Another Two Weeks

Monday 3rd June 2019

Chuffed to get the kitchen carpet clean and back in place. Workshop stuff sorted for Wednesday in Hexham. Waddington Street Centre course and some anthology edits for students. My head feels a lot better. Got an email from Terror in the Trees and am pleased to be offered an audition for this autumn’s event. It was great being a scare actor last year and I hope to be able to scare the shit out of punters this October. I’ll have to miss Wayne Hussey’s solo show at the Cluny on 26th October but I’ve seen him loads in the last ten years. I really want to see Michael Monroe, though. So, given that I might be earning some canny cash I will try to make his Manchester gig on 6th November. Good Steve Achieves tonight. Question Time on iPlayer: US state visit, Brexit, etc. OK. 11.10 pm.

 

Tuesday 4th June 2019

Up early and out to Waddy on the ten past ten bus. Gripe about fares, delays, cancellations with locals. Checked bank balance, looked at jog pants and Gorilla tape in Boyes. Then bus to Durham. Read some of ‘Truck Face’ zine and got a fresh draft of Waddy anthology printed. Soup was far too hot for dinner. Was offered more workshops; Mondays at Waddy over the summer. Editing session with group went well. All keen to complete the book. Fell asleep on bus home. Some guy at Consett wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I shook him… Bangers and mash with tom sauce for tea. Did some more journal edits tonight. Watched bullshit on the news and enjoyed Years and Years on iPlayer. Off to bed early coz I’m up for Hexham workshop tomorrow. OK. 10.15 pm.

Wednesday 5th June 2019

Up by seven and ready for workshop. Chatted with neighbours Anne and David, had a lush ride up to Hexham. Great to hear Charlie’s Choir rehearse Snow Patrol’s ‘Run’ when I was setting up. Session went well. I slept on the bus back to Newcastle, intercepted message in Lloyds bank on my tablet for a meet-up with Jenni. Heard a couple of great buskers at Monument; young lad doing Adele and Ed Sheeran tracks with his mate rapping here and there. Had an eat4less with Jenni then looked round shops. Stationery, vinyl records, books and DVDs. Bus ride over the river to Gateshead Tesco. We got to the interchange in time for me to get the X70 to Consett and on to Moorside. Enjoyed my rides and work; great to get my Steve Achieves done. Now the Newsnight Brexit shitshow; I’ll turn it off though coz I want to keep the good vibe till bedtime. Feel okay – canny day. 11.00 pm.

Thursday 6th June 2019

Good to get out early this morning for shopping and bank transactions. Aimed to do the garden but didn’t have time. And it rained this afternoon; hopefully grass dry tomorrow. I did some selections for Poetry Jam. Slept on the bus to Durham. Put dates in for the summer workshops. Had chilli and rice for tea, then downstairs to list regional events for the round-up to read at the end of the night. Turnout was limited; about 14 or 15 people. But a good cosy gig with some canny open floor and three great guests: PA Morbid, Furo Todd and Harry Gallagher. Morbs did a book swap with me so I got Running Parallel. Harry did a pick a letter of the alphabet set and Morbs read short stuff; great to hear Furo Todd for the first time. I read Steve Achieve pieces which went down well plus ‘Reassured’ from Laughter To Split Glass. Not much to say but PJ was great. Then Question Time – oh dear… 11.25 pm.

Friday 7th June 2019

Lie in; listened to Brexit stuff online. Cut grass this afternoon before the big rain came. I read a few Kim Gordon reviews for Girl in a Band and listened to Sonic Youth. Commented on Jenni’s post about travel: I like the forward motion of the coach on country routes, but motorways and trains are boring. Once I'm at the destination - usually for a gig, I want in and then back asap. I've never really 'done' proper holidays. My last one was in 1976. Yes, seventy-six. I've done Whitby Goth Weekend, but that was for indoor music and the subculture vibe. A few days at Edinburgh fringe and I'm ready for home. There needs to be a strong reason to 'go' anywhere in the travelling sense, rather than a reason to escape my routine. I like my routine. I only really go outside for money, food and gigs; and extreme sports - which these days are geriatric sports. As stated last month: put a tidy sum in my bank and I'll stay home, thank you very much. The internet brings the world to me. Few locations are worth the effort. I know; I'm a bit pathetic. Got Poetry Jam pix up online, did some Consett writing marathon admin. Only a few places left. Watched Newsnight – still on about the extinction of the Tories. They’ll be fucking off for summer soon. It’s all hogwash in a spin dryer; such bullshit. 11.53 pm.

Saturday 8th June 2019

Morning pages then a few columns from Before the Chop Vol IV by Rollins. Uploaded last blog and did a few words on Anomalies Deluxe. Only 2000/2001 extracts to key in/scan then sequencing and pruning back to the best 400 pages from twenty-six years. Watched new Madonna video; not my kind of thing. Listened to Washing Machine, Rather Ripped and Eternal by Sonic Youth; ate black cherry porridge. OK.

