Still some pizza dough left from earlier…so we venture out into the cold for more!
IT’S Mothers’ Day and Catriona, Will and the kids are coming for a late lunch…pizza in the garden.
After breakfast we go outside and put up one of the gazebos. A few big rips have appeared in the canopy so there’s a few repairs to be done.
I ball up the pizza dough and prepare the pasata, mozzarella and various toppings then get some work done.
I’m busy in the studio when they all arrive…so shut up shop and wander back to the garden.
We have a great afternoon of chat and pizza and when they all head for home I go back to the studio to work on some video from last week’s show at the hall.
There’s some dough and topping left from this afternoon. I don’t wanna waste them so we have more pizza…and there’s an extra one to go in the fridge which I’ll reheat (in the air fryer!) for lunch tomorrow 🙂
AFTER breakfast I can the guy that I’d asked about making the power supply for my pedal board and explain I’d rather order the Cioks system I researched yesterday.
He’s absolutely fine about it…maybe even a little relieved that he’s not gonna have to try and find a way to for a square peg in a round hole. Regardless I wanted to tell him direct rather than rely on my email. I get the stuff ordered and clean out my paypal balance…the credit card is already maxed out!
Then I get back onto the Quad Cortex patches and set up my presets to streamline the live operation of things and get used to it all before Friday’s show in Kirkcaldy.
I’d planned to go for a paddle today but it’s pretty dreich and I’m pretty busy in the studio. I look at the wind forecast and re-schedule my plan ’til Monday.
There’s some music to transcribe into guitar tab for one of my Zoom students. it’s a bit of a pain working out exactly what I do on the guitar and I’ve been trying to find a way of using MIDI…I started ‘fixing’ it all on the Mac Mini the other day so carry on my mission until it’s time to go to Betty’s/
We have a lovely evening and head to bed when we get home.
I make an impulse response for the banjo and see if that helps the sound….
I SPEND the morning setting up the PA in the studio live room and tweaking the patches on the Quad Cortex.
It all sounded good on Saturday’s show, but there’s a few improvements that might make it even better. Once done, I get Margaret over to sit in the live room, listen and give me some feedback. We’re happy with the results although the plugged-in banjo needs some more attention.
Maggi arrived for a coffee then we have lunch and I go back to the studio. Although the banjo has. magnetic pickup and impulse responses (IRs) are meant to work more with piezo pickups I decide to give it a try and create a set of IRs using the banjo and upload them to the Quad Cortex. The result is good!
I’d asked a contact down south to look at a power supply for the Quad Cortex and my wireless transmitter so I don’t have to lug around ‘wall warts’ and find two available power outlets…his quote is quite expensive and the planned hardware is gonna be too bulky for my compact pedalboard. I duo some research and find for not much more outlay I can use a Cioks DC7 and a set of jumper cables to combine power outputs to do the job…plus there’s more outputs to spare as well as a USB socket. I email the guy and suggest him trying to squeeze his work into a smaller box may be a little more trouble than it’s worth.
None of the MIDI stuff in the studio has been working properly sinceI copied everything over to the new Mac Mini. I decide to delete all instances of software instruments, drivers and libraries and start afresh. There’s a lot of downloading and re-installing…and it’s looking promising.
I nip to the local pub to catch the last of my pal Tom Urie’s evening set…and at £6 for an alcohol-free beer I’m not unhappy to have been a little later than usual!
Back home Margaret’s got dinner ready and we chill and watch some telly for the rest of the night.
I SPEND the morning going through the Bartok Thins video footage from Saturday. I plan to edit one song for them and they can do as they wish with the rest of the footage.
The Manson Glass stickers are still ‘in production’ and I attend to that while editing the video. I get a good part of it done before it’s time to go to the school in Balloch for my Thursday session with some of the kids.
On the way home I stop off to pick up a free cross trainer that was posted on our local buy/sell/swap Facebook page. It takes a bit of manhandling to get to int eh car but we manage.
I’m home with five minutes to spare before my young guitar student arrives. He’s making good progress 🙂
Once done we unload the cross trainer an stick it in the live room at the studio. Nowhere else to put it at the mo’! The batteries are flat and one seems to have corroded a bit…but some further investigation reveals it can be mains powered and I happen to have a suitable adaptor in the cupboard 🙂
Next, I finish the video edit and send a Dropbox link to Bartok Thins…suddenly it’s 9pm and Margaret’s got dinner ready back at the house.
STRAIGHT into video editing – the files are pretty big and there’s a fair bit of archiving, backing up and swapping drives to be done.
In between times the materials to make the premium black/gold stickers for Manson Glass packaging have arrived. At last. The folks I order from invariably contact me after I’ve ordered to tell me something or other is out of stock…it’s usually a bit of an inconvenience, but this time delivery has taken weeks longer than anticipated.
I get the first batch of stickers running then take. walk to the post box, then onto Fiona’s along the road to drop off the key for the hall.
The loch’s like glass and I;d love to go out for a paddle but too much to get through today.
After lunch I continue juggling the video editing with sticker production. By late afternoon I’ve got five songs done and reward myself with a walk up the loch side in the passing rain.
I’m home just in time to help Margaret unload and put away the shopping then I make a beef and broccoli stir fry.
NOT sure why, but I sleep in and am woken by a phone call at 9.30am! No alcohol for weeks and I was in bed well before midnight.
I spend the morning updating various bits of software in the studio then start work on the video footage from Saturday’s show.
In between times I set up the PA in the live room and connect everything up ready to tweak and edit my Quad Cortex patches…hopefully I’ll get a start on it tomorrow. I also need to re-visit how I use the Cortex on a live show…worked fine enough on Saturday night, but there’s probably a more streamlined way to set things up.
By early evening I have he footage graded for three songs and got them edited. Lots more to do!
I take my time making chicken enchiladas and chilli the rest of the evening.
A FULL morning of Zoom guitar students then it’s lunchtime!
Martyn brought me a drive with all the video footage form Saturday’s show – nearly two terabytes – so before going back to the house I start the cooking process to get the files onto my server.
With my next show – King’s Live Lounge, Kirkcaldy – in less than two weeks I knock up a news release and get it out to all the Fife newspaper and radio folks.
It’s pouring rain but I really need a walk. I don the dry robe and wander up the lochside. Although really for getting changed when paddle boarding, the dry robe doubles as a great garment for cold, wet, windy days out! Although they get a bit of bad press, I don’t care.
When I get back I start editing up a song from Saturday for the Wildcats’ livestream later on…problem is it’s all shot in log (which is a good thing) and I need a lot more time to grade the colour properly. I’m out of time as I have a Zoom guitar student then it’s almost straight into the Wildcats’ Facebook live-stream…
WE ALL have a one in and then Margaret makes breakfast.
We eat, chat and drink coffee then I take Helen and Peter across to the bus stop.
Margaret and I go to the hall to dismantle the light and sound gear, tidy up and get everything back to the house. When we get there Will is waiting with the kids…he’s dropping them off to give him and Catriona a few hours off duty.
I’m pretty busy putting gear away and Margaret takes the kids to feed the ducks.
Catriona comes to pick them pop sometime after 5pm then Betty drops by for a coffee. Martyn drops off a drive with all the video footage from last night’s show and we all chat a while.
There’s some lasagne left from last night which we enjoy while watching Billy’s livestream from Florida….
Paul Stewart’s photo almost mimics the graphic on my backdrop!
AS soon as we’re done with breakfast I pack the car with more gear and head to the hall.
I’m loading in when Martyn arrives with a load of camera gear – he’s gonna film the whole show tonight 🙂
It takes me until lunchtime to get the PA and lights rigged and a quick check of all the guitars, mics etc…I spend a little time tweaking the presets on the new Quad Cortex then go back to those for some lunch and to pick up Margaret.
Back at the hall we properly soundcheck and start getting tables and chais rioted. I. between times I go to meet Helen and Peter – Bartok Thins – at the bus stop.
All soundcheck go to plan then we head back to the house for dinner and to prepare to prepare for the shows.
There’s pretty much a full house at the hall for the show and both Bartok Thins and myself have good sets and enjoy great audience reaction.
Unsurprisingly we have a late one when we get back – some grub and a few drinks…although I’m still “aff it”…surprisingly I’m not really missing it!
I HAVE a guitar student first thing then I hit the office to make a batch of badges for tomorrow’s (Saturday) show.
In the studio I finish my rehearsals for the show and catch up on admin stuff, email and my socials.
After lunch we take some stuff along to the hall to ease the pressure a bit tomorrow…we get the backdrop up, lighting stands and some other bits and bobs. Also means the car’s not too heavily packed in the morning!
Back home I continue on the badge production then start getting all the gear sorted ready to be loaded out in the morning…
New pedalboard complete and ready for Saturday’s show…
FIRST job this morning is to get some badges made up to put round the tables at Saturday’s show at Memorial Hall. Eco-friendly wood with engraved centre and dye sub surround.
There’s also some trekking and other flasks to me made up for the march table.
In the studio I rehearse some of my set for Saturday then it’s time to head off to the school in Balloch for a few hours with the kids.
I’m back with just a couple of minutes to spare before my 4pm guitar student arrives. Once done, I go back tot he studio and start putting together the new, compact pedalboard and making the necessary patch cables.
WE’RE off into Glasgow early and Margaret drops me at Milngavie train station.
I get off at Hyndland and take a walk up to Epicure on Hyndland Road for some breakfast. I order a sausage muffin…but there’s some confusion in the kitchen and I end up with a fully loaded breakfast muffin. A happy mistake, especially as I’m only charged for the basic sausage version 🙂
My appointment at the eye hospital isn’t ’til 10.30am so I take a walk round my old stomping ground before making my way to Gartnavel.
There’s the usual long wait and it turns out the uveitis is back in my right eye. Steroids to go in twice a day for a month, once a day for the next month then I’ll go back for another assessment.
It’s a cold but beautiful day and I enjoy the long walk into the city centre.
First stop is Mikaku for a big bowl of ramen…then onto GuitarGuitar to check out the Pedaltrain Metro pedalboard and bag. It looks perfect online, but the bag internal dimensions make it look too shallow for the Quad Cortex.
Reid goes and gets the pedalboard and bag then finds a Quad Cortex. Everything fits perfectly and I secure by bargain for just £65. Much smaller, lighter and more functional than the now retied effects board flight case.
