This blog is growing seriously stagnant. As well as that, with the book taking up much of my creative writing time I’ve hardly done any other writing. I need to actively get back on the saddle to get my mind thinking about the avenues of writing that I will be getting involved in – namely university assignments, but I also need to get back to some creative fictional writing. I have an idea for a novel that has been brewing in my mind over the past twelve months and I really do need to start doing something about it beyond a mere rough outline of a story arc.
I wasn’t sure whether fiction writing would be something that I’d want to sink my teeth into when I decided to go down the creative writing path. I chose this path as I felt it would help me to improve my writing in broader terms and possibly improve my language skills and my grammar as well. Creative non-fiction was the path I wanted to travel down, somehow convinced my mind wasn’t open enough or imaginative enough to create compelling and vivid fictional worlds and characters. This view has changed somewhat over the past twelve months.
In the meantime, as for the book I have been working on? The writing is very nearly complete – at least in terms of the main body of information that comprises it. The last section involves Jim Kerr’s Lostboy! AKA solo project. I kept dallying as to whether to include it or not – as it isn’t ‘technically’ about Simple Minds per se. But as I was writing the sections for Big Music and Walk Between Worlds, it became increasingly obvious to me the importance the Lostboy solo project played in the material that was gathered for the albums and it would have seemed an oversight to have not put a section on the Lostboy album in the book, having made several references to the writing of material in the Big Music and Walk Between Worlds sections of the book. Beyond that, it is a great album – and in some respects I enjoy it even more than some of the Simple Minds albums surrounding it. I certainly used to play it more often anyway.
I’ve been back at uni for two weeks and it is still a BIG juggle to try and give time to both elements: study and book writing. At least I am not doubling up on the writing this time as this academic year is focused on English Literature and not Creative Writing. This means LOTS of reading and if you know me, you know I’m a slow reader! (I really should get into that band The Slow Reader’s Club – they’re my kinda guys!) In the last few days I completed reading Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd. I’ve been a fan of Hardy’s for a while now but had not actually bitten the bullet and read any of his novels. ‘How could you be a fan then’ you ask? Well, I would dip into BBC TV and radio adaptations of his novels and I would enjoy them so I called myself a fan from that stance. Now having read FFTMC I can confirm I am a fan. His use of descriptive prose to evoke settings and landscapes is astounding. Poetic prose without being verbose or grandiose. Someone who can place vivid pictures in my mind will always be someone I admire and marvel at. It was why I was such a fan of Jim – but his early work, for me, was so much more vivid than it tends to be these days. It’s just how it works for me. It may be different for others. That’s why early Simple Minds work means more to me. Anyway…how did we get from Thomas Hardy to Jim bloody Kerr? Lol.
As for life beyond study and writing? There isn’t much happening there. So much of my time is being taken up by the other two that I have next to no downtime. Also, I am pretty much continually skint these days. My downtime is usually spent playing Project Makeover (I know! Lol) or listening to podcasts for a few hours before bed. On Wednesday night I did get to venture out. I went to Mono on Kings Court to see Field Music’s album launch of their new Limits of Language album which had been released the previous Friday. I turned up early, just as the Brewis brothers were doing their soundcheck. Although they were just about to close the cafe area to set it up for the gig, they said I was welcome to stay if I was happy to be around while they readied the room for the gig. No worries. Once the soundcheck was done I had a chat with both David and Peter at various times over the next 90 minutes. Conversation did at times involve the north-east of England. Field Music hail from Sunderland and I had relayed to both of them that in the numerous times I have visited the north-east, I hadn’t yet visited Sunderland but was eager to rectify this the next time I found myself south of Hadrian’s Wall.
After the show, I wanted to get my CD quickly signed as Em was waiting for me outside and I didn’t want to miss the next train. I was able to get David to sign first. In the time from our early conversation he seemed to have had further recall of having met me previously (which to be fair had been a while ago: pre-Covid). He remembered that I’m a Warm Digits fan and spoke to me about having recently run into Andy Hodson who had told him a new Warm Digits album was in the making and that it had been waylaid due to Steve not being well over the past twelve months. I then asked him if he’d sign my CD. He said, ‘Now, I just have to see if I can remember how to spell your name.’ I was thinking…Here we go – good luck, mate! In the time it took me to have that inner thought, he said, ‘Is it L-A-R-E-double L-E’? I put my hand on his arm and said, flabbergasted – ‘David, how did you remember that?!’ I can’t even remember what his response was. I was just so astounded that he remembered. When I went over to Peter to get him to sign the CD – as he was about to sign it he said ‘Oh, Dave’s got in there first’ or something similar. I’m still reeling that he remembered how to spell my name and said as much to Peter, saying ‘He even remembered how to spell my name!’ ‘I wouldn’t,’ replied Peter. It made me giggle.
It was a great gig. The brothers obviously have a very good relationship. There was much banter between them. They were constantly taking the piss out of each other – not in an overtly bitchy way – I mean, they were having digs at each other but it was funny and not full of aggro and spitefulness. I’m looking forward to seeing the Brewis brothers again, with a full band, as Field Music return to Glasgow to play at Oran Mor in February as part of Celtic Connections.
So, that’s pretty much my week this week. If you’re interested in what podcasts I’ve been listening to this week: All through BBC Sounds – The first is a series called Crime Next Door and I listened to older parts of the series: one titled Servants and Saints about the ‘Church-with-no-name’ or also known as the Two by Two’s religious sect. The other is titled ‘An Assassin Comes To Town’ about an assassination attempt on a man in Kirkcaldy. (Of all places!) I listened to The Brighton Bomb as well. Finally, just starting last night, I have been listening to Yeti – which is fascinating and just a tad scary.