AUGUST

 Saturday 1st August 2020 

Drooling over adventure bikes – the Sonder Frontier, the Karate Monkey and the Genesis Longitude. Give me a couple of grand and a new pair of legs and I’m up for a new ride. Took ninety minutes to get my words keyed in. Soundtrack was Alice Cooper live in London. Two different gigs. I got the blog edited but was well fucked off when I came to upload and discovered that Blogger has been updated with no clear instructions as to how the new version works. Daren’t touch my Talking Pen main site in case I can’t rectify any accidental changes. Ordered a gift for Jenni on Amazon and got myself ready for the ride to Gateshead. Had to go back indoors twice coz: 1) I forgot gloves; then: 2) had to grease my bike chain. Then, before I got out of Moorside, the front disc brake rotor came loose and I didn’t have a torx key (star head, not Phillips) to tighten the bolts. Had to use my fingers. Could only rely on the back brake. Okay ride to Jen’s via Derwent Walk. We went to her Mam’s for a while then returned to the attic and watched some urban downhill mountain biking which was quite spectacular. Then free running in Italy, which was more impressive – young athletes launching themselves off rooftops, spinning and vaulting all over the place. Good stuff. 11.16pm.  

Sunday 2nd August 2020 

Jen put the big telly on and set it to an extreme sports channel showing a Red Bull skateboard contest. Very good but so distracting it took me 75 minutes to complete morning pages (normally they take 25). We went to Tesco for a few supplies. Ranted about government, economy and public health. Had pie and veg dinner. Jen found a torx tool for brake rotor. Then sorted Blogger settings using her laptop. Well chuffed to still be able to use it for Scribbles from the Brink of Inertia. Jen’s mam was here. Watched Rockfield Studios documentary. Black Sabbath and Oasis among others talked about rehearsing and recording. Seeing gigs onscreen makes me sad; how long before we can attend them for real? Listened to Absolute Rock radio. Guessed some old hits’ release dates. Paint it Black, Message in a Bottle, Desire. Ate cheese and pickle sandwiches, tomatoes and crisps. Jen put on a Queen documentary. Nothing we didn’t already know but still good. Also saw a clip of Venom performing Witching Hour. After walking Jen’s mam home, we watched the end of a great Chas and Dave documentary. Gercha! Bit of supper, I reckon, then bed. 11.15pm. 

Monday 3rd August 2020 

Canny night’s sleep. Woke before Jenni. Morning pages mainly ranting about politics and coronavirus. I read a few articles on Facebook, watched Frasier and Big Bang Theory for a couple of hours. Pizza and chips for dinner then a walk in Saltwell Park with Jen’s mam. When we got back I fell asleep in the big leather chair. Got an email from Waddy about autumn situation: there might be workshops, there might not. I’m hoping the weather is decent at some point tomorrow for the ride home. Need to take delivery of another parcel and think about Terror in the Trees audition. Need to watch some horror films and black metal vids for ‘motivation’. Tonight, me and Jenni watched an hilarious comedy called This Country. Marginalized teens in the Cotswolds – basically a rural juvenile delinquent version of The Office. We watched four episodes. Could have been more, but there’ll be another day. Xmas 1989 Top of the Pops on now: Erasure, Kylie and Jason, Mike and the Mechanics, Marc Almond and Gene Pitney. Toast or porridge for supper. 10.55pm. 

Tuesday 4th August 2020 

Good final day of current visit to Jen’s. Listened to loads of tracks on Spotify. Firstly, The Divine Comedy and similar artists playlist; then an Emilie Autumn and similar brought up a track by a guy called Dr Steel. Jenni took a shine to the jazz, cabaret, fun fair, industrial hip-hop mash-up so we listened to him for an hour or so. I could hear bits of Marilyn Manson, Eminem, Tom Waits and Nine Inch Nails in the mix. We had Red Pepper and Lentil soup for dinner then caramel fudge ice cream. I biked home around half two. Took me nearly two hours going super slow to avoid knee pain. Got back in time to receive a parcel delivery. Had chicken curry for tea then sent an email to Waddy about autumn courses. Tried to upload blog from desktop computer but it won’t work. It doesn’t display the composition mode of blogger site. It did on Jen’s laptop and it does on my tablet. But tablet can’t import text from a word file. Only thing that works is to paste text into a Facebook message on desktop then open messenger on tablet, copy and paste text into blogger composition box on same device. Facebook won’t allow a large 30-entry document to send as a message so I have to do it in small batches. Didn’t listen to music at home. Done fuck all for two and a half hours besides trying to sort out blog. Sick of it. 10.36pm. 