Margaret picks me up to go shopping and we’re home soon after 6pm.
Betty pops round for drink and stays for dinner and we have a nice, long-time-missed off the cuff evening.
THERE’S some stuff to do in the office first thing – and I wanna try some merch ideas – but the old MacBook is playing funny buggers and taking an age to do anything.
I run out of time before I need to go along and help Betty with some stuff then I go and pick up a key for the hall so Martyn and I can go in for a wee video recce this evening,
The morning has gone by in a flash and after lunch I run a ‘cleaning’ app on the MacBook which seems to sort things out. I get my prototype ideas underway then hit the studio.
One of today’s tasks is to tab out (write out in a guitar notation) a song for one of my Zoom students. I generally avoid attempting this as it’s really difficult to notate my style with any degree of accuracy – I prefer to give students the main notes and get them to listen and work on technique for themselves.
I get some way forward using an online tab app then lose all my work. After binning that idea I decided to try using the midi pickup on an electric guitar but I run into all sorts of software issues – I’ve not had to to properly install and update the software on the new Mac mini in the studio. Back to the drawing board.
Suddenly it’s time to go to the hall to meet Martyn and discuss how best to film Saturday’s show…
Back home I make terriyaki chicken for dinner then mess on the guitar until it’s time for my 11.30pm phone interview with Abe Perlestein on his lunchtime radio show outta California.
Next job is creating an impulse response (IR) for the the Collings acoustic guitar which I plan to use at Saturday’s show in the village hall. Using IRs and some EQ etc in the Quad Cortex is a game changer, getting rid of the piezo ‘quack’ and unnatural tone of acosutic pickups. Very pleased.
I spend some time trying to find a pedalboard and soft case/bag for the Quad Cortex, guitar wireless receiver and power supply. Most stuff is way too big for what I need, but I find one from Pedaltrain (the ‘Metro’) that looks good…but the internal depth of the bag appears to be too shallow. I’l drop into GuitarGuitar when I’m in Glasgow on. Wednesday and see if I can check one out in real life!
It may be that I look for a good laptop bag of the right dimensions and source a pedalboard separately.
Then it’s time for another Zoom guitar session which is followed by the Wildcats’ livestream. All goes well and the work I put into sorting out the livestream sound the other day pays off 🙂
DAVID B comes round mid-morning to pick up my old Fractal AX8…sad to see it go as it did everything I needed it to, and did it very well, but it’s just too heavy and cumbersome for our new ‘travel light’ strategy.
I hang out in the studio and do some more tweaking with the new Quad Cortex and spend some time creating impulse responses (IRs) of the raw acoustic sounds of my National guitars. The IRs, when loaded into the Quad Cortex, should make the acoustic pickups sound more natural.
Quite a step learning curve making the IRs then I rub into errors when trying to upload them to the Cortex cloud for installation. I email Neural systems support.
In the afternoon I do some more work on my preset patches and getting familiar with the Quad Cortex interface then get some editing done on the Finland video footage.
A livestream version of Loch Lomond Home (acoustic) – released today on all platforms. Watch the livestream here.
LOCH Lomond Home (acoustic) is released today on all streaming/download platforms so my first job – while sitting in bed drinking coffee – is to spread the word. This is a kinda below the line release so I’m not making too big a thing of it…still need to let folks know tho’!
I should really be editing the Finland video blog but I wanna mess with the new Quad Cortex. I spend some time building patches for my main instruments then remember I need to get in touch with the guy who made my previous power supplies for my guitar effects case…the Quad Cortex has different power requirements and connections and I wanna be able to plug both that and my wireless receiver into the mains with just one kettle lead.
My livestream sound has been pretty poor for a good while now and I have no excuse….I have all the gear I need, just no time to really delve in and sort things out. I spend the afternoon doing just that and will put it to the test later when I do a livestream of Loch looming Home (acoustic).
Meantime, I ball up the pizza dough for tonight then get out for a walk up the lochside.
Back in the kitchen I sort some caramelised onions and all the topping sets for tonight’s pizzas then nip back to the studio to do the livestream. I think the sound works pretty good now..maybe needs a few more minor tweaks. See it here.
Betty arrives and I get the Ooni fired up – soon we’re eating pizza and chatting round the table.
B-stock? Looks and feels brand new to me! The Quad Cortex has landed!
THERE’S a custom leather keyfob to be finished and some online stuff to do before my regular Thursday morning guitar student arrives.
Once she’s done, I hit the studio and get a little more work done before it’s time to head to the school in Balloch.
The session with the kids there goes well then I stop on the way home to pick up some shopping and get a long overdue haircut.
When I get home the Quad Cortex I ordered yesterday from Anderton’s has arrived. I unbox and check it out. It was sold as ‘b-stock’ which is effectively a ‘return’ but it’s still fully packaged and looks untouched to me. bargain!
I need to get some editing done on the Finland trip video before I constant messing around with ‘my new toy’ as Margaret likes to call it…she loves teasing me like that as I don’t regard a work too as a ‘toy’. Just one of these phrases terms that irks me…a little like the current trend to use the work ‘mate’. When I was growing up ‘mate’ tended to be used as an aggressive form of address as in “…see you mate – I’m gonna kick your head in..” which, I suspect, is why it still wrankles with me even though it’s rarely, if ever, used like that these days. Anyway…
Eventually I get a wee while to work with the Quad Cortex and check it out. First impressions are good 🙂
Back in the house I start the veg pasta for dinner. For such a seemingly basic dish it’s actually one of the most complicated and involved things I make…especially when I’m halfway through and remember that I need to finish making the pizza dough for tomorrow!
NOT quite sure why, but I sleep in and it’s after 9.30am when I wake up…was in. bed early last night and haven’t had any alcohol for a fortnight.
Anyway, we have breakfast then I clean up the studio – a pal’s coming in a wee while to try out my Fractal AX8 pedalboard. I wanna give him first dibs on it before I put it online. Although it’s a great piece of kit that’s served – and still does – me well, it’s bigger and heavier than I’d like. There’s newer, smaller and lighter options available now…but they’re expensive. Especially the Neural Quad Cortex I have my eye on.
My buddy wants the AX8…so I’m able to look for a Quad Cortex online and not only fined them in stock at Anderton’s, they have a b-stock model available at a saving of £320! That, along with my sale and interest free credit makes it possible…so it’s an order.
After lunch one of my ‘in-person’ guitar students arrives for his lesson then I help Margaret with the documents and stuff for our travel insurance claim before hitting the studio to catch up on some work.
I’m kinda puggled today for some reason and instead of going for a walk before dinner I have a nap on the couch. Jeez! Need to get my act together!
UP EARLY to get some work done before I head out on the loch to meet Fiona and David for a paddle.
I’m home in time for lunch then it’s into the studio. There’s a some video from the Finland trip that needs sorted – filmed in slo-mo by accident but, thankfully, audio files recorded separately at normal speed. Just retiming the video clips to match the length of the audio files works to a certain extent, but the sync is still out.
I zoom in and retime the video by a number of frames and, hey presto! It works 🙂
Betty pops in for a coffee and asks me about a custom leather key fob she’d like as a gift for someone…I have a coffee then go and design the key fob.
In the kitchen I prepare a couple of chicken breasts to go into the Instant Pot and cook sous vide while we head out to a local community trust meeting.
We’re home by 9pm, the chickens ready and I make a pepper sauce, broccoli and mash to go with it.
THERE’S two back-to-back sessions with Zoom guitar students first thing.
Then it’s straight into another Zoom meeting – with the Musicians’ Union live performance committee – which takes me up to lunchtime.
I spend the afternoon working on some prototype ideas for West Highland Way Gifts’ stuff and sort something out for Betty which I subsequently drop off when I go for a quick walk.
There’s a little prep for tonight’s livestream into my Wildcats’ Facebook group then another Zoom session with a guitar student.
DESPITE an early might last night – and no alcohol – it’s nearly 11am when I wake up. Buddy hell!
Then we have a last morning drinking coffee and dealing with emails and socials…then breakfast.
Martyn and Oran pop up for a coffee and we sit and chat in the garden. The sun’s shining and it’s a lovely day.
There’s a few things to do for upcoming gigs – contracts, info to be collated and stuff…and the festival I’m playing in Romania later in the year has asked for a wee promo video,
Once all that’s done I go back to the house for a nap in front of the fire and then get some materials ordered for West Highland Way Gifts…as well as another batch of business cards.
I get busy making carnitas for dinner…then we start planning the coming week 🙂
Great to get back on the water for a wee paddle…I’ve missed this (…and pizza!)
THE alarm goes off at 7am and I’m up and out to get the paddleboard inflated.
While the air’s going in I varnish a load of fridge magnets for the shop so they’ll be ready for packing later this morning,
It’s pretty calm morning and the sun’s shining. I don’t wanna push things too hard as I’m not quite 100% yet so I head up towards Milarrochy. Along the way I record an a-capella version of (Looks like you’re) Walkin’ on Water for a laugh. Normally I daren’t even try singing without a guitar/instrument, but this was just pure fun…it’s on my TikTok – see (and laugh at me) here!
Back home I have breakfast and get all the fridge magnets packed and down to the village shop before head off.
It’s sister-in-law Les’s birthday today and I’m taking Margaret and Catriona through to Edinburgh where they’re meeting for lunch and going to a gin tasting.
After dropping them off I grab something to eat then make may way to the Scottish Arts Club for a meeting about a future show there.
I go and pick up the others and we all stop off for a drink – coffee for me – the drop Les off and head for home, dropping Catriona along the way.
We have a relaxed evening – my meds have finished, but I’m gonna try and stay off alcohol for a bit – ten days since my last drink and, believe it or not, Im not really missing it and feel some benefits already!
The acoustic version of Loch Lomond (Home) drops next Friday…
MARGARET’S away early to a rural housing event in Dunkeld…but I can’t laze about too much as there’s loads to get through today.
There’s a special leather key fob I’ve made to say thanks to a pal in Finland that needs to get sent off and while I;m out I pop into he village shop to see if they need any West Highland Way Gifts’ stock. They need fridge magnets.
Back home I start fridge magnet production then it the studio.
