James David Ward

Every train journey home feels like time travel.

It’s a new year, which means a brief post looking both forwards and backwards, Janus-like, for it is indeed his month.

A whole fortnight since I last posted! That will never do.

It’s been a steady couple of weeks. The Monday I met all my poetry compatriots – about 8 others in this semester’s seminar, with a couple more hanging around, plus the 40-60 others doing prose and screenwriting, and had a lovely time devouring the free wine laid on for us (and then afterwards a select few went for Chinese, which was good.) The second Monday was my first seminar, which went well, and bodes well for the rest of the course. I’m contracted to write a poem a week, but I find I’m doing a couple of others on the side as well, which brings my average up startlingly from “once in a while”.

After a brief stay at the old homestead, I am now firmly in the arms of Manchester, Jewel of the North. I arrived beladen with bags on Thursday, so I’m four days in now and starting to get the hang of the idea.

The new room’s good, spacious, with a cool old wardrobe with a tie rack, and the bed’s not bad either. The new housemates are lovely, and have already invited me to join their next D&D campaign, so I’m definitely amongst my people. I’m off out this evening to meet my fellow postgraduates, and the first official course meeting is tomorrow, so by end of play tomorrow I’ll have a better idea of who I’ll be spending my time with.

I announced on Facebook last week that I’d been accepted into the University of Manchester to do an MA in Creative Writing, with a focus on poetry. Obviously, this is a big step, and one I’m very happy to take. Even if the small matters of money and work and housing have yet to be fully cleared up.

Before I go on a bit more about this, I’ve got a few things to go through. Sorry, it’s a long one this week, but it has been two months since my last post, and a surprising amount has happened.

• It’s been a bloody long week, and not just because I skipped an instalment of my adventures.
• The fun news that I’m only going to get 18 hours per week for the forseeable, stripping my budget after rent down to what I got on the dole, has inevitably cast its shadow over my general demeanour.
• Finding other ways of earning money is as fruitful a search as it’s ever been, particularly when that search becomes allied to my desire to make creative things for coins. Obviously, the best thing to do in such a situation is to double down and use the extra time to improve my hunting.
• Of course, I have not done that. I have done some spectacularly ill-advised things, however.
• One such thing is the Steam Summer Sale, which is of Satan.
• Another such thing is the 23 hours I’ve put into Cities: Skylines over the past few days. The city of Newton is terrible, but I think once I bite the bullet and start over with a new one, I’ll have a better chance of doing well at being a mayor/city planner.
• I did end up doing a #songday last weekend, which can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/jamesdavidward/autumn-wind-demo
• I didn’t do one today, however, so it’s looking like it shall be an occasional rather than a weekly thing. Still, it’s good to actually finish and produce something, which is the main thing.
• It’s also good to perform for once, which I was allowed to do at the last Find the Right Words. I read one poem which I was sure was quite good, and another that wasn’t quite there because I was redrafting it on the day and couldn’t figure out a good ending. FtRW is a lovely night and I shall miss it now it is on it’s summer break.
• Another thing I shall miss is Leicester University Chorus. On happier weeks, this would have been the lead, because it’s something I’ve been involved in for years, but has reached the time where it’s more sensible to leave and preserve it as a lovely thing I did, rather than see it become a struggle to maintain. I’m two years out of uni now (gulp), I was in it for the people and the majority those that I like are leaving/gone, walking to Monday rehearsals after work makes me grumpy… at some point there becomes too many reasons to go to be convinced of any of the reasons to stay.
• However, it’s been a goodbye replete with victory lap. There was a concert, at which I did a solo of Sorry-Grateful from Sonheim’s Company. There was Cabaret, which was at Firebug, which is a place I like to attend. Finally there was an alumni evening, at which some of the people that were gone came back and we had a nice buffet followed by a traditional Chorus house party, which was a nice way to wrap it up.
• I’m still in Leicester, and I still have friends in it, so it’s obviously more of a step back than an abandonment, but it’s interesting to have that space open up in my life.
• My life is now pretty much space, actually. I’m struggling to comprehend that, beyond work for coins, I have no commitments, no clubs, not even a regular time I meet up with friends and such. At the moment, I have probably 80 hours a week right now to do with what I will. And I have no idea what I should do with it.
• I’ve resumed running though, which is something. I’m still shit, but I maintain that moving at all is better than not moving, which I’m all too good at. Although the app is now making me do half squats, and that does not make me a happy bunny. Knee lifts were stupid enough. I’m in public, guys! Geez.
• OH YEAH I saw Lion King. Good show, which I’d seen it fresh, but if you’re into adaptations and theatre it’s an interesting approach to keep in mind.
• Skipped the Red Leicester Reunion, though. I like seeing my friends, but apart from that people can just go away.
• Next week? Well, I’ll be trying to fill the chasm between the work I’m getting and the work I need with finding work while listening to podcasts. Apart from that, no bloody idea. (See above.) The Story City launch is tomorrow, and it’ll be nice to see some people, but otherwise I’unno. See ya next time!

• June is busting out all over!
• Also, looking very busy with socialising and such. And this week was already so packed I had to skip Chas & Dave and Emergency at the Y. 😦
• This edition is brought to you by the new Florence + The Machine album, because the singles are excellent and I want to hear the rest.
• Mice are probably still here. Should probably have another bash at it.
• I’ve got a few songs I need to tidy up and demo. #songday might become a thing. Watch this space.
• Celebrated Chris’s birthday on the Wednesday, which was unexpectedly followed by a trip to Mad Max: Fury Road with Sandy. What a gentleman, and what a film. Most big films nowadays are about the apocalypse in some form or another (indeed, perhaps they always have been), but few do it with such vigour and excitement and cool design and absurdity and satire. It was a 2000AD strip on screen, and that is a high compliment indeed.
• Very last chorus concert on Sunday, which a bit sad. Have to make some room in my life etc, and it’s good to have a good ending to something that was entirely lovely to be in throughout. There’s quite the farewell tour, with many trips to pubs and beyond in store, but it’s definitely done. Even sang a Sondheim for a solo, something I’d been meaning to do for years but never got round to. My normal appreciative concert audience (mums) seem to like it.
• Talking of excellent pub trips, Saturday takes some beating. The Cavendish Road gang ft. Sellars descended on The Font for some retro gaming, and it was a beautiful experience. I even won a game of Bust-A-Move! What times we live in.
• Before that, I went on a boat. The Riverside Festival happened, which is basically where a load of stalls are set up near where I’m currently living and you go out there and generally have a lovely time. I ate Columbian chicken and had a ride on a tandem. Fun in the sun!
• To be honest, this looks like a short list, but out of the eight evenings (including tonight) choir and related took up half of them (rehearsal Mon+Fri, Concert Sun, Chris Wed) the arcade one of them (Sat), and I needed the other three (Tues/Thurs/Mon 8) to be the antisocial bastard I naturally am. Like tonight, for instance. Also, I am now an old man who gets tired. Plus on these nights I get to cook something rather than warm something through.
• This week: lots of things probably, I dunno. Despite the above, still as receptive to invitations to fun things as ever. Til next time!