Sunday 9th June 2019

Read Harry Gallagher’s half of the Running Parallel book. Keyed in some more Anomalies Deluxe; there is an end in sight. Watched Gavin Baddeley, author of Goth Chic and Lucifer Rising, on YouTube, talking about Milton’s Paradise Lost; and a fascinating video from neuropsychiatrist and neurophysiologist, Peter Fenwick, on consciousness and near death experience. Ate crisps and drank hot chocolate. 11.00 pm.

Monday 10th June 2019

So long as the house isn’t stinking but is structurally sound I couldn’t give a fuck what it looks like. So long as it keeps the rain off my head and I can store my books and manuscripts I’ll be halfway okay. All I want is a bed, electrical cooking equipment, a good broadband connection and something to print books on – survival and means of production. A bike to get around on and a longboard to lark around on… Chuffed to get a pretty easy day; the only hassle was trying to get in touch with college HR for a paper copy ‘P60’. Phones ringing, answer machines. Good to get out on the bike tonight then watch a bit of old-school trials online from Ashton, Rey and Hawes. The library got me a copy of ‘Rip It Up and Start Again’, the post-punk book by Simon Reynolds. Got a good shave tonight; hope I get more Anomalies Deluxe done this week. 10.29 pm.

Tuesday 11th June 2019

Up around seven: chuffed to get covers on Morning Pages notebooks; and to finally get a positive response from College about P60. Pleased to get my hands on Rip It Up and Start Again. Read a bit of the introduction. It’s got tiny print and over 550 pages. Not sure I’ll get through it all in a hurry. Was good to get to Waddy by half-eleven and not have too much to set up. This afternoon’s session went well. Postcard poems then more editing on the Waddy Anthology; dates confirmed for summer Monday sessions. Read a bit more of the post-punk book on the bus to Gateshead but fell asleep. Went to Tesco; got a few things for me and Jenni. We watched the news. Bit of social media then Holby City and Years and Years, the latter really scary. Looks like a blueprint for totalitarian Britain… Penultimate Bus to Consett: one of the YTS lads from thirty years ago is here chatting about guitars, magic, buses and benefit cuts. Walking to Moorside should get me home by midnight, hopefully before the big rain comes. 10.47 pm.

Wednesday 12th June 2019

So much for the downpour; yes, it’s wet today but nothing torrential. I’ve competed in biketrials in worse conditions. Stayed indoors all day; mainly at the desktop PC editing Anomalies Deluxe content whilst listening to Emilie Autumn’s ‘Opheliac’ album. Loved this since I first heard it in 2008 – brings back great memories of seeing Emilie at Sheffield Corporation with her Bloody Crumpets in tow. It was the weekend that gave me Fuck Hotels which was published in Cake magazine then Laughter To Split Glass. I knocked off at half-eight for a bit of reading time. Newsnight is now on. Hong Kong street protests – rubber bullets, pepper sprays – wonder how long before that happens here. ‘Years and Years’ scenario not impossible. 11.02 pm.

Thursday 13th June 2019

13/6/19 – Still awake at three this morning after going downstairs to check the back door; thankfully no water getting in. Forced myself to stay in bed till nine; lack of sleep makes me cranky. 36 hours of rain driving me insane. Chuffed to send out a greetings card and gift voucher from Consett post office now that the local has closed down; chuffed to get all my food shopping into three bags and return home on foot without becoming a drowned rat. Good to unearth back issues of Open Wide magazine. Not so good to fall asleep halfway through a Bukowksi review. I enjoyed my 39p gristle pasty and 13p tin of spaghetti hoops – almost as much as various newspaper articles ripping the shit out of the front runner for top spot in our wonderful government. 10.04 pm.

Good to hear ‘Sweatbox’ by Rollins again tonight. Love the early spoken word albums; I like the anarchic approach he had back then, with book extracts thrown into the mix. 10.24 pm.

Friday 14th June 2019

Rang College again to chase up P60. They said hard copy definitely been sent but would email as well. Sod’s law Talktalk server is down throughout UK, so I still can’t confirm earnings. Watched Crowley documentary and footage of burnt out Boleskine House. Discovered it’s recently been sold with acres of land for half a million quid. Did a bit of writing marathon publicity tonight. Watched Newsnight and a tiny bit of the Julia Eff zine video interview. House really chilly again. 11.35 pm.

Saturday 15th June 2019

Made up a couple of notebooks. Slow bike ride over to Jen’s place before bad weather set in. Showered. Porridge. Checked out Classic Rock magazine in Tesco. Then back to Jen’s. She is still out after her workshop. I watched game shows. Dead Pool is on now. It’s okay. But I’ve got a bit of a headache. 9.49 pm.

Sunday 16th June 2019

Morning pages on the landing in Jen’s place. We watched Andrew Marr’s politics show. Then Diagnosis Murder. Lentil and bacon soup. Walk into town for more supplies. Watched PM leadership programme then biked home. Bits of cycle path okay but much of it a sludge pit. Bike in bit of a state. Home by ten. OK. 11.28 pm.