Fourteen

Monday 26th November 2018

Listened to three Lydia Lunch albums tonight and checked out a couple more. First spoken word artist besides Rollins that I really engaged with. I saw Joolz Denby when I was 19 and vaguely remember the coat-hanger abortion story, but little else. Monday’s are a chore. Paperwork for end of college-funded Waddy course still unnerves me. I’ve arranged a meet-up with Sheila of Red Squirrel Press to check out bound proofs of Laughter to Split Glass on Friday. No work on Anomalies book today. Pissed off about that, to be honest. Fingers crossed I can catch up soon coz I need it done in three weeks. 11.35 pm.

Tuesday 27th November 2018

Today’s session was mainly loose ends of paperwork for the College. I got a late bus back to Consett in an attempt to avoid a lot of school kids. Ended up on a full double decker. Pitch dark when I got to town and too late for my bus to Moorside so I went to the library for 15 minutes. Got ‘Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor’ music memoir by David Haslam. I had ratatouille for the first time today. On toast with steamed potatoes. Fucking lush. Next time I’m going to add sausages. Have listed additional material required for Anomalies deluxe. Can see light at the end of the tunnel now. Also checked out Analog Submission Press pamphlets. 11.15 pm.

Wednesday 28th November 2018

Out to town for bank transactions and food shopping. Wanted to buy Vive le Rock magazine but already decided to spend my personal allowance on two Analog Submission Press pamphlets. Postage was three quid, so it set me back £8 in total. This afternoon I checked out a Martina Cole book. Might give her a try. This evening we did a collaborative character sketch in the writing session. Went really well. I read some more of ‘Sonic Youth Slept on my Floor’ by David Haslam. Really good memoir of music in 70s – 90s – references to Joy Division, New Order, Dexy’s, etc. Will definitely finish it. I’m home till half four tomorrow. OK. 11.46 pm.

Thursday 29th November 2018

Good to get over half the additional material needed for deluxe Anomalies inserted. Got some scans to do then I can begin adjusting margins and typefaces. Chuffed to see The Cure’s Simon Gallup in Single Track mountain bike magazine. Me and Jenni went to the Mick Wall talk at Books on Tyne Festival. I’ve seen him on numerous rock documentaries over the years. Interesting chap. Lots of dirt on Led Zeppelin: Plant good, Page bad; Ozzy, Lemmy, etc – great stuff. Wish it went on a bit longer. Went to The Centurion pub afterwards. Read more Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor on the bus back. Good Morrissey section, Hacienda, Everything but The Girl and, of course, Sonic Youth. 11.45 pm.

Friday 30th November 2018

Good workshop at Consett library. Did some stuff on Plagiarism and some Not the Furniture Game poems for characters. Borrowed a Martina Cole novel. Had two canny meals today: big bacon and mushroom sandwiches for breakfast; fish fingers and chips for dinner. Okay bike ride to Jen’s. In a jovial mood I thought to myself, one of you fuckers are going to wipe me out one of these days – as traffic played how close can we get to the cyclists arm whilst overtaking at full speed by a traffic island. Me ad Jenni went to another Books on Tyne event: Tom Kelly and Shelley Day. Both read well. Enjoyed Tom’s Elsie Rides Again. Looking forward to reading Shelley’s What Are You Like collection. Big Tesco food visit afterwards. Great episode of Hustler involving a Henry Moore painting. Then some cracking Stevie Wonder songs on BBC4. 10.33 pm.

Saturday 1st December 2018

More cold wet weather. Read from Shelley Day’s What are You Like. Short stories, descriptive vignettes – slice of life pieces that are pretty much the sort of thing I’d like to write. Ate lots of toast with peanut butter, lots of chocolate, some oranges, drank blackcurrant juice. Me and Jen watched a bit of snooker but I fell asleep… Game shows, X Factor, Father Ted… Avoided Facebook today. Lots of clothes on to beat the cold. 0K. 10.45 pm.

Sunday 2nd December 2018

Read more Shelley Day stories this morning and made notes for future writing. Ravioli on toast for lunch. Me and Jenni watched SEVEN on DVD this afternoon. First time for me since Consett Empire in 1996/7. Jenni liked it. We had cherry pie and custard for tea. Watched X-Factor final then The Lost Boys. Ate lots of chocolate, lots of oranges. OK. 11.08 pm.

Monday 3rd December 2018

Too many gaps in the diary and I need entries copied up before January. Stayed at Jen’s an extra night coz the rubber band fixing for my rear bike light snapped last night. Pleasant ride home this morning: dry, calm. No hassle on the roads. Checked Facebook and emails but not much to get concerned about, despite two days away. Fixed up a makeshift wire tie-on for my rear light; sorted finances, bills and got to work on Anomalies. Deleted over a hundred pages of journal from the final section of the book. I’ll probably take out more. Still have bits to add at the front and some black and white pictures to balance the mix. Listened to Led Zeppelin’s reunion concert from 2007 tonight. Pretty awesome, despite what Mick Wall said Robert Plant thought of the experience. Joyless, was the word he used. Anyway, I’m pushing on with admin tomorrow. 11.33 pm.