Wednesday 5th August 2020 

Long day mainly at the computer getting blog from last month edited and uploaded. I wrote a series of dreams in the morning pages that may see the light of day at some point. Stolen #16 arrived from Chris Francz. It’s 32 pages, handwritten with some typed bits and a reissue of an old ‘dishwasher’ interview. I will get round to reading it later. Might take it to Jen’s at the weekend. I looked at a load of Hellraiser clips and a bit of The Purge for inspiration for the Terror in the Trees audition. I’ve listened to a couple of Behemoth albums. I read a chapter on them in Black Metal book before breakfast. I watched a bit of a Satyricon documentary and a black metal documentary. It was good to see footage of Jeff Dunn (Mantas) from Venom driving round Newcastle. Jenni messaged to say The Purge is on ITV4 tonight at 10.40pm. I’d like to watch it but am feeling worn out. Earlier this evening I posted a picture of me in corpse paint from the day of last year’s Terror in the Trees audition. I made a list of music documentaries for future viewing. Need more food and liquid. Been at the computer way too long. I’ll try the film but doubt I’ll stay awake. 10.40pm. 

Thursday 6th August 2020 

Downstairs at the dropleaf table, resting my limbs. Good bike session in the woods today. I ‘cleaned’ two obstacles I’d previously been having trouble with on the trails – river exit and logs. But the steep ascents were a no-no. Even on super low gears. The high top tube and near-bald tyres on the Rockhopper make off camber slow rolling a bit sketchy. Nearly went headlong but grabbed a slim tree trunk to save myself… I was in town this afternoon. Bought a washable facemask in Barry’s Bargain Superstore for a quid. Got lots of food in Tesco for under a tenner. Steak pie and veg for tea. Felt a bit wiped out so I just sat on the couch this evening. I read Stolen #16. In addition to the ‘dishwasher’ interview from 1988 there’s recent stuff about Chris Francz working as an activities coordinator in a hotel resort just before Covid-19 struck USA. I wrote him a short letter and included two of my mini-zines. No work done on my new zine. One of the people from a course I ran years ago in Newton Aycliffe sent me the advert for a writing job in Bensham. I need an early night. Peanut butter on rice cakes for supper. 10.29pm.

Friday 7th August 2020 

Up early and out to Consett this morning. I asked Lloyds bank what the maximum daily withdrawal from the cash machine is. Luckily the customer who walked away without taking their money from the slot yesterday only lost twenty and not a possible five hundred. They were long gone before I rocked up after closing time to withdraw my weekly allowance. Hopefully the bank can trace the person in question. The staff thanked me for my honesty and asked for my phone number. Minutes later, the cobbler saw me peering through his window and motioned for me to go inside. The new soles for my Doc Martens have finally arrived! He checked how much of the original sole I wanted left on for extra height and said I could have a five quid discount for the delay. This evening, I watched an online documentary about three American one-man black metal bands – Leviathan, Striborg and Xasthur. That last one is awesome. Keyed in some morning pages for an autumn zine project but still haven’t completed the summer one. Didn’t sleep well last night. Been knackered all day. 10.55pm. 

