With more excitement than is probably necessary, I have just placed an order for my 2024 Day by Day Diary. It will be arriving with great ceremony, tomorrow. Or more likely I’ll get a text telling me it’s been un-ceremonially left in the garage.
Normally I prefer to choose my diary by buying it from a shop, where I can flick through the format on the daily pages and see if I feel comfortable with it’s layout. This is somewhat ridiculous when most of my entries will be filled with the mundane, but as they say, one man’s mundane is another man’s magnificence. Or madness.
Though in truth the only person to have said either, is me. Probably in my diary.
I have been keeping a day by day diary since 2010. At the time I was working part-time at my day job, while working the rest of the time as a shadow-writer for a hit television series called Shameless. It was a busy and somewhat bizarre period when I would spend Monday to Friday from 8 till 1 each day working on opening and closing of retail outlets, then drive out to the house of Paul Abbott, one of the best and most influential television writers of his generation, to join a small band of writers to help contribute story lines for the show. Each day could last till 6 or 8 in the evening.
Either that or I’d drive out to the series film set in an urban area of Manchester to the hidden away set of the show and mix with actors I’d been watching on my TV set for several years. The contrasts within each day could be huge.
In all of this I’d manage to keep a diary where I would list my hopes and self-doubts, chronicling how intimidated I could sometimes feel suddenly having to step-up amongst a set of accomplished writers looking to protect their own position within the show.
I’d also include details of my life away from work and writing, such as my Dad’s bout of shingles, the success or otherwise of my football team, events I’d attended or daily hopes and fears.
In retrospect it was an odd time to start a diary, given all the time I was spending on writing generally, yet in other ways it makes perfect sense. I needed an outlet to express my thoughts during this period to help me make sense of it all.
And I’ve kept it up, year on year.
Most of the entries are a list of what made up each day, which could be about going to the gym, what film I’d just seen or TV series I’d be watching, working on the garden, cleaning the house (yes, that exciting). I’ll mention phone conversations I’d had with my family that could leave me delighted or frustrated. I’d talk about trips I’d made, concerts I’d been to, seeing friends and how each of those things worked out, made me feel.
But also in there I’ve chronicled the start of the Arab Spring, and how hopes of greater self-expression for the people of Syria grew into a brutal war, the rise and demise of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. I’ll mention natural disasters, or in the case of climate change, unnatural disasters and the impact it was having on the people affected.
For the years I was my father’s carer it was a place to let things out on days when there was nowhere else to turn to. And it would also be a place to feel a little more normal when the everyday reality of the situation was anything but, and to mention the laughs we managed to have despite our difficulties. This is so important; it’s understandable to look back and view this time as unrelentingly dark, but in truth it could be rich and hugely rewarding.
How much I learn generally by reading back can be highly illuminating. Often I’ve looked back on something and re-assessed how I felt, after reading how I actually saw things at the time. But hey, hindsight’s a wonderful thing, especially when it’s written down.
I’ve been reminded at how family and friends supported me, always useful whenever I feel forgotten or aggrieved.
I’m also reminded of things I’d seen and done that had been somewhat absorbed and lost in memory. Sometimes I feel proud of my tenacity, and other times disappointed by things I could have done a little differently. Even now, as I’ve began reading through the early part of this year, I’m planning how to apply myself better next year.
I imagine most people don’t go into detail in their dairies, but I find it therapeutic. Who knows, you may feature in it next year – some of you already have but don’t worry, I’ve been very complimentary! Honestly…
All the best for 2024, and if you keep a diary, I wish you plenty of happy entries!
SONGS AND SCRIPTS AND DUNKING BISCUITS 
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