4947 - Prague Day 1

Day one of the Prague trip, In Manchester
I popped to the art shop for my drawing
Stuff, then met Helen for a coffee, the
Usual place. The plane was full of shouting
Lads, probably a stag do. Taxi charging
Too much. Pavel, Air BnB host, said
All restaurants were suddenly now closing
At 8, and no more flights to Czech, so I'd
Thought we'd got lucky, but may have misled
Myself. Czech's closing its borders sooner
Than we expected or were predicting...
Our late night in that bar, we drank and fed
It was the last late night there in Czechia
It shuts down at 8 from now on. Shocking!

Thur 12 March

4940 - Dahmer drama

So tired, my fault for late night film-watching
American Assassin had a great
Opening scene, with bikini-wearing
Girl machine-gunned, victim of racial hate
The hero plots revenge in various states
As Russia sells nukes to Iran for use
Against Israel. Tonight's film 'celebrates'
The teenage years of Jeffrey Dahmer, whose
'Fame' was murdering people, dissolved in juice
At least it seems so from the beginning
Years of his weirdness, well at any rate
According to this biopic, the views
It seems of a friend who did some drawings
And a graphic novel on which it's based

4938 - Picture that

I've got my new phone going, though it's slow
To load up, Bluetooth's not working yet, but
I'll get there, with help, the next few days, so
I will. Spotify's downloading about
One track every fifteen seconds, but that
Painful slow rate's not so different to what
My old phone did in this old-fashioned flat
Got to tolerate, not let it frustrate
Not everything's served quickly on our plate
Now I'm watching a film I think might show
Into the mad but artistic mindset
It dates from back in 1978
The Eyes of Laura Mars, take a photo
Of sexy women and get paid for it

4886 - Gimme Refuge

Nice lie-in, relieved, cos I woke at six
Then went to the loo and dozed off again
Felt a bit sickly, overdid the drinks
Slightly last night, thought there might be some gain
In getting rehydration powder, then
Felt better. now at long last it was time
To meet Helen in town for a session
She looked great, sexily dressed, so sublime
Went to The Refuge, some of her crew came
Too to see a DJ they knew, who mixed
The vinyl as we all chatted as friends
Finally, she had two burgers, hunger games
I hope soon our creative muscles flex
Saw her off on the bus - bye bye Helen!

4831 - Pasta master

It's getting late, and I must say I've not
Done much artistically as I hoped to
But otherwise it's been good. Showed the flat
To Ryan, who was interested but who
Later lamented in a message, blue
That he was unable to move in, so
The room's still free. Robin called, and who knew?
He was in Salford, with Liz, could I go
And meet them? Well, yes, I did, the talk flowed
And there's talk of a do next summer at
Their house in Lichfield for the family crew
Some of them will be shocked, put on a show
To astound them, I'm sure they will be rocked
Then watched England easily beat Kosovo!

4791 - You've got to be in before you can be out

Tired, partly from my own weekend excess
And also I seem to have caught a cold
Out again tomorrow, so I must rest
Tonight, try to recover and enfold
Myself in duvet and sheet. The uke flowed
Tonight, played old rock tunes from a playlist
Made by Spotify, and more practice showed
How great it is to persevere, that is
The secret of art and of fruitfulness
The harvest of my labour through the years
That little uke, so small and light to hold
Brings to life vibrations from my cortex
Some from my childhood. But so much descends
From and depends on young experience

4700 - Popping out for shopping

I finished the big Edinburgh brochure
This morning, but then I needed a break
So I went shopping to the shops so near
I just cross the road. First I had to take
A look in the charity shop. I took
Two shirts to the counter, but one was torn
Going next to Home Bargains was no mistake
I got art canvases and pegs to pin
Paper to them, like an easel. Within
My show I can now easily draw
Without big props or equipment to drag
Around or store in their small room. Then in
Poundstretcher, a suitcase for Edinburgh
Then ran through my busking songs on the uke

4656 - Art is pain

No matter what they say, each artist has
The same pain of rejection, from the small
People who gather in their great numbers
Only if we stand strong against their gall
Can we produce. Most worthy people fall
But if a few of us focus and try
Maybe we can overcome our trial
And break on through, I don't yet know if I
Will succeed, but I have some guts. They die
In the face of the world, when they produce
Enabling the shits to enjoy, just like all
The watchers of the drama, struggling by
We speak for them, we die, then they love us
As they sit and judge, so comfortable

4649 - Shooting a star

Good day's work, I applied for the Leap course
An accelerated development
Programme, and though it might be tough, it's worse
To languish and stagnate. Join the ferment
Of pushy loud people, like performance
Arts people I'm joining soon in Scotland
Studying social media's this weekend's
Task. It should be mainly free. I've now found
Another guy to film me. Determined
To get some footage and pix, next few days
Next week's evenings I hope are mainly spent
Shooting, out and about. Could be combined
With some material we could shoot indoors
The flat's free all week. Chan's away again!