After collating all the video from Finland and pulling the stuff I might use into Final Cut I take a break and do some promo for the new acoustic arrangement of Loch Lomond (Home) that officially drops on all the services next week…folks can listen/download in a dance via my Bandcamp page 🙂
The fridge magnet production line continues and I manage to get out for a walk up the lochside where I do a quick livestream update on things in general.
UP in plenty of time to get a load of work done and some merchandise in the postbox before my regular Thursday morning guitar student arrives.
After a good session I head back to the studio for a wee while then head to the school in Balloch where I have a two-hour session with some of the kids. En route I add some ‘new date’ banners to the gig posters on various local notice boards. Some have come down so I’ll get new posters up asap.
I’m back home with about five minutes to spare before another guitar student arrives.
Once we’re done I’m pretty exhausted. Still not firing on all cylinders I guess..and I have a nap on the sofa in front of the fire.
THE MORNING is spent ‘sorting shit out’…first up is a call to Three to get our business account onto a SIM-only deal as our handsets are now out of contract. That goes well.
Next, Spamarrest. I’ve been using the email spam service onone of my main email accounts for more than ten years. It started at $49 a year and went up to $69. Then last year the renewal was for six month rather than year and latterly monthly…at $30 a month. No way to change it, online support useless and zero response to emails from customer service. I’ve had enough. A price hike from $69 to $360 with no notifications and zero customer service. Fuck them, I cancel.
Of course that means some email disruption – albeit only to one account – and a good hour or two fixing things.
In between times a pal calls…he’s been neglecting his website since I put it together in 2012 which resulted in some serious server security breaches a month or two ago. Having read him the riot act about keeping things in order he still hadn’t; made any attempt and it took a text message to get him to take notice. Problem is, he can’t seem to get online, let alone logged into his website.
There’s a much longer story, but we arrange for him to drop by later.
I create some artwork and start the process of making a leather keyring for a pal in Finland who really helped us out while I was in hospital the start collating and gathering various bits of video footage from the trip. I wanna make a wee vlog of the travel and shows.
With the Memorial Hall re-scheduled for 11 March I update poster art and replace the ‘old’ poster nailed on the oak tree in the village. I’m only just going for a walk when my pal calls to say he’ll drop by in half-an-hour. I have a short walk and make sure I’m home in time.
We spend a good hour or so on website stuff, Margaret comes home with he shopping and our pal heads off.
First up, a new Zoom guitar student early doors. The lesson goes well and we book another session for next week.
I manage to get a bunch of things of the to-do list before my mid-morning Zoom student then get some merch orders that came in while we were away packed up and into the postbox.
After lunch I work my way through a load of outstanding tasks and take a wee break when Betty drops by for a coffee.
The rest of the afternoon is spent on some outstanding web jobs and setting up a meeting for a potential show in Edinburgh sometime over the coming months.
Another displaced Zoom session with a guitar student early evening then I go back to the house and we have a light dinner and an early night.
THANKFULLY I’m still OK (-ish) when we wake up and get all our gear downstairs in the hotel.
At breakfast I stick to yoghurt, watermelon and a little bread and cheese. I need to eat, but I’m terrified to push things and get sick again.
We’re on the 9am shuttle bus to the airport. Our flight isn’t ’til late afternoon, but this is the last outgoing shuttle bus so we just have to hang out at the airport. Lots of facilities and stuff so it’s all good.
We’re on a direct flight back to Edinburgh which is good and when we eventually get back to the car we head for home, stopping at a supermarket to pick up some supplies.
All this evening’s guitar lessons and my Wildcats’ livestream were cancelled as we’re not back ’til 10pm…gonna be a busy few days of re-scheduling and catching up….
Ready to leave the hospital in Helsinki…fair amount snow out there!
WHEN I wake there’s another tray of ‘food’ beside the bed. The only thing I mange to get over my neck is the yoghurt…and the coffee and orange juice are the highlight!
During the morning there’s a couple fo routine blood pressure, blood sugar, pulse and temperature checks as well as more blood taken. The nurse thinks I might get discharged today, but it’ll be a few hours before the blood results are back and at the doc comes round.
Margaret’s had to check out the apartment she was in last night. No point in booking another night there as we don’t know what’s likely to happen…and all the main bags/gear are in storage at the hotel near the airport.
When the doctor comes round she says I can go home! I quiz her about the vomiting (which took me to the hospital in the first place) and the diverticularitis flare up which has kept me there. She is adamant there’s no connection. Funny that – this pattern has happened twice now. I’ll be on the blower to the doc back home first thing in the morning for another appointment and rattle some cages. We can’t keep going on like this – every trip will be a game of Russian roulette.
Margaret gets to the hospital mid-afternoon. I’m dressed, packed and waiting and we go into the lounge so Margaret cans peak to the insurance company re flights home and what we should do for accommodation tonight. We get dirt flights tomorrow (Monday) and we’re given the go-ahead to return to the airport hotel for the night.
Meantime our pal Leif comes to pick us up from the hospital and take us to the hotel which is a good half hour away – saves us three bus changes and god knows how much farting about to try and get their under our own steam.
Late afternoon I’m allowed some ‘food’…jeez – I don’t mean to seem ungrateful but this is fucking revolting!
I MANAGE a few hours sleep and am woken by a nurse who’s come to take blood. And another to do the regular blood pressure, pulse, temperature and blood sugar tests.
There’s also been a lot of intravenous stuff replaced and changed.
The doctors come round mid-morning and look at my blood results and the CT scan on a fancy machine. They’re reasonably happy and hopeful I might get discharged tomorrow (Sunday). Meantime, I’m gonna be allowed drinks and ‘soft food’. Uh-oh!!
Margaret arrives late morning. She’s been able to leave most of our gear in the luggage room at the airport hotel and has booked a place to stay for tonight nearer the hospital in Espoo. She can’t go ‘til 4pm and there’s been a lot of snow. The snow here, though, is taken in everyone’s stride – at home there would be shutdown!
Margaret has a laugh at my expense when my evening ‘meal’ comes…some kind of soup that seems like it’s still condensed and is pretty horrible; a bowl of some kind of milk and oatmeal that I can’t get over my neck..and a kinda yogurt thing that’s not much better but I force myself to eat!
After I’ve ‘eaten’ Margaret gets a taxi to the place she’s staying and I spend the rest of the evening apologising to folks on my socials for having to postpone tonight’s show. Hopefully we’ll announce a new date very soon.
I also do a final push for votes in the UK Blues Awards…voting closes midnight tomorrow (Sunday) UK time…still time to vote !
AFTER a good night’s sleep we go down for breakfast…there’s a good selection of stuff.
But when we get back up to our room I start feeling crap…and ten minutes later I’m sick. This ain’t good.
Things get worse and half an hour later I’m in an ambulance to hospital.
I’m sick all day despite all sort of intravenous meds and get sent for a CT scan…meantime, Margaret’s having to get back onto the insurance, cancel flights and all sorts. She also has to postpone tomorrow’s show 🙁
The results of the CT scan show another flare up of diverticularitis and I’m to be transferred to another hospital for assessment.
Meantime, I’m still vomiting…then fall asleep for half an hour. I’m woken by the ambulance folks and – thankfully – feel a lot better.
I’m settled in the new hospital just after midnight….
WE’RE on our way to the airport when we get a text saying our flights have been cancelled!
On arrival at the airport webfindout all Lufthansa flights are cancelled due to a global computer/systems issue.
After waiting i queue to find out the latest we hang about the airport for a good five or six hours then go back to find we’ve been booked onto early flights tomorrow (Thursday) and have bene put in a hotel for the night.
We get to the hotel, have dinner…then I start to feel ill…uh-oh.
Half an hour later I’m in an ambulance to the hospital….
Nice to be back at Juttutupa…it’s been almost ten years!
WE HAVE a long lie…even longer than yesterday…and drink coffee, check emails and stuff.
There’s nothing really happening until 4pm when we need to leave and make our way to Juttutupa to land in and soundcheck for tonight’s show.
There’s already some folks we know at the venue when we arrive and we chat a while before sound engineer Sammi gets me all set up and soundchecked. This is a great venue I first played about 13 years ago…and last time was nearly ten years ago.
There’s a great crowd in for the gig and I have a grand time playing. Once we’ve caught up with folks at the merch table and enjoyed a few drinks we’re fed…and then we make our way back to the hotel.
WE’RE UP at a reasonable time and go out to get some shopping while Margaret has a shower.
Today’s the day of the ‘big show’ at Tavastia – I change guitar strings then run through my set for this evening.
Tavastia is only a five-minute walk from the hotel and set up is well underway when we arrive. We chill backstage and enjoy catching up with lots of pals and catering arrives…and beer.
The whole programme for the night at Tavastia is great and we have a wonderful evening. After load out we stop at a McDonalds – Margaret’s full of red wine and starving – then back to the hotel.
Margaret’s new pal in the car as Mikko drives us to the bus stop…
AFTER a lazy morning dealing with emails and social media we go to meet Maiju.
We’re heading out of town to visit Maiju’s daughter Wilma, husband Mikko and their two teenage kids in Lohja. The bus journey is about an hour then Mikko meets us and drives us further into the countryside.
We have lovely afternoon of chat, coffee and cakes then Mikko and Wilma drive us bak to the bus stop.
We’re back in the centre of Helsinki with a little time to spare before we meet Elina. Maiju heads for home and we catch up with Elina and Hans who take us back to Honey’s apartment where their son Kalle is rehearsing for tomorrow night’s show with Arto.
After a beer we have reindeer, potatoes and lingonberry then hang out and listen to some music before going back to our hotel.
The time difference means we’re bak in time to watch Bill’s livestream from Florida..then zzzzzzzzzzs…
AFTER a makeshift breakfast in the hotel room we pack up, check out and make our way to the other hotel we’re in for the next four nights.
It’s been snowing but we only have few blocks to go and although we can’t check in ’til mid-afternoon we’re able to leave our stuff in the baggage room.
We go for a coffee then meet Juuso and Paivi for a coffee and a catch up then they head off and we go to check into our room at the hotel where we chill for a few hours.
I venture out to get something for dinner – our hotel room has a kitchen area – and we laze about for the rest of the evening.
Great view over Helsinki from the tower at the Olympic stadium…
MARGARET wakes me up at midday. We need to get sorted and showered…Maiju’s meeting us at 1.30pm!
