity, there isn’t much wrong. Not bad considering it’s over seven years since my last visit. Ate a big pepperoni pizza tonight and watched My Big ToE (Theory of Everything) videos by physicist Thomas Warren Campbell. A bit complex for my brain but interesting. I am way behind on my work. Don’t have to be anywhere after Poetry Jam until next Wednesday, so hopefully I’ll get to catch up at the weekend. 10.57 pm.

Thursday 4th August 2016

Out early for groceries then a short ride down the woods to Allensford and along to Shotley Bridge and back. The ankle held up pretty well although still acing a bit later this afternoon.  No time to do much else at home but get prepped for Poetry Jam. On the way down to Durham I picked out a preliminary thirty poems for possible inclusion in the set for Never Mind the Ramones #3. Some surprise choices. Bit of an incident with an unwell service user this evening. Luckily people arriving for a meeting knew what to do. I called an ambulance as requested and it arrived quickly. Poetry Jam was great. Always unsure how many people will come but canny turn out and great stuff from all the guests – Grame Bruce Fletcher, Mandy Maxwell and Andy Willoughby – plus some good open floor as well. Thanks Fergus for the ride home. 

11.35 pm.

Friday 5th August 2016

Admin catch-up. Copied up stray bits and pieces. Good to go back over stuff. Got the Poetry Jam pix up. Vandem Longboard Shop liked the response I sent. Gonna leave it a few more days before I go for that crucial first ride on the Lush Pinnacle. Probably best to just stick to flat terrain for the first few rides. If those Cult Converter wheels are as ‘icy’ for slides as reviewers say then I’d best take it easy. Been listening to AGAINST ME all evening and keying in morning pages. I’m enjoying the idea of posting a tweet each day. Might use some as filler at the bottom of zine pages. Okay, time for some more food, me thinks. 11.24 pm.

Saturday 6th August 2016

Walked to Consett for lawnmower plastic blades then out on the 27-speed mountain bike. Good to hit the mini trails. Always enjoy the sections from Moorside to Allensford. Only downside was twatting my head off a low branch down the river. Luckily I was going slow at that point and wearing a helmet. Didn’t spoil the ride and I put in a bit of old school trials near Shotley. Up off the bridge onto the road no feet down on my fourth attempt. Rehearsed set for Stanza when I got back. 11.35 pm.

Sunday 7th August 2016

The floor is covered in the debris of a busy mind. Big catch-up on the journal and chuffed to get my 24-poem 45 minute set together for Never Mind the Ramones #3. It’s starting to rain so the grass probably won’t get cut for a while. And there’s no more cake. 10.12 pm.