21st February. I'm back in Newcastle, just over a month since I returned to Bristol. This visit was different. I arrived with God Seed, Dante's Fool and Cloudy Head. Mum saw them and it was as if a light switch had been flipped in her mind; she now saw what I'd been struggling to achieve all these years. There was a subtle yet tangible shift in her attitude towards me. She read God Seed in a few days, and loved it; I was thrilled to bits, my mum does not suffer fools gladly and is a fierce critic.

The trip was different in other ways. I was fresh into writing the 2nd Edition of Yellow Dawn and keen to make progress. I switched into using my DaVinci method, working 45 minute sessions followed by a 15minute snooze throughout the day, then moving into 30 minute work /20 minute snooze during the night. Instead of drifting round to Rosie & Petes for a couple hours, playing Dracula, etc, I would pop round on a 15 minute break then vanish again. I barely saw them.

I spent most of my time in my old bedroom. This picture shows the view one atmospheric morning. It was this week that I dug into my collection of H P Lovecraft audio files. I listened to the "Haunter in the Dark" whilst lying on the bed. Then I discovered "The Fungi from Yuggoth". Oh my God. I'd had this file for a couple of years and never gotten round to listening to it. I assumed it was a story.... the file was an hour long. Instead I heard these chords of enchanting, alien music, and then poetry, different voices, small segments of Mythos lore laid down in macabre snippets. I was transported into another realm. Suddenly I was Dreamweaver Jack in Cloudy Head. I was 14 years old again, getting into H P Lovecraft for the first time. It was an exquisite experience of Mythos magic. I've no idea who created the file. I found it through limewire...part of a random fishing net trawl for all things Lovecraftian. The production values are very high; the content awesome, chilling and delighting in equal measure.

This was also the week I realised that I was not going to be able to finish the 2nd Edition in a couple of months. It dawned on me the sheer vast size of the project, and the amount of committment it was going to require to finish it. For the first time in my life, I was scared of the possibility I might fail.

22nd February. A few days into my visit my sister, comes up from London. I notice something. I'd been using my old bedroom as a base for a few days; normally mum would have told me to ship-out before squirt arrived. This is something that used to pain me; the bedroom became my sister's after I moved to Bristol in 1991, I had no problem about this, but, whenever squirt was up, it always seemed to be automatically decided that she would have her room. It was automatically forgotten that the room had ever been mine.

This might sound like pathetic sibling rivarly but it was symptomatic of a deeper issue, of my place within the family structure; an issue I was only just coming to see clearly for the first time.

Now, with Squirt's impending arrival, mum said she would house squirt downstairs, letting me keep my old room. These few words meant a great deal to me. And so did Squirt's acceptance of the situation.

It is also ironic, because within four weeks the room would be stripped bare, redecorated and rented out to a lodger.

Squirt was a hero. Mum doesn't eat well when Squirt and I are away. Squirt went to a local take-away and got a load of food cartons from them; then went shopping and bought in enough ingredients to make over 20 meals for mum, which could be frozen and used as and when needed.

28th February. Back in Bristol I find that my first copy of Iron Man Project has arrived. The set is now complete. I take the decision not to do any marketting or promotion at this point; I want to wait until Yellow Dawn 2nd Edition is completed.

This is a great feeling.

Late February. Oivind is a character I met through Hagen. I was hoping he would be able to create the internal illustrations for Yellow Dawn, but, in view of my dwindling financial resources, and my uncertainty of what kind of job I'll get (and what level of income), I took the decision to put the idea on hold. I didn't want him completing artwork I wouldn't be able to pay for. It's shame because he's got a great talent and a unique style.

1st March. I drove over to see Vega$ and discovered everything was 'all change' in their physical environment. Since Matthias arrived in Tanya's house, space was limited, and both of them have been working as creatives under the same cramped roof. They've now decided to relocate their work space to outside the house; building two massive "sheds". The one in the photograph is Tanyas. The same distance again, beyond, is Matthias' Lab. Notice the trench. This was Matthias' handy work - all plain sailing until he uncovered boudlers and a buried fireplace roughly where I'm standing taking the shot. It's gonna look amazing when he's finished.

1st March. Here's the chap himself. Aging well, and certainly looking ever more the interesting fellow he is as time marches by.

8th March. I've known Garry from early days in the Agency, and it's been lovely keeping in touch since I left. We usually hook up once or twice a year, over sushi or something pan-asian. He's still in the same role at the Agency.

8th March. After dinner with Garry, I made my way to another restaraunt and hooked up with Jo, Simon and Jules. After two years in a social wilderness (it seems) Jules is now easing back into the person she used to be...something which suits her personality and spirit, I feel, far better than the life she had started to live and then aborted. It was great to see her and spend time together.

8th March. My baby. It has to be said what an amazing rock Jo has been for me, especially in the months since leaving the Happy Flat and everything I've been going through. She's recently gained a promotion at work, and, has put a plan into motion that has allowed us to keep the house (Cosey Castle) despite the fact I've not gained a permanent full-time contract.