Maiju takes us on a tram to her apartment and we have a good catch up and a delicious lunch. We haven’t seen each other since before covid, so lots to talk about.
Later in afternoon Maiju takes us to the Olympic stadium where we go up the tower then have coffee. cake and more blethers in cafeteria.
Back at Maiju’s apartment we have a drink, say cheerio then get the tram back into the city centre.
It’s after 9pm and we stop at a great we place called Hill’s Dumplings for dinner. A bit of a treat, but really good food and wine then back to hotel…
NOT too major a rush to get away this morning as we had most stuff ready and packed last night 🙂
We get to Edinburgh airport in good time to check in for the first leg of our journey to Helsinki…and soon we’re on a plane to Frankfurt.
There’s a good few hours to wait for our flight from Frankfurt to Helsinki and after a reasonably comfy flight we land in Helsinki just after 1am local time.
The bags and guitar all show up in good shape…but when we try and get a train into the centre of Helsinki we find they’re done until after 4am. Fuck!
Plan B. The bus. We get into town and manhandle the bags to our hotel by 3am. Phew.
I START looking out toiletries and stuff to make things easier for Margaret packing earlier then get on with the routine tasks.
In the studio I have some promo to for the upcoming local gig at the village hall…and also the blues awards voting.
Then it’s time for a rehearsal and run-through of the set lists for the upcoming Finland shows….and then sort and organise what gear I need to take.
Gonna travel light and take just the signature National which will mean some retuning but it’ll make life easier overall.
Back in the house I do a livestream acoustic song then we wander along to see Betty and share a glass or two of red.
It’s getting late when we get home and I make some pano chicken in the air fryer and we finish packing. Not too early a start in the morning, but we wanna be well prepared….
MORE campaigning for the blues awards then I make a video to post as my ‘acoustic song of the day’.
Once done I start thinking about a set lists for the Helsinki shows coming up. I’m only taking one guitar and want to minimise the amount of re-tuning…so the set needs a bit of extra planning.
After lunch I spend some more time in the studio then head out for a walk up the loch side.
MAIN job after the routine tasks are out the way is phase one of my media campaign to try and attract some votes in the UK Blues Awards.
After a break for Zoom session with one of my guitar students I phone round some journalist contacts and send them news releases, info and images. I’m not sure wider traditional media coverage attracts attention in itself, but there’s definitely some social proof and content value sharing any coverage on my socials. Plus, if you don’t try, you don’t get!
Of course I get pretty involved in all the media stuff and am back at it after lunch.
There’s a big hole in one of the soffits at the front of the house. I measured the area earlier, cut and painted a bit of wood to match it up. The paint is now dry enough for me to screw it into place and although it’s now exactly master craftsman-like it’ll hopefully do the job. Keep the bats out at least!
Thankfully the days are getting a little lighter and I manage a walk up the loch side before dark. I’m pretty knackered, tho’…the chesty cough seems to have got me by the balls.
There’s a mother Zoom guitar student at 7pm then I go live for my weekly livestream into the Wildcats’ Facebook group….
FEELING a little better again this morning…no time to hang about tho’ – voting is open on the UK Blues Awards and I need to mobilise the troops!
I place appropriate cover images on my social media profiles and post accordingly to try and get the ball rolling with some votes.
Margaret goes swimming with Catriona and the kids. When they come back we have lunch and I finish off the batch of custom leather keyrings for Maggi who’s dropping by later to pick them up.
I do a little more promo work to canvas for votes and get an email out to the UK -based folks on my mail list then go back to the house and have a coffee with Margaret and Maggi.
Then it’s time to make our Helensburgh where we’re spending the night with our pals Alastair and Karen.
Despite being up against it time- and resource-wise, I’m quite pleased with my blues awards artwork…vote here.
A LITTLE better again today, but still not great.
In the office I put finishing coat on the leather key fobs and cut some ‘stuffing’ so Margaret can sew them later. Then I’ll need to edge them and add the rings.
I need some images for social media and to go out with news releases about the blues awards…I wanna build on the ‘flying the flag for Scotland’ idea and bought a wee cheap saltire flag from Amazon. Problem is we don’t have time to go out to a decent location and set ups flashes etc…plus it’s wet and horrible.
I get things set up in the studio – green screen, lighting, a fan to blow the flag… – and then get Margaret across to ‘push the shutter button’. It’s not working tho’, not least because we don’t have the space for the shot I have in mind.
We take some outside the studio then I’m out of time and have to head to school in Balloch where I have a couple of hours with some of the students.
I’m back home later afternoon and head straight into the studio to see what I can do with the pix from this morning. They’re not great, but I choose one of the outside ones, do a manual cutout then hunt down a suitable background.
The resulting image is passable and I make up some graphics for my socials and a landing page on my website.
After an early dinner we head to the village hall for a quiz night where we have a grand evening.
STILL feeling awful. Not as bad as yesterday, but crap enough to call my usual Thursday morning guitar student and cancel.
By midday I’m a little more like myself and manage to dye a bunch of custom leather keyrings and cope with an afternoon guitar student.
Once done I hit the studio and pull together a news release for my presence in the UK Blues Awards. I decide to try and leverage the fact that I’m the only Scottish artist in the finalists’ shortlists and use the upcoming local show (18 February) and release of Loch Lomond Home (acoustic) as news hooks.
I’m knackered by the time I go back to the house and have to have snap on the couch before going to make dinner. Margaret’s offered to cook, but it’s one of ‘my’ dinners tonight and although at one point I’m ready to throw in the towel and ask her to take over, I persevere…eat a little…then head to bed.
THERE’S been storms overnight and the high winds have wreaked havoc in and around the garden.
One of our fence panels at the side had blown down and was resting on the car when Margaret went away earlier, so I set about fixing it back in place.
There’s a load of custom leather key fobs to be made for a client…I’d been waiting on letter arriving and it’s now here, so I start engraving and cutting the leather.
My nose is running like a tap and I’ve got a weird ‘barking’ cough but work through it to try and stay on top of things.
After dinner, though, I’m feeling like shit. Early night.
THERE’S been a bunch of merch packages and press/media packs waiting to go to the USA for a few weeks now…Royal Mail suffered some kind of cyber attack and couldn’t ship internationally!
I check the website and find that they’re now accepting international packages so print the various postage labels and get everything off in the post. Phew.
After a Zoom session with one of my guitar students I take a look at Discord – it’s a kinda updated form of a forum/chat room that brings elements of social media – and set up a Dave Arcari server…you can join the server and find out more here.
After lunch I start spreading the word about Loch Lomond Home (acoustic)’s availability on Bandcamp then decide what I’m gonna do on. tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream.
I have an online meeting about potential tours in the USA later in the year then I go out for some fresh air and a wee walk. I’m still feeling pretty rubbed and it’s getting dark but I wander up the lochside a bit and promote this evening’s livestream.
The livestream goes fine, Margaret has dinner ready when I get back to the house and we have an early night.
The kids are enthralled when Grainne plays them a song 🙂
WE ALL have a long lie then, after a late breakfast, Margaret goes to the swimming with Catriona and the kids.
Grainne and I sit and blether then I tidy the place up while she gets her stuff together.
We all have some lunch when Margaret, Catriona and the kids get back then I walk Grainne to the bus stop in the village.
I’m surprise to have made the short list/final five artists in the UK Blues Federation’s UK Blues Awards best acoustic artist category so I spread the word a little. Having made the shortlist by selection of the federation’s committee and members, the final part is down to a public vote which I have mixed feelings about. Does it now become a popularity contest? A PR job? Begging for votes? I can’t really sort out my thoughts.
Ultimately, though, it’s an honour to be chosen for the short list…and any further success or recognition would undoubtedly bring some benefits…I’m uncomfortable canvassing for votes. I’d like to figure some less bullish way to create awareness of the awards and my presence…
Now that folks on my email list and in the Wildcats’ Facebook group have had first dibs, I spread the word more widely about the new version of Loch Lomond (Home)…then I settle on the couch and chill before making dinner. I’m still feeling a little fragile and tired…
Back in the fucking hospital…but my 10am I’m a lot better…
WE arrive at Forth Valley Hospital just after 2am and thankfully get into triage by about 2.30am…not that I’m much aware of what’s going on.
The triage nurse sends me straight to a bed and the nurse check me out, stick in a canula and take bloods before connecting me to to some anti-sickness stuff..then a big dose of……morphine!
I lift in and out of sleep…poor Margaret manages to dose a little on the chair side the bed.
Around 10am a student doctor stops by and is mid way through checking me out when I need to spew. A big bile explosion and I suddenly feel a hell of a lot better. Bizarre. A consultant comes next and is bit abrupt, asks me what’s been happening, takes the canula and sends us home.
Back home we drop in to the local comity lunch then. back home to prepare stuff for our pal Grainne who’s coming to stay this evening.
We go into Glasgow to watch her set at the Danny Kyle stage at the concert hall for Celtic Connections then we all head back home.
I grill the chicken and sip a beer…I take things easy and we have a good evening catching up and putting the music world to rights.
IT’S a wet, grey day outside so I don’t venture any further than the studio to edit up a video for my new version of Loch Lomond (Home). I’ve been pretty knocked out by the response to the ‘soft’ release on Bandcamp.
In between times I spend an hour or so on the phone with Cricut customer service about the subbed EasyPress…they’re efficient and thorough and when it becomes clear the unit is faulty, they undertake to ship a new one direct. Now that’s pretty good considering the one I’d got from Amazon was ‘used’ 🙂
Might take 10 days to get there but I’m in no hurry.
After I get the video finished I head to the local pub to catch some of Tom Urie’s set. Martyn comes along to join me and we enjoy a couple of pints, the music and wee bother too.
Back home, and after dinner though, I start to feel a bit dodgy..then the vomitting starts. Here we go again…
Not sure whether we need to go to the hospital or try and sit it out…when we did that at Christmas turned out just as well we went to the hospital as it was a lot more than just the ‘usual’ vomitting thing.
Around 1.30/2am after a Margaret speaks to NHS24 we head to Forth Valley Hospital…
I re-design my Bandcamp page to reflect the new version of Loch Lomond (Home)…
MY regular Thursday morning guitar student is away this week…so we have a long lie!