Saturday 8th August 2020 

Took the Onza Hitman trials bike for a walk along to Shotley Bridge this morning. (No point riding it on the flat trail; with super low gearing for negotiating obstacle courses, and no seat, as a mode of transport it’s close to useless.) Had to lower my expectations a bit. Biketrial requires substantial agility and upper body strength. Both are sadly lacking these days, so I didn’t do as well as I’d like on the bike this morning. I ‘cleaned’ a couple of woodland sections that I couldn’t do on the big bike, but failed a couple that I can do on the big bike. Had a lie down this afternoon. Then tuna, egg and potato salad for tea. Rehearsed for Terror in the Trees scare acting audition. Copied up some notes and started a new ‘sporadic’ notebook called As Long As It Takes. When it’s full I’ll make the best bits into a chapbook or something. I watched Billy Connolly’s High Horse tour DVD. He makes light of his Parkinson’s Disease, has stories about dead cats and getting picked up by the police in Glasgow. I’m trying to come up with a plan to get a big new 27.5 adventure bike with rigid forks but doubt I’ll ever afford it. Fingers crossed some more paid work comes my way this autumn. 11.36pm.

Sunday 9th August 2020 

Up early and focused mainly on the audition material but spent time tidying the kitchen. Had a chicken dinner then packed bags for a ride over to Beamish. It took an hour and twenty minutes because I was going deliberately slow. A few of last year’s actors were there already but some surprising omissions. I wonder how many of today’s eighty people make the final cut. We did everything outside. I was one of the first to audition. Don’t think I did very well. I left quite early and rode to Jen’s place. It only took about thirty-five minutes. Hope my legs don’t knack up in October doing twenty miles a day. Tonight me and Jenni listened to some classic rock on Spotify. I got frozen chips from Not Paul’s Shop. We had some with curry sauce. Very tired. 10.25pm. 

Monday 10th August 2020 

Didn’t sleep well. Out to Tesco this morning. Fell asleep this afternoon after pie and beans. Tried to read a Phil Jupitus book while Jenni slept but just felt knackered and uncomfortably hot. Great piece on local TV news about Hexham cyclist in his nineties who still manages to put in 180 miles a week. Watched the musical Hamilton tonight. If it had all been rap I’d have hated it coz my brain can’t retain the lyrics. Staging was ace. I enjoyed some of the songs and the more personal aspects but the politics bored me. At two and a half hours I thought it a bit long. Talk less and smile more. And ride bikes. 11.51pm. 

Tuesday 11th August 2020 

Pages done and breakfast by nine. Watched Frasier, Big Bang Theory and Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. Walked into town with Jenni. She got a metro to Gosforth to do event cover at the outdoor Sam Fender gig. I went into Newcastle. Had a look in Start Cycles and got some black paper at WHSmith. Checked out magazines, but no Singletrack. Walked down the middle of a quiet Clayton Street. Toyed with going into Beatdown Records but no point being in shops if no intention to buy. Walked over Redheugh Bridge back to Bensham. Had a ham and cheese sandwich and watched the snooker. This evening I rode up to Watergate Forest Park. Some ace lines through the trees, but the rocks I used to do trials on fifteen years ago have changed considerably. I rode some of the walkways and sketchy trails and got back to the attic at half eight. Showered and watched O’Sullivan beat Williams to a place in the semi-finals. Room is super hot. Bed soon. 10.50pm. 

Wednesday 12th August 2020 

Me and Jenni only went into Newcastle for one bargain shop only but ended up staying out over three and a half hours. Got a couple of packs of coloured paper. Had late pizza and chips lunch. Watched some of the O’Sullivan vs Selby match this evening. Really tired and aching all over of late. 10.55pm. 

Thursday 13th August 2020 

Much cooler. Chatted with Jenni most of the morning, then she got ready to do a shift at the second Sam Fender gig. I headed home around half one, stopping off in Consett to pick up my resoled Doc Marten boots. They look ace with big thick soles. Cobbler asked if it was my day off. I said I’d been off since Johnson told the public to avoid pubs, theatres and restaurants. Cobbler said it will take a year for his business to get back on track. I aim to be working again by mid September. I rode well with a bag dangling from each handlebar grip. Pleased I took the time to clean the kitchen last Sunday. Tonight I had a look at some bikepacking videos. I don’t think I could cope riding a pedal-powered packhorse multiple days of up to forty miles; right knee hurts after riding home from Gateshead. Maybe I should see a doctor. Sent Terror in the Trees info tonight but nothing they haven’t heard already. I told them I’d be up for doing all the dates. Looked at some Lydia Lunch stuff and listened to Behemoth. 10.24pm.