Tuesday 4th December 2018

Most of today spent working up a final session for my private evening group. It will be a recap of previous nine workshops plus advice on publishing, videos of key poets and an opportunity to try missed exercises. I read ‘The Time Office – New and Selected Poems’ by Tom Kelly in its entirety this evening and marked out some poems he might want to perform on Thursday, as he intends to hand out copies of his books and let the audience choose what he should do. I’ve also been enjoying Shelley Day’s ‘What Are You Like’ short story collection. I took an hour away from reading to watch Chris Akrigg’s ‘From There to Here’ feature-length bike documentary. Brilliant trials rider revered by his peers. Also chuffed the Tories have been triple hammered today. Surely, Mrs May, you must be gone by 2019. Freezing cold indoors so well wrapped up. 11.49 pm.

Wednesday 5th December 2018

Chasing my tail trying to get paperwork done, respond to requests and work on Anomalies Deluxe. I left the house early this afternoon coz I knew I’d get nothing done here without making myself late for the Durham workshop. On the bus near the College I noticed my freshly chosen black shirt had washing powder blotches on it; went to a charity shop to buy another before starting my final prep. Then in the mirror I noticed a patch of stubble on the side of my head that I’d missed earlier due to shaving in bad light, so back out again to get a razor from Poundland. Eventually got my papers sorted, had tea and waited to start session. Only three in tonight. I started a bit late in hopes that others would arrive but got no more. Did the recap with bits on plagiarism and some recap exercises. Got carried away giving advice on publishing and only just made it for the nine o’clock direct bus, otherwise I’d still be walking through the fog. Food shopping at Tesco. Mince pasty, cheese on toast, jam donut. 11.49 pm.

Thursday 6th December 2018

Tonight’s Poetry Jam was mint. Great sets from Henry Raby, Ellen Moran and Tom Kelly. Cracking open floor readings from Chris Short, Karen Middleton, Juli Watson, Helen Steadman amongst others. I read ‘What I Love’ and ‘Yesteryear’s Lunch’. I bought Henry Raby’s Nerd Punk and was gifted a pamphlet by Tom Kelly. I gave Tom a copy of ‘My Dark Matter’. Got a lift home off Fergus. I have spent the last half hour looking for a blue hat. Had hot chocolate, chicken crisps, jam donut and a bowl of porridge. Sad news on Facebook that Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks has died of a heart attack at the age of 63 in Estonia. 11.30 pm.

Friday 7th December

Late night after the Poetry Jam then up early to prep for Consett Writers workshop. We had a good session on potentially problematic journal topics, descriptive relish and bland self-indulgent prose, then line-breaks in free verse. Had a nice little wind-down drink with the group afterwards in Wetherspoons then walked home. Had a bacon sandwich then fell asleep on the couch. Tonight I edited and uploaded the Poetry Jam pictures whilst listening to Madonna’s Celebration hits album. Sick of reading about Brexit. Seriously don’t think it will happen. As the day of the meaningful vote gets closer, the amount of muck raking gets greater. Determined 'to deliver the will of the people' while colleagues line up to tell you how shit it's going to be. Bit of reverse psychology works wonders. Pretend to offer what people want but make it as unattractive as possible so they'll beg for the opposite as the situation becomes more desperate. Why hire a remainer to deliver on a leave vote? You only had to see the look on BoJo's face the morning after the referendum – they never intended to leave and will do everything they can to ensure they don’t, whilst pretending the opposite… Three hours to upload Jam pix to Facebook. Seriously need a new computer. Been tired most of the day. 11.35 pm.

Saturday 8th December 2018

Productive day. Cleared away some of the clutter from living room and bedroom this afternoon, then started knocking up a copy of standard Anomalies with colour pages. I will be working on Deluxe again after this one is sewn and case bound. Some of the sheets require back to back bonding to create a different colour/texture either side. Took a lot longer to print individually on assorted stock than anticipated. But I’m chuffed with how it looks so far. 11.47 pm.

Sunday 9th December 2018

Standard Anomalies in the book press after amore relaxed day of crafting. Been listening to the Love album by The Cult. Saw them at Newcastle City Hall in 1985 and 1987 then at the Academy in 2012. Had to lie down for a bit towards the end of a typing session this evening due to chest pains. Not something I usually experience. Think I’ll turn in early tonight, so I can get up early tomorrow and crack on with the ‘To Do’ list… 10.02 pm.