In the studio I create graphics for my Bandcamp page so that it reflects the ‘availability’ of the new version of Loch Lomond (Home)then send out a email to my mail list folks.
Rather than make a thing about the official release on all the streaming/download platforms on 3 March, I thought I’d quietly make it available on Bandcamp and Soundcloud and only spread the word amongst those in my Wildcats’ Facebook group and my mail list.
It’ll be interesting to see how it fares. Already I’ve had a fair number of sales with many folks opting to pay more than the £1 asking price for the download. It’s also been a catalyst for folks to buy my entire digital discography bundle 🙂
I need to get posters for the local gig out so I laminate some A4 and A3s and head out to put them on various noticeboards and places…Margaret’s going to the village and puts some round the shops and library.
Good to get a bit of a walk and I’m home in time for my afternoon guitar student arriving.
The ‘used’ heat[press I ordered from Amazon at 1am this morning arrives. I go to give it a whirl in the office but all I get is an error code then it switches itself off. Before returning it I decide to give Cricut customer service a call but they’re shut for the day now so it’ll have to wait ’til the morning.
I get some chicken breasts in to sous vide then we wander along to see Betty and have a glass of wine…then back home by 10pm for a late dinner…
WE’RE going to Barrowlands to see The Delgados tonight so I head into Glasgow with Margaret, drop her off then go and find a McDonalds for breakfast, a three-hour coffee and wifi.
I get quite a lot of work done, including knocking up some artwork and making the new version of Loch Lomond (Home) available on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. It’s available immediately to folks on my mailing list, in my Wildcats’ group…and also reader of this blog. Download/stream/listen here.
I also set it up for ‘official’ release – ie: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon etc etc – on 3 March.
Intrigued to see if this kinda ‘soft’ release works.
After a quick wander round at The Fort I go back to the car and have my sandwich, do a little more online work then it’s time to pick up Margaret.
We head to The Winged Ox at Saint Lukes for some grub – excellent food and great value – then toddle round the corner to Barrowlands.
I’m slightly disappointed in support act Andrew Wasylyk. As former frontman of the Hazy Janes and a good singer/songwriter (as well as one of my old New Deal for Musicians clients!) he has an eight piece band and plays 45 minutes of what I’d describe a chilled out instrumental film music. Musically it’s all excellent…but as a live performance (especially in a place the size of Barrowlands) it leaves both Margaret and I a little cold. And confused.
The Delgados are, on the whole, excellent…I’m not convinced they needed the additional strings and woodwind, particularly as these instruments seemed to overpower the guitars and vocals. Only other complain was a very inanimate and lacklustre audience. A sell-out crowd at Barrowlands usually increases the atmosphere exponentially, but this lot gauche the impression they weren’t really that fussed about the music.
We discuss it on the way home and come to the conclusion that the majority of audience members were all ‘too cool for school’…or maybe at the show because it was either ‘the place to be’, or ‘John Peel liked them (a lot)’ rather than because they actually like the band and the music. Regardless, we like the band, the music and had a great night.
AFTER breakfast I get the paddleboard inflated and make up a meal plan – and shopping list – for the coming week to send to Margaret.
I get a little more work done in the studio by the time David rolls up and we head out for a couple of hours’ paddle on the loch.
It’s kinda grey and spookily misty but the water is pretty flat most of the way.
Back home we have a coffee, David heads off and I have a quick lunch before getting back to the studio.
I wanna cut some of the instrumental intro on the new version of Loch Lomond (Home)..and there’s a few rogue transient spikes that need sorted. No idea where they came from but they’re pegging the meters and annoying me!
There’s some green screen video to be shot in the studio to add to the stuff I put together yesterday. Suddenly it’s after 8pm and Margaret’s making dinner so I shut up shop and head to the house,..
I do a very rough video edit for the new Loch Lomond (Home) so I can let the Wildcats hear it in the livestream
AFTER my usual Monday morning rush to get on top of stuff before my first Zoom guitar student I have time to plan the rest of the day.
I need to make a few edits to the new recording of Loch Lomond (Home) to remove a couple of rogue clocks/peaks..and I still uncertain whether or not the intro is too long. I’ll see what the folks in my Facebook Wildcats’ group think when I let them hear it tonight.
After lunch I have a music industry Zoom meeting for an hour or so, then I decide to go for a walk up the loch side and try and grab some footage for a rough edit.
Taking moving, selfie video proves to be harder than I anticipated but I get some footage. However, when I get home, I find it’s at a different frame rate and audio sampling rate than the rest of the stuff on the timeline and it’s never gonna sync properly. I end up manually selecting some short clips and manually joey-ing them around to fit.
There’s not a lot of time before my next Zoom student..then it’s pretty much straight into the livestream so I pull something quick’n’dirty together for the livestream and leave it at that.
WE’RE up at a reasonable time and have breakfast then I head to the studio.
Although my plan is to do a ‘proper’ recording of the alternative version of Loch Lomond (Home) there’s a load more web server stuff to be done which takes much longer than I expect.
Mid-afternoon Matty emerges from the spare room and goes out for a run.
We’ve been having problems with our hot water and our pal David rocks up to check out what’s going on. Looks like it’s a valve…I order a replacement from Screwfix and Margaret drives to Dumbarton to pick it up. We’ll get it fitted tomorrow.
In the kitchen I ball up the pizza dough and put it in a tray for later tonight then make up some wholemeal sourdough, replenish and feed the starter and hit the studio.
I spot a message from Betty and nip along to see her..then back home and into the studio where I start setting up to record. I get a version of the song down, but it’s not great…then it’s time to go back to the house and start prepping for pizzas…
AFTER the routine stuffs out the way, the morning and eery part of the afternoon is spent trying to unsubscribe for my web hosting company’s security packages.
All the sites are now clear of malware and – hopefully – secured. I don’t need to be paying a monthly fee for every site on the server!
Of course, cancellation of these kind of things is never straightforward…and I get really pissed when they offer me a 40% – then 50% discount…I explained that I’d enquired about a multi-site discount or service at the outset and was told they couldn’t do that. Obviously they could have if they wanted to!
I’ve also noticed that the anti-spam service I use for one of my email addresses has been billed monthly at $20 a month instead of annually for $69. I check the renewal and there’s no option to change back to annual billing. What the fuck is going on?!? The company’s support, help and contact page are also ‘unavailable..try again later.”
By the time Martyn arrives to go for a walk up the loch side my piss is boiling! Good to leave it all behind for a wee while!
Back home I get a little more work done then we head to the local pub to catch the end of Tom Urie’s Friday evening set. Nice to see him and relax with a beer.
Matty’s coming to stay, but won’t be arriving ’til later. We have dinner and watch film which we stop when Matty appears sometime after midnight…
NO time for a lie-in…lots to get done before my regular Thursday morning guitar student arrives.
One we’re through with the lesson I get a little more security work done on my set server then get my stuff together before heading to the school in Balloch.
En route I stop in Croftamie to pick up a gas cylinder for the pizza oven.
After a couple of hours with the kids I head for home and pick up a prescription for the prostate ‘problems’.
I’m home in good time for another guitar student arriving.
After the lesson I make some poolish in prep for a batch of pizza dough to be made tomorrow and ready for Saturday.
Sitting in front of the fire we make a quick phone video of another version of Loch Lomond (Home) I’ve been messing with…not really my style, but I like it…and after posting around my socials, it looks like other folks do too 🙂
I SLEEP right through my alarm and don’t wake up ’til about 9.30am. Weird.
Lots of stuff to be tidied in the garden after breakfast – it’s a lovely day – cold but dry and crisp.
After making up a shopping list and meal plan for the coming list and sending it to Margaret I spend some time setting up gear in the studio. After the Mac upgrade there’s still quire a lot to be done to integrate everything. And said’s law delivers an email from Apple saying they’ve just launched a new Mac mini worth an M2 chip. Just two weeks after we got the M1 chip-based model. Ahhh…hindsight’s an amazing thing.
I get out for my first proper walk since I was in hospital and enjoy a stroll up the lochside just as it’s starting to get dark.
Margaret’s just arrived back with the shopping when I get back…we put it all away and I start work on the pork shoulder cutting it into cubes for tonight’s pork, chorizo and bean casserole. I keep a few portions of pork for carnitas and save all the fattier bits and off cuts for my next batch of Andouille sausage.
While the casserole’s bubbling away we take a walk along to see Betty…then home just after 10pm for dinner.
ANOTHER early start – this time into Glasgow and Margaret drops me off in Milngavie at 8am to get the train into town.
My final destination is Forth Valley hospital at Larbert…but any direct public transport from home is non-existent. With that in mind the easiest way sis to go into Glasgow then get a bus from Buchanan Street bus station.
My appointment isn’t until 3.45pm tho’, so I do my usual breakfast/coffee/wifi routine at a McDonalds for a few hours, have a walk around town the catch the bus.
The bus driver, though, decides he isn’t gonna stop at the hospital despite me having got up and standing beside his cab. I press the emergency stop button and told him I thought the bus would stop automatically at the hospital. He replied “I did and no-one got off…”. That’s bollocks, I was standing at the door and he didn’t stop at all. Cunt.
Anyway I get off at. junction and walk back up the road to the hospital. Still a couple of hours ’til my appointment so I have some lunch in the cafeteria and start drinking lots of water as instructed…and rest any urge to go pee.
I’m seen pretty much bang on time at urology and go through the pee flow test, bladder scan, willy and ball examination…and finger up the arse. Now I’ve had the finger exam at the doc’s a few times, but they were nothing compared to this. Let’s just say she was ‘very thorough’!
Anyway, the upshot is that there’s nothing terribly sinister going on but the flow suggests my pee tube is being restricted by my prostate. I’m prescribed two types of medication that, apparently, I’m to be on for the rest of my days.
Margaret’s waiting in the car park to take me back home…I don’t feel like doing much so I chill in front of the fire and play some guitar. Oh, I have a couple beers too…just ‘cos I’m feeling sorry for myself!
THE alarm goes off at 7am for me to get the wholemeal sourdough bread in the oven.
It’s done before 8am but needs an hour to cool before getting tore in. Margaret and Mikey are both still asleep anyway.
Meantime I hit the office, finish the West Highland Way Gifts’ order for the village shop, sort an invoice and drop it all off.
