FOURTEEN

Monday 22nd July 2019

Read a bit of Natalie Goldberg’s Wild Mild writing guide on the bus to Durham. Set up in seminar room at Waddington Street Centre for workshop. Absurd words, journal prompts, zine booklet prompts, A2Z word-bank generator. Rosa Liksom vignettes then stepping stones prose composition and read-backs, plus a bit of anthology editing. Found my copy of Sandra Bernhard’s ‘Confessions of a Pretty Lady’. Slept on bus home. Curry and rice with grilled potato slices for tea. Read bits of Dissecting Marilyn Manson by Gavin Baddeley. Listened to Smells Like Children. Tried to watch Newsnight but WiFi is fucking chronic tonight. 10.50 pm.

Tuesday 23rd July 2019

Long hot day. Read a canny bit of ‘Airhead – The Imperfect Art of Making News’ by Emily Maitlis on the bus and Metro to North Shields. Set up at library okay. Workshop started on time but a few glitches: a number of people in the room not wishing to take part and some disruption. Tough gig but got through it. Met up with Jenni in Newcastle, had an eat4less, looked round some shops, walked through the park at the top of Bensham down to the bus stop. Bit annoyed that 45 and 46 buses no longer pick up passengers between Newcastle and Metro Centre. So on Sunday nights when not biking, instead of just using the bus stop round the corner from Jen’s, I need to go to either of those locations first. Two buses. Two fares. Or an all-day pass costing £1.70 more than the previous single fare. Got back to mine at eleven tonight. 11.28 pm.

Wednesday 24th July 2019

Think I slept through a thunderstorm but still felt knackered this morning so decided to give myself a full-on lazy Wednesday. Back to bed till midday then watched the remake of 'IT' again on DVD this afternoon. Most of Stephen King's novels are too much of a commitment for my short attention span, but I enjoyed seeing Pennywise, and kids terrified in tunnels and blood-flooded bathrooms for a while. Didn't get over the doorstep. Curtains closed, keeping cool. Tonight I watched the full KISS symphony concert. 10.05 pm.

Thursday 25th July 2019

Think I’d be better off sleeping through the day during this heatwave. Felt like my head was going to explode upstairs at the computer. Had to keep taking breaks. Deluxe Anomalies is moving at a fucking snail’s pace. I read the rest of Airhead, then listened to Queen, Kiss and The Jesus and Mary Chain whilst adjusting page margins. Had a long cold soak in the bath whilst listening to Leonard Cohen’s ‘I’m Your Man’ album. Wrote to College about new procedure for payments. Started the Manson book from scratch. Wanted to go longboarding but it’s too fucking hot. Rarely venture out during summer days. But have to go for food tomorrow. Bugger. Hope I sleep well tonight. 11.33 pm.

Friday 26th July 2019

Made it out of the house and into town for food supplies. Back just after half eleven. No WiFi. Got on with book. Reached page 200 in the margin-setting process. Only did about three and a half hours coz the heat – even with two windows open – was wiping me out. Big rain before tea and I’m wondering if I’ll make it to Jen’s place on the bike tomorrow. I got Monday’s workshop sorted and read an hour of poetry from the Bloodaxe anthology Being Alive. Intend to read the book cover to cover. I liked Matthew Sweeney, Derek Mahon, Billy Collins – but some of the nature stuff, albeit contemporary and incorporating human experience, seemed a bit overdone and unnecessary. I know – rich, coming from a self-indulgent, self-taught misery. But loads of the book is exactly my sort of thing, been dipping into it for a decade. More Dissecting Marilyn Manson before Newsnight. 10.27 pm.

Saturday 27th July 2019

Shitty weather. Be good to get a happy medium. Or are we to look forward to a tropical furnace and multiple monsoons every summer. Didn’t get any work done. Had sausage and veg dinner then a break in the weather allowed for a ride over to Jen’s. She isn’t well. Pollen-related: trouble breathing and heavy cough. I went out for medicine and food. Watched television all evening. James Bond Die Another Day on soon 10.10 pm.

Sunday 28th July 2019

Morning pages then chocolate digestives for breakfast. Watched a couple of episodes of Diagnosis Murder and the BMX World Championships. Attempted Return of the Jedi but only lasted ten minutes. Enjoyed Pointless, Tipping Point and Taggart. 10.23 pm.