4633 - The art of ploys

After work, an Instagram workshop which
Was held at the HOME cinema complex
I opened an account already, it's
No posts yet, but soon I can start to flex
My muscles creatively, make contacts
And hopefully reach people, build a buzz
In the run-up to the Fringe, to the max
It's ignorance of something that causes
Fear and resistance, makes you feel useless
And demotivated to use these tricks
But now my confidence is up, and next
I'll do a few posts, or at least practice
Can't always dress as Bony Tony each
Time, but I could post a cartoon or sketch

4626 - Here he comes again

Good day at work, sorted out Fringe stuff, and
Also flights to Milan, late June, July
Back home, did abs exercises, and planned
My posters and flyers, it looks like I
Am well on track! Lake Como is nearby
Milan, I'll look into somewhere to stay
Soon enough. Ate quorn mince, then beer, bye bye
Worries and regrets, things are on their way
Momentum is building for my Fringe stay
This year cannot be wasted, here I stand
I know I can do it, and by and by
Time will tell, and I'll finally find my way
It's just a shame I'm alone in my plan
But that's life, that is its reality

4613 - Poster haste

A sunny but quite chilly day in spring
I wonder if there'll be a heatwave this
Year? Seems likely, there's usually one within
May or June, but  remember how last year's
Was more prolonged and warmer than it is
Normally. Climate change gives hope for more
Of the same, not that climate change is nice
Really, with its effect on the fauna
And flora of the world, sea temperature
And melting ice, to name some of the sting
In the tail it's bringing. Called by the guys
From Out of Hand, about my Fringe poster
And flyer design, but it's now costing
Another load for the design service :(

4588 - Inter the net

Better weather than yesterday, some sun
Still fairly chilly though, a bit of rain
Like yesterday, for my show, got things done
So much to sort out, but it's not in vain
Artwork, t-shirts, photo shoots, websites, plan
It all, not just the music side, but when
That show starts, that music will be my friend
And give me reassurance, confident
That it's a good show, work has been put in
Time and thought given to it, and the sum
Total will be a great show and acclaim
(Maybe) but the main thing is audience
Enjoyment, that's the aim for dads and mums
And kids of all ages going insane!

4560 - Logo no go with no cash flow

I'm enjoying BBC Radio 6
Berlin week, listened online to Iggy
Which was broadcast on Friday when I missed
It cos I was out with Pearl, no money...
Ten days until the end of February
Ten days until payday, got to hang on
My finances are getting real ropey
This morning, more ideas that cost a ton
Like paying graphic designers to come
Up with a logo and cartoonish pics
That I could use on t-shirts and Bony
Tony's website - 500 minimum
In spondoolicks, but then these kinda tricks
Are how I get attention onto ME!

4528 - It's the autonomy, stupid

Life's short and art's long, so they say, it's true
That certainly seems the case every day
No shortcuts for true art, you have to do
The right thing, the true aim, and not obey
The dictates of the powerful, though they
Wish to ban you or control you. They can't
Actually stop you if your art's the way
You want to go, and not as they have planned
Nullify their parasitic diktat
Follow yourself only, hear only you
It makes you happy, that's the only way
If you indeed are a true artist, and
Not a careerist. Whether red or blue
Who cares, we don't, it's beauty we purvey

4434 - Berlin Day 3

Although Helen flaked out and slept early
She still wasn't recovered by morning
Pity, because tonight was the real key
Nevertheless, we had real fun seeing
The Berlin Wall artwork, lots of paintings
From 2009 on the old wall
Sat by the River Spree, just relaxing
In the sun, clear blue sky, Berlin Kindl
Beer in a bottle. Museum. More bottle
Then Checkpoint Charlie, Hackescher Markt, we
Then ate Vietnamese. To flat returning
Chalked my hair blue, then on train to pub crawl
Via Alexanderplatz. Six shots were free
Left club, quarter to four. We'll be paying....:(

Sat 13 Oct 18

4414 - So much art, so little time

Urgghh. Not much sleep, tried to lie-in but it
Didn't work. So much to do, like Leicester
Festival application. Feel like shit
Then, I wanted to work on songs. Oh yeah,
Like that'll be good won't it. My mind's bare
Of energy, my body's fuckin' fucked
Which one's Gordon Brown, which one's Tony Blair?
I probably couldn't tell you if I looked
But these tasks today, they cannot be ducked
It's already 2pm, goddammit
I've done washing, recycling, but nowhere
Yet with the important stuff. I've just mucked
About reading Guardian comments. I'll eat
Lunch soon no doubt to delay things further...

4149 - New Meh

Fun night last night without drinking at all
Except for tea, that is, which sustained me
Quite satisfactorily til the toll
Of the bell and the fireworks in the sky
Four films watched yesterday, but comedy
Was neglected. Today I tried to put
That right, doing some drawings, now ready
To send to the compere. Hopefully it
Will interest Wednesday's crowd, should make 'em sit
Up a bit and pay attention, a small
Advantage over just speaking, to see
The act can draw as well, and also flirt
With uke and singing songs. Heard the football
Results, now to choose which old film to see...

4109 - That's nearly all, folks!

A day both good and bad, but mainly bad
The good part? Finished my presentation
Slotted in my own cartoons. I was glad
At how it looks. It should be lots of fun
Tomorrow when I present it in Room
303 (not 101...!!) The bad part?
Two out of two failures in promotion
Interviews with my colleagues, but I thought
It would be bad news, as I didn't thwart
My usual rambling answers that I had
Been punished for so many times. There's one
More result to hope for - that's the Depart-
ment for Education. Must be prepared
For one more disappointing frustration...

4107 - Looking for me

What a day (again)! A long office day
Got in early, and stayed late, ready to
Go to acting class. Work was more like play
At the end, I began drawing a few
Cartoons, which were great, and caught the eyes too
Of workmates working late. They didn't know
I could draw. Pictures for my slide show two
Days away, on pensions, look great, or so
I thought! Admiration in their eyes grows
And then to acting class, while on the way
I bought tea from Tesco. I had a few
Important minutes with Chris, and disclosed
The remoteness of emotion, the way
Forward, and then acted well. Skies are blue!