Change in My Weather

Monday 29th August 2016

Major fail at avoiding the conventions of a bank holiday – instead of intended work I did bugger all but tidy the kitchen, read some alternative news articles online then go down the river and have a bit of a shunt about the rocks on a bike but my kneecaps weren’t liking any of it. Back home, listened to Dirk Wears White Sox by Adam and the Ants then read up on the early days of the band's original line-up . Got an email from Julia Eff about the delay of their next publication; read a little bit about Soo Catwoman from the seventies punk scene, and Jordan too. The latter is apparently now a vet. I wonder what I become if the workshops fall through. Was good to speak to Jenni this morning. Good to eat bacon sandwiches and drink super sweet mango cordial. Lazy days R us again. 11.14 pm.

Tuesday 30th August 2016

Rough tonight. Blurred vision, sickly stomach, head throbbing. Felt awful at the computer and had to lie down twice. Got some work done, got some blurb requests out for my book. That’s about it, really. Feel sick and am keen to get my head down. Don’t have a great deal to say. News is war, tax evasion to the tune of billions, kids being shot in head. What a world we live in. I haven’t done a lesson plan for tomorrow. Hope I feel okay to do it in the morning. Just want to get my head down and sleep. I’ve had some supper: shredded wheat with hot milk and apple sauce. 10.20 pm.

Wednesday 31st August 2016

Another bastard headache! Tried drinking a litre of water and felt okay for a while but it’s coming back. Second night in a row. Today was good though. Booked three guests for autumn Poetry Jams, sent out some requests for blurbs for the new book ‘Laughter to Split Glass’ due from Red Squirrel Press in October. And put some stuff together for this afternoon’s workshop: letters to treasured objects and conveying emotion through description. Missed the bus back by about thirty seconds. Then sat on the No 16 for over ninety minutes. Spoke to Darren from Graphic Print about music and spoken word events. Was intending to go longboarding this evening but felt rough when I got home. Early night for me and hopefully a lot better tomorrow. Okay. Done. 11.24 pm.

Thursday 1st September 2016

Great gig at Poetry Jam tonight. Mint sets from all the guests. Great blend of humour and poignancy. Enjoyed the jams. Fantastic to see the Waddy Centre packed to capacity for the first time this year. Got a pamphlet 'Winging It' by Lorraine Weightman. Well done putting that together. Really pleased to get her in for a feature set. Great to see Wajid Hussain performing in Durham. And the fantastic Catherine Ayres travelled a long way and delivered an ace half hour set. Took me ages to get to Waddy, coz one of the bus drivers, running late, took a short cut missing out Moorside, thus making me miss a connection. Thanks to Ali for asking Fergus to stay back till half five to let me in. Good of him to do that. I’ve had a couple of groggy days but today was okay. Even got the grass cut. Been trying to book more guests tonight for November. Hope we have a good run of events for the rest of the year. Good to get a lift home off Fergus. Going to have some supper then wind down. 11.41 pm.

Friday 2nd September 2016

Recovery day. Still buzzing in the small hours after last night’s Poetry Jam. Lots of Facebook action. Good to know people had a good time. Pleased the guests enjoyed it. I worked on the gig pix for upload this morning. Then keyed in some work. Seem to have been wading through treacle lately. Been listening to The Mission today. Heard from my old friend Stephen Clark this morning. Congratulations to him and partner Kirstin on the birth of their daughter Daisy. I reckon they’ll be pretty busy for the next ten or fifteen years or so. Had a pork steak with boiled veg and gravy. And a strawberry ice cream cone. Messed about on Facebook, followed a few alternative media threads. Haven’t done much else to be honest. Aiming to save some money for a couple of months. Must get some new work leads this autumn. Feeling very hungry at present. Cheese on toast. Peanut butter on cranberry bread. Wish I had some crisps. 11.43 pm.

Saturday 3rd September 2016

Walked through the rain to Consett for food and a birthday card. Determined not to get the fucking bus, but weighed down with three bags and worsening weather I paid the £2.10 fare and sat damp and miserable all the way back to base. Read some poetry and fiction. Fell asleep. Watched a documentary about nazi scumbags then came to bed early to try once again to read a book. Enjoyed my food today - mushroom omelette, apple doughnuts, chicken salad sandwich - but little else. 10.58 pm.

Sunday 4th September 2016

Solo lazy day. Stuffing my face with ham and pease pudding sandwiches, kettle chips, apple doughnuts and yoghurt whilst listening to Colin Wilson and Alan Moore interviews and watching Hanoi Rocks live videos. Good to hear from Jenni this evening. Must put in two solid weeks of work. 10.36 pm.