Friday 14th August 2020 

Struggled to type stuff. Didn’t come alive until I watched a couple of bikepacking videos about riding the Colorado Trail. First was a 64-year-old guy doing it in about 18 stages with family meet-ups to support him each evening. Second was a group of Canadians, camping and carrying all their gear the whole way on their bikes. Then a bit later I caught a couple of frames of the O’Sullivan Vs Selby semi final snooker. Followed by a documentary about Joan Armatrading. Only know a few of her songs: Me Myself I, Drop the Pilot, Love and Affection. Great guitar playing. Music is the tonic, isn’t it? Really hope we get live music back in a considerable way. OK. 11.24pm. 

Saturday 15th August 2020 

Good sleep then a page long account of a dream in morning pages. Took my time getting ready so didn’t get out to Consett until midday. Checked bank balance, bought more goodies for Jenni. My resoled Doc Martens are extra comfy. I need some new trainers now. I looked at some bike stuff on the mini android ‘device’ then fell asleep. Curry and grilled potatoes for tea followed by apple cakes. Checked out Sonder ‘Broken Road’ titanium bike online. Read about the Surly Karate Monkey bike. It got a better review than the Genesis Longitude. Pity it costs about eight hundred quid more. Listened to Hands Off Gretel’s ‘I Want the World’ CD. Then first disc of #1 New Wave album (Jam, Clash, Buzzcocks, Souxsie, Rats, Ruts, Iggy, PIL, etc.) while copying up notes. 8.25pm. 

Sunday 16th August 2020 

Day at the office. Basically going through notes for the zine. Typed up stuff for about six hours. Not sure any of it will work. But have to keep showing up. Saw some ace bikepacking from Cycling About filmed in Peru. Kept checking the Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Kyren Wilson snooker score and when it got to 16-8 this afternoon I watched Ronnie make his seventeenth frame. They played the final frame this evening. 18-8 is some win. I tried to work a bit more but not convinced by any of the stuff recently selected. I forgot that Derren Brown was on tonight. Might catch him online later in the week. I listened to Olivia Hyde’s top ten fave songs of all time. Annie Lennox, Radiohead, Kate Bush, Randy Newman… She included a few of her own. Finally read the Emperor chapter of the Black Metal book, having made three or four attempts in recent weeks. Jenni has been online chatting about snooker, socially distanced outdoor gigs at Gosforth and safety precautions whilst working, exams, and the people who fall through furlough and self employment grant cracks. I am lucky to be funded this year. Fingers crossed things pick up for everyone soon. Sick of the drag. But doing okay really. 11.50pm. 

Monday 17th August 2020 

Mainly at the computer typing up more pieces for the zine. It’s been a bastard. Still got six pages to fill. I still have everything else to edit again and see what it looks like when photocopied. If it’s no good I’ll have to scan the handwritten and collaged bits and do four-panel A4 sheets on the computer. Watched more ace mountain bike vids. First one was Hans Rey and Steve Peat riding across Iceland. Then the Cycling About guy with a friend from New Zealand on a five-week New Mexico bikepacking trip. I listened to a ‘Great Lives’ radio programme in which comedian Rhona Cameron discussed the influence of Charles Bukowski. I thought I’d have my little zine done by now. I might lean towards bigger pages next time. I can set them up onscreen at A4 and print out A5 using booklet formatter. I got another neat little graphic done. I hope I can pull it all together soon and get some run off. Then do another one before the end of the year. At some point, when I get a new computer, I’m going to edit STEVE ACHIEVES and get it out print on demand. Hopefully on Lulu. Oh, and there’s scare acting for Terror in the Trees to think about. 11.51pm.  

