HOMETOWN GLORY

Monday 18th June 2018

Wrote a little nonsense poem using one of last year’s GloPoWriMo prompts this morning, similar to ‘Things Need to Be Secure’ from ‘Laughter to Split Glass’. Had some email exchanges about online etiquette of disgruntled poets. Got the Poetry Jam event page up. Good to hear Sheila Wakefield has shifted eighteen copies of her pamphlet ‘Limerance’ since I handed her a batch last Wednesday… Still loving the Bad Pollyanna songs whilst preparing for end of term. Got flyer stuff ready for tomorrow. Been eating chocolate again. Might have a cheese sandwich before bed. 10.34 pm.

Tuesday 19th June 2018

Chuffed to get a positive response from Tyneside Mind this morning. Doing a taster workshop for them next Wednesday afternoon. Session at Waddy went fine. Helped tweak structure and push vocabulary of student poems a bit further. Good to see Jenni this evening and meet Joy France again. Great Babble Gum at the Cumberland – Hot Mess, Kate Fox, Scott Tyrrell and Dominic Berry, plus open mic. Walked back into town with Jenni. Ate my peanut butter and blackcurrant jam sandwich and scribbled this. Ok. 11.15 pm.

Wednesday 20th June 2018

When you buy a book you’re paying for genius or hard graft. Not just raw materials. After an evening of manipulating images and text layout I’m starting to see why I should listen to people who say I underprice what I do. Been tweaking book pages all day. Except for an hour this evening when I made up a few copies of the Consett Writers anthology 'Steel Town Blues' from 2015. I’m reading ‘Piece of String’ from it tomorrow at Poetry in the Park. Hoping for a good vibe. Need a bit more rehearsal. Still got book stock to sort. 11.17pm.

Thursday 21st June 2018

One of the best gigs I've had in a long while. Thanks to all the people in Consett who came to Poetry in the Park and listened to Lorraine Weightman, who did a great set, and Phil Alexander who certainly made an impact. Thanks to Richard Graham Judd for the invite and the bowls venue for letting us fill the place with poetry. Cheers to those who bought books and mini zines, asked about Poetry Jam and workshops. More poetry events in Consett now, surely. Thanks to Martin Weston and PA crew, members of Consett Writers group. Cheers to Helen Steadman. And to Andrea for the lift home.

So today went well in the end. Bit nervous about the hometown gig but it was mint. Pleased to do a thirty-minute set in Consett Bowls club. Really good to hear Lorraine Weightman’s full set as well. She did a couple from the anthology. And from her collection ‘Winging It.’ Loved the one about tissue paper in the washing machine. Jenni would have said: That’s you, that is! Really sorry she was unwell and couldn’t make it tonight. Reckon she would have loved it. Was good to do stuff from 'Laughter to Split Glass'. And to direct ‘Bin Truck’ at a little girl there with her mam. Great that people liked the local references in ‘Coming Back to This’ as well. Ace to get such a warm response. Really loved it. After the break Phil Alexander went on and did his well structured but highly inappropriate x-rated material. Donny Osmond and Joanna Lumley will never be seen in the same light ever again. He pretty much cleared the room ten minutes before the end of his set… I’m pretty wired right now. Don’t think I’ll be in bed for a while. 

11.52 pm.

Friday 22nd June 2018

Spent much of this morning doing post-gig admin. Out to Gralands at lunchtime for lawnmower blades. Also went to Bits for Bikes. Thirty quid for a new bottom bracket. Also need a rear gear cable and a spoke replaced in rear wheel. Whilst cleaning the bike tonight I accidentally sprayed lubricant into the rear disc brake and now it won’t lock the wheel dead. So I need something done with that as well. A web thread says unless the rotor is cleaned in alcohol and the brake pads heated on a stove to burn off the lube they’ll never work properly again. Bastard! Reckon this little lot will cost at least fifty quid. And I could really do with a new rear tyre at some point, if I’m to ride off-road in anything but a straight line… Great ‘Girls in Bands’ documentary on BBC4: Pauline Murray, Lita Ford, Savages, Girlschool, etc. Good to chat online with Jenni about poetry matters. 11.22 pm.

Saturday 23rd June 2018

Woke up with a fucking great inch of inflammation below my bottom lip. Great! A fucking coldsore in June. Got my Rockhopper into Bits for Bikes this morning. Then enquired about workshops at Tesco community space. A few hours later, after advice from Jenni and Consett writer Lorraine Weightman, a Talking Pen poster was on the notice board. Many thanks to them both, and to the Community Champion for agreeing the booking. Back to bike shop. Shaun the mechanic did a great job. Rear brake bites bigly again. Leaving bottom bracket till a later date. Computer wouldn’t boot up tonight. By the time it was sorted, I was too annoyed and exhausted to do anything. Try again tomorrow. 11.02 pm.

Sunday 24th June 2018

Wading through treacle after waking at dawn again. Needed a little sleep this afternoon. Drifting in and out of slumber with 'Various Failures' by SWANS playing on Spotify. Got my workshop prepped for Wednesday’s workshop in Jarrow and typed up notes. The coldsore is easing a bit. Mightn’t look so bad by the time I have to go public again. Computer is behaving itself, but I’m playing safe by mainly only using the internet via my android tablet. People on Facebook say it’s been blistering hot outside today. Rather chilly in my house. Which in June suits me just fine. 9.35 pm.