8th March. Simon is doing well. Vicky (his wife) is pregnant again; after losing the baby last year they have both displayed amazing strength and character in dealing with the loss. He's scored a good promotion at work, and appears to be happy with the role. I'm certainly seeing more of him and Vicky than I have done for years; it's good.

18th March. I'm back in Newcastle. Another week in my bubble-world. Entrenched in Yellow Dawn. I took a walk down into the deep ravine of Jesmond Dene.

18th March. These stairs are on the far side of the ravine, on a little-used trail that runs just below the far edge...standing there you can look across the width of the ravine to my parents house. This was the week that Lisa completed the redecoration of my old bedroom so that it could be rented out to a lodger (Freddy). Bizarrely when the room was finished it looked just as I had left it, after my redecoration in 1989; months of sitting there with Philips Video Writer, working on "No Place Like Attica" with Gary Numan Warriors playing on stereo.

18th March. Jesmond Dene. Crossing over this bridge from left to right on the picture, you find yourself on a switch-back path that climbs up the steep slope of the ravine, passing Lord Armstrong's Banquetting Hall, as covered in the novel Iron Man Project.

21st March. Back to Bristol. Matthias has an opening night in Bristol for some of his artwork, a small venue on Stokes Croft. It was lovely to hang out with him socially, possibly the first time in 5 years (I think last time was in 2002 with James Mad Biologist); in addition, the venue saw faces I'd not seen since this side of the 21st Century: Jake 'Spank' Dj, Lucus of Jenkins Corporation origin; Ms Jenkins is living in China, working for a successful lingerie company.

Late March. I knew Sorrel in 1990/91 through Richy, a part of the Jesmond Village experience. She vanished around then. Interestingly, it was only a couple months ago, in December 2006, that Richy and I hooked up and walked around our old haunts with a video camera, recalling old times, and old friends. We both wondered how Sorrel was, what she was up to, etc. A few weeks later I get an E-mail out of the blue from her, after 15 years of silence.

She was coming to Bristol, did I want to meet up? Of course I did. We met in the Watershed and drifted around the place. It was great to see her again, and to have that caffeine fuelled 1000-word-a-minute conversation that comes when you're catching up on everything that's happened between encounters.

She living/working in London but looking to move to Bristol / Bath or Scotland within a couple of years. Interestingly she spent a lot of time hanging out with Sarah Lewis in mid-90's, after Sarah had moved to and departed from Bristol... but she's not seen Sarah in over 10 years.

Late March. I've known Dan since Oct/Nov 2005, just at the point I was putting my photography onto a commercial footing. A random stranger in an art-supply shop suggested I talk to a random bloke watching a gallery space, as random bloke might be able to help out with my query. I walk into this gallery space and say "hi, you don't know me but..." After a few minutes the guy (Dan) asks if my name is David Rodger. I pause. Stunned. "Yes," I replied, a little cautiously. Turns out I'd done some copywriting for his g/f back in 2003.

Dan helped out with my query and became a good friend. This photo was taken at Budokan - we were supposed to be going to the Hillgrove pub to play backgammon but a girl called Rachel (who transpires I also knew from the late 90's) had arranged this huge gathering of random folk. Turned out to be a fab night.

1st April. Sonja managed to score a load of decking timbers for 20 quid. So, she ripped up her patio and with much help from Nic, created decking. I'm looking forward to some chilled summer evenings round there, sitting barefoot on the decking in the radiated heat of a chimmenia.

5th April. Kelvin popped over from Spain for a visit. It was really great to see him. We had several chilled days being lazy, drinking coffee in the back garden, driving to quaint English villages, staying up late drinking wine. Every morning Sharky shuffled down into the kitchen and made his world-famous poached-egg and boiled tomatoe on toast breakfast. Delicious.

5th April. Jo, Kelvin and I ended up in this village that could have been the inspiration of the Whicker Man (the original 70's version and not that pile of Hollywood-blended trash they remade).

5th April. Jo and I took Kelvin down to our secret place - a couple of pubs and old cottage type buildings about 2 miles from our house, tucked away behind an ancient mill: you would not know they were there unless somebody told you, or like us, you stumbled onto it by pure chance.

Tony, Vicky & Simon joined us. We had beer and BBQ food, sitting by the river as the sunset. Delish.

5th April. There was something in the water...

7th April. Jo and I took a drive out to the Cotswolds to see Jules (Ms Scarlet) and her new house. There was a beautiful sunset en-route.

7th April. A few minutes later.

8th April. The day after Kelvin arrived Jo got the phone call from the solicitors confirming that the house (Cosey Castle) was now, finally, ours. Nic & Sonja came round for a Sunday dinner, and in a way were our first proper dinner guests since the house had become ours. It was a fabulous evening. A mountain of roast vegetables, some nice wine, and Nic getting hammered on a bottle of whisky and just laughing and laughing.

8th April. Sonja is doing extra-ordinarily well; she has much more work options than a couple of years ago, has an incredibly positive frame of mind, and is simply wonderful company.