Back home I make a batch of feta and sun dried tomato egg bites, get some work done then have breakfast before a Zoom guitar session with one of my students.
When I finish Margaret and Mikey are finishing breakfast. Fiona’s coming at midday to go for a paddle so I get my board inflated and gather all the gear I need.
It’s a fair bit windier than we expected and the loch’s really choppy. We make to the island and have our coffee then make our way back.
After a late lunch I get back on the web server malware issue then do a little prep for tonight’s livestream into my Wijldcats’ Facebook group.
Another Zoom session with a guitar student then it’s onto the livestream…then back to the house for dinner and an early-ish night.off to Glasgow early doors then onto Larbert for an appointment at the prostate clinic. Yuk!
STRAIGHT into the office after breakfast to get on with my accounts and tax return.
By the time Mikey rocks up early afternoon I’m up to date (for last year’s accounts!) and my 2021-2022 tax return is submitted. Phew. Must make a start on getting 2022-23’s accounts brought up to date…
Next job is website/server malware removal. I’m pretty sure I know who the while server got infected. One of my web clients hasn’t (ever) kept his site up to date and when things get so old they become vulnerable to attack…then all the sites on the server get cross-infected.
Once things are in hand – and it’s gonna take a wee while – I start production on a bunch of West Highland Way Gifts‘ stuff for the village shop. Looks like it’s gonna be good weather the next few days so I want to be able to deliver the stuff tomorrow (Monday) morning.
Margaret’s helping Mikey sort out all his receipts and accounts for his tax return…I go back to the house and make dinner and we watch our pal Bill’s monthly livestream form Florida…
THE kids wake us just after 7am. After half an hour of them jumping all over us Margaret takes them through for some breakfast…and I grab another wee snooze.
After breakfast we take the kids to feed the ducks then drop in to see Betty.
We’re not long back home when Catriona comes to pick the kids up and then I hit the studio to try and sort some of the malware mess that’s playing havoc with all my websites. I seem to cross one hurdle to come against another two…seem to spend my life sorting stuff.
Evening comes and I start preparing red beans and rice – with Andouille sausage and Tasso ham…then we chill.
AFTER breakfast IO deal with the usual emails and social media stuff then get on with my accounts.
The banking stuff is almost up to date and I manage to make a start gathering all the other info I need for my tax return.
Will arrives to drop off the kids – we’re having them stay over tonight – then one of my guitar students arrives for a lesson.
I’m back in the studio when Margaret and the kids get back from feeding the ducks…back in the house the kids have something to eat I do a little dinner prep before heading to the local pub to catch the end of Tom Urie’s evening set.
When I get back the kids are almost asleep and I get the grill lit for the pinchitos.
WE have a long lie for no other reason than it’s dark, cold and pouring with rain outside!
After breakfast I hit the studio and clear the decks of emails and other tasks that have been piling up then get my guitar stuff sorted and head off to the school in Balloch.
After a good couple of hours with some of the kids I get back home and take a walk along to see Betty to sort some stuff out for her.
We have an early dinner before a local community trust meeting at the village hall.
Buddy hell – number 1, 12 and 13 spots in Roots Music Report’s charts!
UP early to get some work done before my 10am guitar student arrives.
Once we’re done I geas to the studio and catch up on some work. The ongoing saga of website ‘infections’ takes a few more positive steps albeit at a price. If it works I’ll do same with the other sites on the server.
The afternoon is spent working on my accounts. The tax return still seems a while away though – and the deadline is approaching. Eek.
I stumble across the Roots Music reports charts and find I’m at numbers 1, 12 and 13…and also in the top 40 of ‘best of 2022’ chart! Ace.
UP EARLY into Glasgow. I drop Margaret of then take the car to the garage in Maryhill for it’s MoT.
It’s a stinking wet day and I wander into the city centre and find somewhere for coffee and wifi. Amongst the morning’s tasks I need to try and get to the bottom of the ‘infection; on the server affecting all any websites so spend an inordinate amount of time on that.
There’s an unspent £50 GuitarGuitar gift card that I’ve had for ages…and nothing I really need or want without going into the £1000+ range but I have a hankering for a wee headphone amp and the Fender Mustang Micro fits the bill. I take a walk down to Trongate and pick one up 🙂
I’m soaked through and miserable so decide to head back to John Lewis where I grab a toast, muffin and coffee for lunch and spin it out until the garage calls to say the car’s ready and Margaret’s on her way into town. She picks up the car – another £400 taking our car maintenance spend to nearly £1000 in the last four weeks. Ouch.
We pick up some shopping and head for home.
After dinner we nip along to see Betty for a wee while then home for a nightcap and some telly.
UP at 7am to get the oven on and the super sour wholemeal loaf ready. the dough’s a bit sticky, but hopefully it’ll turn out alright.
It does turn out OK. Brilliant, in fact 🙂
There’s a lot of clearing up to be done outside…and all the music stuff needs to go back to the studio before my first zoom guitar student at 11am.
Dave Bayfield drops by to pick up his guitar and stuff, we have a coffee, then I have my guitar session.
After I’ve got the gear and studio sorted I go back to the house for lunch then get to work on the garden. Lots of chairs, seats and tables to be put away, some rubbish to go in the bin….then I need to decide what to do with the gazebos.
They can’t go down completely or be put away ‘cos they’re wet…and, indeed, it’s still raining. Pouring. I semi-co.lapse the. And take the cover off the big ‘manual’ shelter in case it gets windy.
Back in the studio I prepare for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream…OBS and stream deck software all needs configured on the new Mac Mini and I need to edit the timelapse video of the garden concert setup to use in the livestream.
Another Zoom guitar student then the livestream….in between times I manage to get thank you notes out to everyone that sent tips/donations via PayPal.
Margaret’s got dinner ready when I get back to the house just after 9pm….then a little more work and an early-ish night.
A still from the garden concert…you can watch the archived livestream here
AS SOON as we’re finished breakfast we go out and start getting the gazebos up for this evening’s garden concert.
Anna’s is problematic, but we get there with the help of some cable ties – the two ‘pop-up’ gazebos go up in seconds.
Margaret goes indoors to start preparing the soup and stoves and I get the PA, gear and guitars across from the studio and set up.
After a quick soundcheck I start arranging seating and lights under the food and merch tent then hit the studio to get a few things done before David and Fiona arrive.
They’re soundcheck is easy then we do some more prep and our photographer pal Alistair arrives.
Folks start arriving just before 5pm and by the time Dave Bayfield starts his opening set the garden is full. Fiona joins him on fiddle for a few tunes at the end of his set then Margaret dishes out soup, storied and crusty beard while I tune my guitars and get ready.
Soon I’m underway and, aside from my guitar going badly out of tune on one song, all goes well. What a blast!
AFTER breakfast Margaret goes swimming with Catriona and the kids…I go into the garden and try and figure out how to put up the big gazebo we got from Anna. No instructions.
I spend some time laying out the zillions of pole sections and , using a process of elimination, kinda figure out what might go where.
In the studio I continue manual set up of the new Mac Mini. Everything seems to be going to plan, but it’s slow progress.
I take a break when they all get back from swimming and have a coffee and a blether then get back to it in the studio where I am ensconced until Margaret’s got dinner reward around 9pm…big day tomorrow – the garden concert!
NO long lie today as there’s stuff needing done before my 10am guitar student arrives.
The lesson goes fine then Margaret and I start tidying up some of the stuff kicking around in the garden in preparation for Sunday’s garden concert.
There’s a large gazebo/shelter type thing that I got from my pal Anna few months ago. We’ve never put it up so we get it out the shed and try and make sense of the zillions of poles…and no instructions. The rain comes on, we decide to leave it ’til tomorrow and I message Anna for any clues on how to get the thing put up.
I spend most of the afternoon in the studio setting up the new Mac Mini. First, I need to work out all the connections and hubs. A ‘migration’ form my laptop has resulted in far too much trash and legacy stuff being moved over so I start over and decide to do things manually.
Tom Urie is playing in our local pub in the early part of the evening and we take a wander down for a drink and to enjoy some music. Fiona and Steven are there so we bag some seats beside them and have a grand time 🙂
AFTER breakfast I go to the studio to try and sort out a signature capo order so I can fulfil a merch order.
The system with G7th has changed and new instructions lead to s simpler, easier process, I get an order in for my customer 🙂
One of my ‘in-person’ guitar student arrives for his lesson and we pick up were left off a few weeks ago. He’s only 13, but picking things up fast.
After lunch we discuss some of the computer hassles and decide to head into Braehead and get a new Mac Mini for the studio. I;ve been waiting for the M2 version. but it’s still not ben announced and things are getting desperate.
We have a couple of Apple vouchers from old iPhone recycling and Margaret can get an education discount. That means we can just about squeeze it onto a credit card.
Back home we have dinner then wander along to see Betty for a wee while. My first gas of wine – or any kind of alcohol – for a fortnight!
MARGARET’S away into Glasgow early…I call the doctor’s surgery to see if I can get a phone appointment to discuss this diverticular issue and maybe clarify a few things then jump in the shower,
After breakfast I get on with some work. there’s some Dave Arcari merch to go out amongst other things
There’s a mid-morning Zoom session with one of my ad hoc guitar students which, typically, is interrupted when the doc calls. My student is happy to noodle away in th background while I take the call.
It’s a locum doctor who, despite my attempts to get the info I want, goes round in circles telling. me stuff I already know about a higher fibre diet. He doesn’t seem to hear me when I say there was a sickness element (apparently unrelated to my ongoing ‘mysterious’ vomiting bouts of the last 20 years) which is what took us to A&E rather than the ‘pain’.
Back on Zoom I carry on my guitar session then head back to the house to reheat some leftover pizza in the air fryer for lunch.
In the studio I make a quick video of an acoustic run-through of Walk the Walk and stick it on TikTok before doing same on my other socials.
As well as my accounts, I’m still trying to get to the bottom of the website/s and server related malware problems.
I go out for a walk before dark…the furthest since I wasn’t;t well. I feel a bit ropey when I get back and hope that /m just needing a(nother) shit and not about to experience another diverticular-or-whatever flare up. regardless, I prepare some land steak, vacuum seal it and get it ready to sous vide,
Margaret gets back with the shopping and I have a wee rest after which I feel a lot better, Phew.