Tuesday 18th August 2020 

Read through the initial layout of my zine project. Even without the final pages in place it took over an hour. So I’m okay with a three quid price tag. Did the online claim for a self employment grant. Got a nice letter from one of my regular workshop participants. Will reply as soon as possible. Spoke to Mam and Ernie on the phone. A few health issues causing concern. Hopefully things will pick up in due course. I wrapped up all of Jen’s presents then had one of my epic egg, tuna, potato salads. Rode over to Gateshead and helped Jen carry a piece of furniture into her mam’s flat. Went to Tesco for supplies. Ate a ham salad sandwich outside the supermarket. My left knee gave out on me again. Limped back from town. Me and Jenni watched the first episode of The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries and are waiting to see if the concluding episode is going to be online tonight. I need to do something about my stupid legs. Looking forward to Jen’s birthday. 10.26pm. 

Wednesday 19th August 2020 

Jen liked her presents and had a couple of slices of carrot cake for breakfast. Watched Everyone Loves Raymond and Frasier. Listened to I Am Moron CD by The Lovely Eggs on the new vintage stereo system. Then we went over to The Café Under the Spire just across the road. Was nice to see Asa Maddison and Lou Driver, Jen’s mam, Simon Craig, Ken Brady. Jen and her mam had veggie burgers. I got a bacon butty and potato wedges. Later on, I had a bit of a headache and went for ibuprofen and a lie down for twenty minutes. Felt better when the sun went in. We stayed at the café till half five then got the metro to Whitley Bay. It was good to see our poetry friends on the platform outside The Ticket Office pub: Mandy and Claudia, with Freya on her scooter; Emma and Steve Lancaster; Sky Hawkins; Alix and David Alixandra O’Hanlon; Laura and Ben Lawson; James Wilkinson; Sarah Hammersley; and Renata Connor – enough for a gig. Conversations included gigs, films, sign language, nightmares and bunny slaying. I had blackcurrant and a hot chocolate, Jen drank ale and rum. Good to be out, but hungry now. We are on the metro and all the windows are open. Great to see people for Jen’s birthday but I don’t think I’ll be braving purely social spaces again for a while. 11.50pm. 

Thursday 20th August 2020 

Waddington Street Centre was in touch to ask if I’m okay running sessions in the church hall next door rather than the Waddy seminar room this autumn. Watched old and new Corrie episodes and that hilarious guy from the IT Crowd on his weekend breaks in Amsterdam and Stockholm. Jen helped with the selection of a new computer. It’s a lot more money than I’d like to spend but it’s wise to get the best I can coz I need a superfast processor. Not looking forward to the ride home tomorrow – might stay an extra day if the weather is going to be too wild. I checked out some bike bags that might be worth having for this autumn’s Terror in the Trees. I want to ride the bike a lot – if I can get my knees to work properly. Early supper and bed, I reckon. 10.20pm. 

Friday 21st August 2020 

Big ‘crash out, do fuck all’ sort of day. Mainly eating, sleeping and watching telly. Read a big review of the Kona Unit 29-inch bike. Went out in the wind for a steak pie and carton of milk. My knees seem okay. Hope I get some good bike time in the next week or so. Me and Jenni had some laughs; I wrote a cake inspired verse as a prompt for her to do a poem but she says I have to write it myself. Watched game shows, soaps and When Pop Stars Go Wrong. 11.11pm.

Saturday 22nd August 2020 

Breakfast at Jen’s and a chat then packed for the ride home. I went via Watergate Forest Park. Up through the trees, over the main road then up the trail to Tanfield Railway, then down towards Kibbleworth. Good ride, some ace downhill bits. Got a bit lost and ended up on private land then reconnected with the trail to Beamish Hall. Had an orange then pedalled back along the Stanley cycle path to Consett. Much better route than Derwent Walk. Had fish fingers and grilled potato slices, watched bikepacking vids then festival sets from Marilyn Manson and Rollins Band. Every time I watch live concert footage I get pissed off about Covid-19 fucking everything up. But hey, at least I’m still breathing. 11.16pm. 

Sunday 23rd August 2020 

Scrambled eggs on toast then into town for weekly food shopping, home by half one. Had a nice chicken and veg dinner. Read a couple of Covid-19 articles. Booted up the desktop computer. Keyed in some stuff, listened to Penance Soiree by The Icarus Line, a band I’d not heard before. Kind of like The Stooges and the Bad Seeds – pretty good. Pity they split in 2015. I keyed in more work. Watched some fantastic Jeff Lenosky trail videos. Played a load of Michael Monroe songs. Drafted and edited a letter to be sent via Waddy office to one of the writers. Looked at some Sonder bike stuff, scrolled Facey-B and read an ace Alan Davies interview promoting his new memoir ‘Just Ignore Him’ about an abusive childhood. 11.28pm. 

