LAST day before we head to Belgium and Netherlands, so lots to do.

I revisit some of the Creative Scotland funding info, but until I hear back from the other parties involved I cannot do much…and with time at a premium, I cannot afford to put time into something uncertain.

For some fresh air I accompany Margaret on her couch to 5k run then spend some time working on ‘the new song’. Hopefully I’ll find time to record it properly when we get back.

There’s promo postcards to be printed up and last minute social media promo to be done for the gigs.

I get all the music gear sorted and ready to go in the car then go for a walk up the the loch side. While I’m away, Margaret empties the car of all the crap that’s gathered since the last gig trip ready for me to pack the car when I get back.

Margaret’s in the office sorting merch..and needs new Euro price lists. I knock ’em up, print then laminate them and suddenly we’re outta time…we’re going along to Betty and Joe’s for dinner which is a nice way to draw a line under what’s been needing done today and relax. Until morning.

LOTS to do today…but, in typical fashion, a lot of extra stuff comes up.

First up, there few Florida venues to follow up for the October trip..and submissions are open for a festival in upstate New York. I get busy.

Next, I wanna take some 4G gear to my pal Martyn to try out. There’s some issues with the roll-out of the local 4G trial which need addressed, but we wanna check some stuff out meantime.

Margaret’s been talking with our pal Andres about a double header at a cool venue in Tallinn called Von Krahl. We’d ditched the idea as the venue costs were too high, but they’ve re-thought things and now its a more workable deal. We decide to do it.

The show is scheduled for Sunday 26 May – that means poster art, ticketing and other initial social media visibility and listings are crucial…especially as we head for Netherlands and Belgium in a couple days.

I get poster art done as well as graphics for electronic displays at the venue. Next I set up online ticketing and get the show listed. Phew!

Betty and Joe drop by for a coffee..I’m up to my ass os really only have time to say hello before going back to the office.

Next job is to turn a promo video I made for the 12 May show in Glasgow into a Facebook ad. Problem is there’s text at the end of the video and Facebook does;t like that, so I have to re-edit the video and create a suitable square-format version to use for the ad. It all takes time.

A courier drops posters off for the Glasgow show…a little late down to the printer missing my instructions, but we’ll drop them off at various places in Glasgow en route to the ferry on Thursday morning.

Another priority is rehearsals for this week’s shows. I’ve gone through most for the set but there’s still some songs needing a run through so I hit the studio for a while.

There’s a funding application too be looked at following our Creative Scotland meeting yesterday. We’re on a (very) tight deadline and a lot of the info I need is from third parties who aren’t exactly forthcoming. Plus, I’m not sure how we make the project fit the guidelines. I press on with getting what I can done…and wait in vain for some of our ‘partners’ to get back to me.

I’m experimenting with smoked chicken breasts for dinner and make a spinach and shiitake mushroom stuffing before wrapping them in bacon and getting them on the smoker. They should be ready by the time Margaret gets back from the stich’n’bitch at the village hall.

As it is, they take a little longer. And the result? Tasty, but for the first time ever I’ve felt the meat was a little over-smoked. Back the drawing board.