EVERYTHING’S still pretty much at a standstill in Scotland with the traditional two days’ bank holiday for new year carrying over because of the weekend.
Having been given the bum’s rush by my hosting company I have a dig about some of the rogue files on the server that are messing with all my websites.
Still a lot of work to do on my accounts so the rest of the day is spent trying to knock things into shape.
It’s after 8pm when I head back to the house, prep some pizza stuff and go out and light the pizza oven….
ANOTHER lazy start to the day, and feeling a little better again.
After chopping some wood and getting the fire going I have breakfast then hit the studio. Accounts. I’d planned to finish them in the run up to Christmas and get my tax return done between Christmas and New year…that clearly couldn’t;t happen.
Yet another lesson in why things shouldn’t be left ’til the last minute. I need to get busy today regardless of how I feel.
Moreover, the website malware issue is getting me down and gonna need sorted 🙁
Mid-afternoon we take a walk to see Betty and enjoy a coffee and a bother.
Back home I get some more work done on my accounts then the first Zoom session of the year with one of my guitar students.
The garden concert and livestream is re-scheduled for Sunday 8 January 🙂
IN KEEPING with tradition we have a long lie…the only difference is I have no hangover!
Slowly feel like I’m getting back to my ‘normal’ self.
I go to the studio to update my blog while Margaret makes breakfast and hear a car roll up..it’s Catriona, Will and the kids. Nice to see them.
We hang out for a couple of hours then they head off and we take a wander along to first-foot Betty but no-one’s home.
Back home we decide to re-scheduled the missed garden concert and livestream for next Sunday – 8 January. I check my ‘special guest’ is available then set up a private Facebook event for local guests and a livestream ‘event’ for the wider audience.
In the house I sit in front of the fire with the lap steel before dinner then we watch a Bond movie and have a relatively early night.
ANOTHER restful morning…up to take may 8am antibiotic then back to sleep until early midday!
Still feeling a little under the weather, but this period forest and zero alcohol has got to have a positive effect not just on the current state of affairs, but my general well-being too.
After breakfast Margaret takes a drive to the village and drops me off en route. I have a locally bought CD to deliver and I wanna refund the (unnecessary!) postage. I was gonna try and walk there and back but Margaret is insisted that it’s too much, too soon. OK.
I deliver the CD, have a chat and bump into a load of folks on the way back. It’s nice to see everyone and have a blether,
I’d then a notion to learn mandolin the other day…and then reminded myself that I have various instruments– banjo and lap steel – that I’ve hardly scratched the surface of learning. I grab the lap steel and some bits and bobs from the studio and take them back to the house so I can meddle a little over coming days. For some reason I’m not really feeling up to sitting – or spending time – in the studio.
There’s still some turkey left…and some ham. Rather than have th same old, I suggest to Margaret we make a turkey , ham and leek pie. She does, and I spend an while in the kitchen taking in the process.
The wee pies turn out great and we have a nice dinner then settle down to watch our pal Billy’s Hogmanay livestream from the USA…it;s meant to start at 10pm, but internet hassles delay thing ’til after 10.30pm but it’s worth waiting for 🙂
Not only are Bill and Dorothy great friends, but those of us that tune in to his livestreams have become a wee community of virtual pals.
We bring in the new year online and after the livestream’s done we watch the end of Hootenanny….and alcohol-free New Year for me…and I still enjoyed it!
MY alarm goes off at 7.45am so I’m up to take my industrial-strength antibiotics on schedule at 8am. I go back to bed and fall asleep waking up in a panic at 9.57am. My guitar student will be here at 10am!
Jeez. I dash into the bathroom and when I go back to the bedroom check my phone…there’s a message saying she’s gonna give this week a miss as the roads are all flooded. Phew. I go back to bed and fall asleep until nearly midday.
I have a very light brunch and chill until my pal Martyn rocks up. We’d planned a walk, but he’s already walked from his village a few miles away and I’m not really feeling up to it.
We sit in front of the fire, enjoy a snack and blether for a good few hours. Nice to have a chance to catch up properly.
Margaret makes a light dinner then we watch My Old School on BBC iPlayer – a very strange account of a 32 -year old guy going back to his old secondary school as a new fifth year pupil.
In bed I check some social media to find that some of my website links are going to spam sites. Looks like there’s some server-side malware, Jeez, this is not what I need at the moment….
I’M woken a coupla times to get the drips and stuff changed but generally have a pretty good night’s sleep – the first since Christmas Eve.
More bloods taken at 7am then the doc drops by soon after – they’re happy with my progress, bloods and reckon I can come off all the intravenous stuff….and I can go home today 🙂
A chat with the doc pretty much rules out any link between this and last week’s ‘episodes’ and the ongoing and random vomiting issue I’ve battled for 20 years.
This is down to a flare-up of diverticular disease – they ‘found’ it after an ass-cam session a few years ago but it wasn’t a big deal and apparently 80% of folks develop it and most never even know it’s there. I’ve been a bit unlucky.
No cure, but a high fibre diet can help (…mmm….I generally stick to pretty high fibre diet anyway)…and I’ll get called for another ass-cam in six-to-eight weeks.
Can’t help feeling a bit disappointed that none of the CT scans and tests etc have taken us any closer to a cause of the more ‘usual’ vomiting thing that floors me. But at least it puts it back in the line of fire for a chat with the local doc.
While I’m still far from ‘normal’ I’m feeling much better and Margaret comes to get me early afternoon.
My plans for the next week or so? Do sweet fuck all…
After dinner reading courtesy of Margaret – not just the Guitarist Magazine but the cheap reading glasses too. Dunno about you, but I think the colour quite suits me 🙂
AN extremely weird night…ward noises, other folks random calling out and various machines going ding-dong non-stop.
I’m pretty good at sleeping through stuff though…until someone wakes me to take more blood at about 7am
Breakfast somehow passes me by – I’m not meant to have any solids anyway – and then when the doctor and a bunch of apprentices stop by I’m told I can cautiously start solids today IF I feel like it.
Deffo not getting home today…slight chance tomorrow. I message Margaret and ask if she can bring some fruit and yogurt. Having only had a bacon roll on Sunday morning – and a little soup and wee tub of ice cream last night – I reckon my body needs some nutrition/vitamins.
I do get some lunch tho’, and forego the sandwich (might tackle that tomorrow) in favour of a little soup and some more ice cream.
Margaret rocks up with some clean boxers, t-shirts and socks….so as soon as the nurse comes to change my drops I negotiate a release for enough time to get a much-needed shower.
She’s also brought fruit and yogurt which all helps me feel a little more normal.
Dinner is vegetable goulash and ice cream – all sloppy enough to be low-risk consumption. Margaret heads home after I’ve eaten – and another jag in the stomach – and I settle down for an evening of lucozade and crap telly interspersed with patchy wifi/social media.
Sometime around 9pm I’m told I’m being moved to another ward. I try and get my shit together and am deposited in another ward between two guys who were in the previous one….’oxygen man’ with the bleeping machines on one side and a nice guy who keeps pulling his catheter out on the other. Gonna be interesting! The guy opposite’s been in for nearly a month and recuperating from an op….and another, curtained off, who’s in a particularly bad way.
An hour later I’m on the move again! It’s nearly midnight when I arrive at my final destination….a single room and really nice nurses/staff. Might get a good sleep after all!!
MARGARET has been allowed to stay with me and me manage to doze a little on the more comfortable chats in the more private waiting area.
The meds have helped too and I’m starting to feel a little better.
By 9am I’ve still not seen a doctor and we take an executive decision to cancel today’s ‘gig in the garden’ and associated livestream. That means spreading the word to the invited audience….and also the Facebook livestream.
I’m hoping we can re-schedule for a week or two’s time.
It’s after 10am when we see a doc who refers me to a surgical ward for further investigation….there’s a fair wait til I’m taken to the ward.
I’m put on a couple drips – one to replace body fluids and a couple of antibiotic solutions. This is to help combat the weird blood count that’s come back from some of the tests.
I’m not allowed anything to eat or drink as I’m to go for a CT scan…and they need to be able to ‘act’ fast in the results.
The CT scan is a weird experience – one of the doctors comes to chat about the results. No drastic action to be taken but no solids meantime and I’ll be in at least overnight and maybe longer depending on ongoing bloods.
Margaret gets me some lucozade, a charger cable for my phone and a cheap pair of reading glasses then heads for home…it’s dark by now and the roads aren’t great with snow and stuff.
I’m allowed some soup and a tiny wee tub of ice cream…actually, it’s plenty as I haven’t much appetite.
More changes of drops and stuff…and an injection in my tummy….then I update my blog, respond to Facebook well-wishers and watch some telly…
I’M sick all night, finally getting some respite about 5am…and some sleep.
Of course, the kids are up early…that’s OK tho’ – while I’m not feeling great, I’m a lot better.
It’s short-lived tho’ – an hour or so later the lower abdomen discomfort and subsequent vomiting hits back.
By early evening Mikey’s arrived…and Margaret and Les have decided that they should call NHS24. After early two hours on hold Margaret’s had enough and takes me to Forth Valley hospital in the snow.
A&E is mobbed and it’s three hours before I see triage nurse Sandra…she’s fantastic and arranges a canula, a range of blood tests to be analysed while we wait to see a doctor….and some intravenous stuff to try and stop the vomiting.
Even better, we’re show. Through to a more private waiting area…
UP early to get the smoker fired up and the turkey out of it’s brine.
Once things are underway for later we have some Buck’s Fizz and open some presents – we have a family ‘secret Santa’ but Margaret and I have presents for each other and have included Matty and Les.
I’m starting to feel a bit unwell tho’ – a tender and uncomfortable lower abdomen. Kinda like Tuesday.
It’s so bad that I have to go for a lie down not long after Catriona and the kids arrive 🙁
The turkey’s making good progress in the smoker and I give Margaret final instructions on finishing it off.
Once I’ve made a brine and submerged the turkey I get some cherry stuffing made and ready for the oven…
AFTER a bit of lie in we have breakfast and I prepare a nine for the turkey…we have to improvise a brining bag which will, hopefully, do the job. If I see a benefit from the brining process we’ll get a suitable food-grade tub or something for the future.
Margaret and I put up some more lights outside – the wee Christmas tree outside the front door and some round the decking balustrade.
