REALLY HOT

Monday 12th June 2017

Well, that was a totally shit day. Did I stick to the schedule and get all my work done? No, I got distracted by politics. Came across some small press mags that I’d like to check out. Prepped my sessions. Still got bits and pieces of typesetting to do. The election stuff has left me a bit worn down. Will hopefully feel a lot better tomorrow when I can get out and about. The sessions shouldn’t be too hard. Was good to listen to Queen Live at the Rainbow and some new Jarboe stuff. Got a ticket for her autumn tour. She’s playing The Musician venue in Leicester in October. Good to listen to Alison Moyet, read some zine articles, eat pizza, cheese sandwiches and chocolate. Need some proper food, I reckon. 11.02 pm.

Tuesday 13the June 2017

House is a tip. Never hoovered for ages. My front door badly needs a coat of varnish, my computer video viewer won’t open and I run all my pix and scans through it, so that needs attention. And I still haven’t had the back door frame fixed. Garden wall falling and junk pile growing. But hey, the workshops keep coming and the bills get paid. Felt a bit crushed under it all today. Never seem to have enough time to focus on the writing I want to push for publication. If it looks like something from a workshop exercise I’m reluctant to use it. I’m usually full of buzz after an evening class but think I’m hitting the wall a bit. Haven’t been on the bike for weeks. Haven’t been on a longboard at all this year. Checked out some Julia Eff zine stuff tonight and listened to Jeremy Corbyn’s full parliament speech online. But good to be away from the net for much of the day. 10.45 pm.

Wednesday 14th June 2017

Both workshops hassle free today. Came home after Appletree instead of going into Newcastle. Jenni arrived at my place around quarter to eight and wasn’t impressed with the three hours on public transport from Bensham to Moorside via Team Valley. She is tweaking my computer and locating hidden files. All my pix and vids and scans open via Kodak Media Impression, but any attempt to use that software now results in the whole screen freezing. Tried to de-clutter the back room a bit this evening. Wheezing now. Left knee is creaking more than usual. Need to be asleep soon. 10.23 pm.

Thursday 15th June 2017

Newcastle City Library. Jenni messaged to say she’s on her way. She nipped home to prepare tonight's feature set for The STANZA. She gave up writing time to help me out last night. She has located my video files that the Kodak software had buried in a 2012 folder. Pleased it’s sorted. My session for Colour your Life didn’t happen this morning. Unusual for most of the group to be absent. The activity planned wouldn’t work with just a few people, so I postponed till next week.  Considered winging it, but didn’t want to short change people. 5.42 pm.

Friday 16th June 2017

Last night was a blast from start to finish. Guests – Donald Jenkins, Gill Lambert, Aidan Clarke, Jenni Pascoe and Mark Connors – were all brilliant. Great stuff from Harry Gallagher, house band Renata and Trev, plus cracking open mic featuring over a dozen regional writers. Me and Jenni putting the world to rights again this morning, as we tend to do when the bullshit comes through via Facebook. Went into Gateshead for a while this afternoon then home to Consett. Ham and pease pudding sandwich, crisps, cake, orange. Too tired for much this evening. Invoice work and a bit of typing. Alison Moyet’s new album ‘Other’ came out today. Think I prefer the ‘The Minutes’, to be honest. Grenfell Tower anger rising in the capital. People sick of austerity deaths. PM called a coward by residents. Time for her to go. 11.48 pm.

Saturday 17th June 2017

Morning pages. Rehearsals for next Thursday's Pro Invitational Poetry Slam at The Word in South Shields. Keyed in notes. Tax online. Photocopied handouts for workshops. Notes on automatic writing, checked out Rosa Liksom vignettes. Sick of the sound of the overheating desktop computer. So tired this afternoon I had to sleep a couple of hours. Put some workshop stuff together for next week. Checked updates on the android tablet, but only used photocopier and handwritten notes for work stuff. Read some poems from Red Squirrel Press pamphlets by Cynthia Fuller, Keith Parker and Chris Raetschus. Then a bit of Get in the Van by Henry Rollins. It's a warm night and sleep might be a problem. 11.23 pm.

Sunday 18th June 2017

Couldn’t work on the desktop computer today coz heat is too much for fan to cope with. Concerned the hard drive might fry. 26 degrees is too fucking hot for me. Worked on some texts for students on the android tablet downstairs. Over to Jenni’s place this evening. Got some food in at Tesco. Watched Dragons’ Den, Life Swap Adventure and Father Ted. Room still really hot as bedtime comes around. 10.22 pm.