Monday 29th July 2019

Good workshop this afternoon. Eight participants. Automatic writing. Consequences. Furniture Game definitions and I Am poems. Bought steak pie and chocolate muffins afterwards. Jen got a docs appointment and was given inhalers and steroids; fine to host Ken Brady’s Ten Ladies edition of Arch Remarks tonight. She was mint as well. It was really nine ladies as one had to drop out. Gig was great. Esther Redhouse White, AJ McKenna, Juli Watson, Becky Heaviside, Rosie Cole, Mandy Maxwell, Karen Houghton and Lisette Auton. Some great open mic as well, including Olya Bowers, Tom Moody, Jen’s Mam, David McAllister and others whose names I can’t remember. Saw Jen’s folks to the bus station then got a pasty at Tesco. Jenni is staying out a while. 11.40 pm.

Tuesday 30th July 2019

Good lie in. Jen bought us some doughnuts for breakfast. Watched Frasier and Big Bang Theory. Rain kicked in late morning so ride home was delayed. My front derailleur isn’t working properly; chain won’t drop onto small ring. Used the middle seven gears for most of the A692. Right knee hurting. Shoulder not too bad. At teatime I discovered that due to ice growing out the freezer door it was slightly open and stuff inside had started to defrost. Mainly bread, fish fingers and sausages. Binned all except some bread. So it’s mainly toast, cakes and crisps now until I go shopping on Thursday. Did a full defrost in ninety minutes and watched Newsnight. 11.45 pm.

Wednesday 31st July 2019

Canny day. Still going for goals but not getting far. I read some pieces on Brexit. Good to see a little video on the mental health benefits of skateboarding. Got messages from Tony Gadd on mental health and creativity. Read an interesting zine called ‘No Salvation No Forgiveness’ by Julia Eff. It’s about the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and blends media reports of his alleged abusive behaviour with the author’s troubled childhood. I voiced the zine into my tablet to get a word count: 1,700 approx. Julia’s graphics / layouts are always brilliant. B/w mini zine from Crapandemic website. Slow work on Anomalies Deluxe this evening. Day fuelled by smash, peas and broccoli then sweet cakey leftovers. 11.55 pm.

Thursday 1st August 2019

Some days are meant to fucking try us. But I didn’t have a hissy fit upon discovering that the damp patch on the kitchen carpet near the freezer was actually much worse than first thought. Water must have been soaking into it over the weekend when I was away. Didn’t notice sooner coz I was wearing slippers. Had to carefully move the cooker, without yanking the gas pipe, make a cut in the carpet where it wouldn’t be seen then peel back to air it and expose the concrete beneath. Hairdryer did the trick. Carpet and floor okay. But I’ll leave it overnight just to be sure… Poetry Jam was quiet. Guests all great: Tom Moody, Chrissie Robinson and Ben Dawson-Punshon – plus canny open floor readings. Cheers Waddy for venue and a computer; and staff member Fergus for lift home. Only just managed a Steve Achieves after Newsnight. Knackered. 11.40 pm.

Friday 2nd August 2019

Chuffed to get corner of kitchen carpet back down. And cooker back in place – even though I only use it at Christmas. The freezer is working fine. I got Poetry Jam pix uploaded, read a few chapters from ‘Do I Come Here Often’ by Henry Rollins then cracked on tidying the front room. I still have permanent stacks of books from which I sporadically read but all the paper scraps have gone, workshop notes and cardstock. I got a mint list in a ‘personal effects’ vein for Steve Achieves. But it may be too long for a casual FB scroll. Bob Beagrie is doing a daily posting for his Doomsday ‘Now That’s What I Call Apocalypse’ song playlist: I offered Arma-goddamn-motherfucking-geddon by Marilyn Manson. Bob said he’d considered ‘The Last Day on Earth’ and ‘Long Hard Road Out Of Hell’ by the same artist. I missed Newsnight. It hasn’t been added to iPlayer yet. 11.29 pm.

Saturday 3rd August 2019

Good eight hours sleep. Hoovered front room, read Lollapalooza tour journal from ‘Do I Come Here Often’. Cleaned the bike this afternoon. Front derailleur  works properly now; gears shift okay. But I’ve broken a spoke on the sprocket side of the rear wheel which will need bike shop maintenance next week. Worked on Anomalies tonight then watched Marilyn Manson live at Hellfest 2018. 11.43 pm.

Sunday 4th August 2019

On the go from half nine this morning till almost eleven this evening. Two workshops prepped, zine stuff collected for tomorrow. Chicken and veg dinner. Cheese and tomato sandwich for tea. Egg on toast for supper. Distraction from thunderstorm provided by The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Darklands’ on Spotify. Bed soon. 10.55 pm.