I venture out to pick up the car which we left a few villages away last night. The weather’s not great but I’m halfway when the drizzle turns to torrential rain and the winds whipping up a bit of a storm. I call home and Les comes to rescue me.
Back home I start on the cherry stuffing for tomorrow. Takes a little longer than I plan but it looks good. Matty arrives just as I’m getting it into the oven…then all we need to do tomorrow is heat it through.
After dinner we take a walk along to see Betty, Kirsty and Laurie for a wee while then back home for a nightcap…
I’M busy in the studio when Margaret goes to visit Catriona and the kids to drop off an engraved board I made for the kids to lay out stuff for Santa’s visit.
I take a wee break and go along to see Betty and amn’t long home when Les arrives. We have a coffee and some Christmas cake then Margaret gets back – she’s got some extra shopping – and we have an early dinner before heading to the village hall for a community carol singing event. The first one since covid!
Next we drive along to Anna’s a few villages away for a wee party then jump on the last bus home.
Not too late so we watch a film and have a few glasses of red…and maybe a snack or two…
A LOT better this morning…but still a bit delicate.
My usual Thursday morning guitar student arrives bang on time and we have a good wee session.
I hit the studio and post a rough’n’dirty video fo Blue Christmas to my TikTok account and around some other social media and get a call from the school in Balloch saying none of the kids are around today, so no need to go in. Shame, but actually, I’m still not feeling great…so not too bothered.
There’s some custom keyrings to be made for a kids outdoor event so I manage to get them done then have a fairly lazy remainder of the day…still feeling a little sorry for myself…
..the sickness continues. Was meant to be on a day out to Loch Lomond Breweries with Martyn and the Urbancroft folks and bummed to be missing it.
Late afternoon I haven’t been sick for a good hour or so but still ‘out of it’ and feeling awful. Managed to doze a little in between bouts…then an overwhelming spew erupts and i crash. An hour later I wake up feeling A LOT better..still not right, but an awful lot better.
I manage a glass of water without it coming back up…then some rehydration formula Margaret picked up at the pharmacy, I get up for a while and watch the tennis…then back to bed….another ‘lost’ 24 hours.
UP early to get the oven on and the bread that shoulda been baked yesterday on the go.
While it’s baking I have a shower and get some bits and bobs sorted out..then wait another hour for the load to cool before breakfast. Olive and sundried tomato sourdough toast with egg bites on the side 🙂
There’s some audio to sort out for Betty then i record a quick’n’dirty version of Blue Christmas for TikTok…the machine is out of memory so I restart and go for lunch.
Been feeling a bit odd since mid-morning and still feel weird after lunch. i go for a lie down…then the spewing thing starts. Jeez.
I WAKE up to put the oven on and realise I didn’t prepare the bread last night…ah well, it’ll just have to wait ’til tomorrow.
After my first guitar session of the day – on Zoom – I ho back to the office and carry on producing some custom West Highland Way Gifts’ orders.
Lunch is air fried tofu and rice then I investigate some of the settings on OBS for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream – I really need to work out some of the tech issues!
Then it’s back onto my accounts until evening and another session with one of my Zoom guitar students followed by my Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook – the last of the year.
After dinner we take a walk along to see Betty and help out with some stuff then it’s back home and a few bits and bobs to get done before bed,
THERE’S a bunch of custom profits to be made for a West Highland Gifts’ customer so I get busy in the office until it’s time to head to Bo’ness.
We’re off to the ‘Santa train’ and meeting Catriona, Will and the kids ate the railway.
First up, some lunch, then a look round the railway museum until out train leaves at 3pm.
Catriona’s booked a private compartment and we enjoy coffee, juice and mince pies while various entertainers stop by to keep the kids amused. There’s a brief stop at the ‘North Pole’ destination where the kids post their letters to Santa, then back on the train…and a visit from Santa himself. The kids love it.
When we get home I’m back in the office for a while..then make some jambalaya..then we sort some Christmas cards. Trying to really cut back this year, but there’s a few that we still like to send.
Finally get the Andouille sausage onto the smoker…
ANOTHER long lie then after breakfast I pick up Betty’s paper from the shop and pop along to visit.
There’s a fair bit of stuff needing done in the studio and I potter about between there and the office…in between times I get the smoker fired up and ready for the Andouille sausage I made yesterday.
Smoking the sausage is one of the hardest jobs…the smoker has to be kept at really low temperature and crept up to 160 degrees farenheit over the duration of the smoke. It’s dark by the time they’re ready and have to be sprayed with water and hung in front of a fan (outside) for an hour before going in the fridge. Some of it is destined for jambalaya tomorrow (Sunday) night.
MY Thursday morning guitar student had changed to Friday this week…but the snow has meant she’s not able to come. So we have a long lie!
I take care of routine business for the remainder of the morning then her to the school in Balloch where I help kids with music stuff a couple of hours a week. The roads are pretty treacherous but the scholol session is good.
I pick Margaret up in the village on the way home..she’s been at the dentist..and also slipped on the ice. She’s fine now, but got a fight.
Back home we hunker down and light the fire…then I make tofu goring noodles for dinner….
UP EARLY to get the paddleboard inflated and gear ready – Fiona and David B coming at 9.30am to go out.
They arrive with the news that the bay is frozen, so we have to resort to plan B and pack everything up and head to Milarrochy in the cars. Luckily the water isn’t frozen there and it’s a lovely day.
We have a great few hours on the water and stop on Inchlonaig for coffee…I’m in a Santa hat while the other two are in reindeer hoodies!
I’m home in time for a late lunch, shower and get ready for my guitar student…who doesn’t show up. A message to the parents explains and we re-schedule for between Christmas and New Year.
I carry on finishing and packing up some mercy orders then we take some paella along to Betty’s and catch up over dinner and a few glasses of red….
MORE West Highland Way Gifts’ orders to be made up…along with some of my own merch, I get some of it all packed up but there’s postal strikes today and tomorrow (Thursday) so they won’t actually go out t’ill Friday 🙁
After lunch I finally make it onto the computer and take a (slight) start on my accounts. I’ve left this all so late that it’s becoming a even more complex nightmare!
I’m still at when Margaret gets home with the shopping…and I’ve only scratched the surface.
I get some flank steak in to sous vide then find that the leather key fobs I cut and engraved earlier are a mess. No reason why the engraving is so crap….I head to the office to re do them. means they can’t be dyed, sewn and finished ’til tomorrow tho’ 🙁
INTO GLASGOW early to drop Margaret off and take the car to the garage for the second ‘half’ of its service. Apparently it’s going to ‘take the best part of the day’.
I pull on my bonnet and wander into town for breakfast at McDonalds where I also manage to get a couple of hours’ work done.
Next stop is the bank, then the Apple Store for a new watch band. The cheapo third party leather band I got a few weeks ago isn’t very secure. I bag a ‘trail loop’ intended for the ‘ultra’ watch but fits mine fine. Very comfy and secure. Shoulda gone straight for this when the leather one started to burst.
There’s a few bits of Christmas shopping to do then half-price bowl of ramen at Mikaku…bargain!
Margaret meets me in town then we go to pick up the car, drop off a Christmas present then onto Blackfriars for a Musicians’ Union social event….
A still from the Wildcats’ Facebook livestream….check it out here
THE usual Monday rush to get on top of everything before the Zoom guitar lessons.
After session one I get busy with a couple of social videos to help my pal Dave of The Music Cable Company who’s made me a bunch of great cables – an instrument cable, a custom cable for my wireless system and a patch cable for my stompbox. This is the least I can do in return.
After lunch I put together my final report and accounts for Help Musicians – the organisation which has lent a lot of support to the new album project,
I have to think about tonight’s livestream into my Wildcats’ group on Facebook and then sort out hoodie and t-shirt stocks in my online store.
Another Zoom session with a. guitar student then straight into the livestream.
Margaret has dinner ready when I get back to the house then I spend some time setting up a garden concert for between Christmas and new year.
Beautiful light on the loch as I walk home at dusk
WE HAVE a long lie, drink coffee and chat then drag ourselves out of bed.
I have some West Highland Way Gifts’ orders to finish off and get ready for posting…and also some other stuff that needs dropped off locally.
Margaret drives me to the next village where I do some deliveries then I walk back as darkness falls.
My pal Chris is playing an early evening set at the local pub so I nip down for a couple pints, enjoy his set and have a blether before making for home, getting Margaret and wandering along to Fiona’s for Barbara’s birthday drinks.
THE kids are but at the crack of dawn…Margaret takes them through to the living room and gets them some breakfast.
There’s a community lunch at the village hall so I get some work done after breakfast then wander along. Margaret’s gone in the car with some community trust info and Catriona’s taken the kids to feed the ducks…she’ll see us along there.
After the lunch I walk back and get hime just in time for Margaret, Catriona and the kids going swimming.
There’s a few orders in for West Highland Way Gifts’ stuff and also some CDs and music merch so I get busy with that while the chicken’s on the smoker. I’ll use some chicken on tonight’s pizzas and freeze the rest for jambalaya.
We have an early dinner then head to Drymen village hall for the Tenement Jazz Band gig where we have a great night…
Great paddle on the loch despite a spill and minor injury!
I’M in the office working on some gifts orders and packing some CDs to go out when the roofing guys arrive.
There’s a black – previously grey – patch on oiuyr bedroom ceiling and when I investigated it looked like the roof boards were sodden.
To cut a long story short, after a bit of poking around we’re told we need an entire new roof…and it’ll be £15k. Fuck sake. Aside from not having the money or access to a loan of that amount, guess we need a second opinion…
A customer comes to pick up some custom hip flasks then I have some lunch before getting ready to go for a paddle with Fiona and David B.
It’s windier than forecast on the loch but we have a good paddle…I come a cropper when one of my fins catches a rock under the surface and I bash my shin on another rock. Ouch.
Back home I have a shower then make a batch of breakfast patties before Jeanetta pops in for a chat and drink. Catriona and the kids are coming to stay to night but won’t be here ’til after 8pm. I need to make a batch of rub and prep some chicken thighs for the smoker tomorrow.
Finally, I make pizza dough with the polish I made yesterday.
It’s after 10pm but the time I have the mushroom risotto ready…then we sit up til 2am blethering…