Monday 24th August 2020 

Rode up to Consett to drop off a birthday card for nephew Kyle. He was at the vape kiosk in the Victoria Centre and eating a ham stotty for breakfast. I gave him a birthday card, chatted a bit about bikes and fitness, then I rode through Consett Park and over the old slag heaps back home. I’ve spent a fair bit of the day re-reading morning pages and trying to fill the last six pages of my zine. So far I’m undecided. I will reread the second volume from June in the morning. This afternoon I had a potato egg tuna salad, then out on the bike again – before the weather turns bad again for a couple of days. The trails weren’t as muddy as expected but my tyres are past their best. My knee held up okay but still aches. Took ibuprofen, put on an ice pack – zilch. I think the tendon is fucked. I will try the physio exercises again. I watched Liv Hyde’s (Bad Pollyanna) Sophie Lancaster tribute gig. Then a couple of Jeff Lenosky bike vids. I’ve been eating chocolate again. Eight sticks of Twix since yesterday. I had cheese on toast for supper. Hope I can get the zine thing done. Got word from Waddy: my first autumn creative writing session is on Tuesday 6th October. That will probably be when I take my first bus journey for over six months. Hope it goes okay. 10.59pm. 

Tuesday 25th August 2020 

Today was good. I read up on knee pain caused by cycling. I tried more ice-pack treatment and anti inflammatory tablets. I’m going to do my little physio exercises again. The knee doesn’t hurt, just tingles and is super annoying. I’ve started to re-read Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg (best known for Writing Down the Bones). I spent a couple of hours rereading the June morning pages and typed up final pieces for my zine. I put in another little graphic and have completed the preliminary layout. I listened to three or four Darkthrone albums and some songs by The Lovely Eggs. I’ve tried to avoid looking at bike stuff, but as my blog word file has four bike photos dropped into the start of the manuscript it’s sometimes hard to resist the temptation to check out more stuff. Me and Jenni had an online conversation about Covid-19, schools and facemasks. I did a set of leg exercises that I did back in June. I must keep doing them regularly. I have fallen off the abdominal crunch wagon. I feel like I’ll be back to writing workshop prep soon. 10.39pm. 

Wednesday 26th August 2020 

Read a few morning pages from March and was pleased with what came out on paper that month. Much more cohesive than recent efforts. Been working on my little zine again today. It actually contains more material than So Much for the Sunshine but has typeset pages plus graphics. It has taken ages to pull together but at least all the content is now selected. I checked out an upcoming Behemoth live show to be streamed next month. I would like to see the band for real when things pick up. I got updates from Amy at Beamish for Terror in the Trees shows. I play Garveyard. Or is that Graveyard? Jenni was in touch. The guy who lives in the flat above her mam died last night. Jen says her mam heard him crashing and banging about and shouting to himself. This morning he was dead. One minute you have it and the next you’re gone. This evening I’m listening to Louise Distras. I’ve wanted to see her play for ages but never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Jenni is going to a poetry event in South Shields for The Stanza this weekend. I’m going as well if the weather is okay. Might do some open mic if I can. Bit snotty tonight, hope I’m not coming down with something. 11.40pm. 

Thursday 27th August 2020 

Long day. Pleased to get pages proofed for the zine. I have done nothing else except eat curry and soup. Oh, and listened to USELESS – The Very Best of TV Smith. Also The Cure at Bestival 2011 and Hyde Park 2018 – very similar sets. I’m so pleased I got to see The Cure in 2016. I had a pretty mint seat at the side of Wembley Arena, near the front. Early December, very mild. Enjoyed staying in Wembley and going to see Freddie Mercury’s house in Kensington the next day. I think gigs will come back but not for a while. I hope to get a new computer sorted in the next month. I think I’ll need a day off from the zine tomorrow to do food shopping. Weather totally shit today. At least my knee feels a bit better. 11.17pm.

Friday 28th August 2020 

Got a good rant out of morning pages coz I checked online news before picking up the pen. I’m reluctant to post political stuff these days. The rain eased off so I went into Consett for food. Looked at music magazines in Tesco. Had scrambled egg sandwiches when I got home and checked contract for Terror in the Trees. Started on journals but got distracted. Listened to some Darkthrone albums and watched some rock step-up how-to bike videos. Fish fingers and chips for tea. Then biked over to Jen’s place. Start of the ride was pretty brutal. Warmed up when I reached Leadgate. Didn’t like riding on the road but better than arriving up to the eyes in mud. My legs already ached from walking with shopping. Me and Jen had some lush chocolate biscuits from her birthday selection. We watched The Detectorists – very funny. Mackenzie Crook wrote it and stars in this series about a metal detector club – house husband, shitty nappies, low aspirations. I made apple and blackcurrant chocolate porridge. It was pretty lush. Really tired today. No work on the zine. 11.30pm. 

Saturday 29th August 2020 

Someone in the big house turned the key in the electricity meter and Alice Cooper blasted out of Jen’s stereo before breakfast. Inspired me to write a page of horror stuff. Me and Jenni listened to some medieval folk by Stary Olsa. And a vinyl version of the Different Light album by The Bangles. Also, David Garrett, an electric violin player who does ace rock covers such as Stairway to Heaven and Master of Puppets. It was fucking freezing in town this afternoon. Woolly hat, winter anorak, cardigan, the works. This evening we watched ‘The Voice – Kids’ final. They should have allowed a socially distanced audience in – at least the original participants and their families. Surely the space was big enough. We also watched a few more episodes of The Detectorists. Pleased I biked yesterday instead of today. Good to have the lazy times with Jenni. 11.07pm.

Sunday 30th August 2020 

Up early. Two breakfasts. Jam on toast then curry and chip butties. Out before twelve and off to Gateshead. No metro between Gateshead and Jarrow so we got the 900 bus replacement and caught a train to South Shields from there. The Stanza spoken word event at Crossing the Tyne outside the Customs House theatre kicked off at half one. Ace to see Aidan Clarke, David Roe, Renata Connor, Andi Talbot, Sky Hawkins, Tolu, Chris Stewart, and others take the stage. I did a ten minute set standing in for Steve Lancaster. Then Jen’s mam did a couple of poems and Jen closed with a cracking set. Afterwards a local band called Trinity played. Great to hear real bass, drums, guitar, vocals live again. Massive thanks to Mandy Maxwell and Sharon Watson. And the Customs House. Weather and turnout was ace. Top event. Good to catch up with Ross Punton – thanks for buying a pamphlet – and Ian Hart. Chris Stewart came back to Jen’s and had a socially distanced chat outside in the garden. Me and Jenni had a big Sunday dinner just before nine. Watched Britain’s Favourite Detective. Good to see Taggart and Columbo and Vera on the list. Bit disappointed that Morse was kept off the top spot by Sherlock Holmes. 11.21pm. 

Monday 31st August 2020 

Dystopian dreams of concrete blocks and no escape from slavery, self doubt manifest as a goblin in the room berating me but no-one else could see him, then a conversation in a food booth with an employer in which I was slagging off arts councils. Woke up, had breakfast with Jen. Then she went to work. I got my wrist support changed at Home Bargains and bough chilli and rice for dinner. Set off to Watergate Forest Park at quarter to three but couldn’t conquer the rock section of the trail through the trees. Rode to Tanfield Railway then down a heritage trail to Birtley. Had a nice easy road/pavement ride to Chester le Street. Ate a banana and drank some lemon squash then did twenty-two miles to Park Head Station near Stanhope. Really still air up there for a change. Had another banana and changed my shirt. Good descent back into Rowley then home. Slight twinge in left knee but otherwise fine. Ate a Twix and some fruitcake. Drank hot chocolate and scrolled Facebook. Checked out C2C cycle route, had cheese on toast and more cake. Talked to Jen on the phone. 11.54pm.