Full house at Lokaal 42 for my BluesRoute Helmond show (Pic: Rob Bouwman)
AFTER breakfast at the hotel we take a walk to the festival HQ and say hello…then we work out the best way to load in at my venue - Lokaal 42.
There’s loads of time before my 4.30pm showtime so get in, set up and soundcheck is relaxed and soundman Kip gets things sorted in plenty time. I get a couple of wee cameras set up to grab some video.
We have time to go for a snack then head back and get ready for showtime.
The venue is rammed and really noisy due to the amount of folks crammed in…and drifter breaking string on my second song, all goes grand and I have blast. Pretty broken by the time I’m through with my set tho’!
After we get cleared up we head to the festival catering nearby and relax with a nice meal.
Once done we check out some more live music then go back for a relatively early night. I’m burst!
A drink and dinner before we go and check out some live music in Helmond
AN early alarm and breakfast in our cabin before we wander along to the lounge and wait for the boat to dock.
We’re a little late getting in and then it takes an hour-and-a-half to get through passport control before we’re on the road to Helmond.
What should only take an hour and 50 minutes takes us four hours – just one brief coffee stop, but crazy traffic and delays.
Things are similarly crazy when we get to Helmond and spend another hour driving round in circles trying you reach our hotel because of roadworks and temporary road closures.
We get there though, and chill for a while before going out for something to eat then checking out a few of the bands playing the first night of the festival.
UP EARLY and in the shower…we’re aiming to be on the road by 10am.
There’s a storm coming so while Margaret sorts breakfast I clear up the garden a bit and move stuff likely to be susceptible to any high winds.
After breakfast I take the car or the studio and load up, then cram in the merch and stuff from the house.
Before we leave we need to stick on headlight adaptors and UK stickers ready for driving when we arrive ion the Netherlands.
We’re a little late leaving but make good time to Hull with just a couple of stops to get sandwiches, coffees and changeover driving duties.
There’s not much messing around at the docks and we’re in our cabin by 6.30pm….the noise leaves at 8pm.
Neither of us can be bothered going to explore the boat so we have a beer and some dinner – courtesy of Morrisons deli in Hull – open a bottle of wine and settle down to watch a few episodes of Blue Lights that Margaret downloaded to her iPad.
The final version of the solid brass bottle opener/pry bars…
FIRST on the list today is to finish the third version of the brass pry bar bottle openers…and it’s the one I like best so I get another couple on the go to take to the Netherlands for the merch stall on Saturday.
Then it’s into the studio to get on with Sunday’s radio show pre-record.
I take a break to make up a set list for Saturday’s festival show then carry on recording the radio show.
Once I have it all in the bag I run through my set then get the gear sorted out and packed ready for a swift getaway in the morning….
New hoodies and Ts – on sale in the online shop now…but not widely announced. Yet.
MARGARET’S off to look after the grandkids and I have an early online session with one of my students.
Then I work run some new merch stuff in the office and pack up down t-shirt orders. The new shirts and hoodies are on sale in the online shop now but I haven’t ‘announced’ anywhere except my WIldcats’ Facebook group. I wanna wait to see what we have left after this weekend’s festival show in the Netherlands.
Another online lesson then I start going through music submissions for the radio show. We’re away from Thursday to Monday so Sunday’s show will have to be pre-recorded tomorrow (Wednesday).
Back in the house I make some pasta dough for tonight – Betty’ coming for dinner – then go back to the office you work on the merch ideas until my evening guitar student arrives.
After the lesson I shut up the studio and get the dinner started before Betty arrives.
ANOTHER lovely day when we wake up at Montrave – shame we’re leaving this morning but at least we can pack up and travel in the sunshine.
Everyone goes their separate ways and we head off. With all the tidying up there wasn’t time to make breakfast and by the time we reach Stirling we’re getting hungry. When we stop to pick up down shopping Morrisons’ cafe beckons and we have a late breakfast before continuing home.
After unpacking and tidying up we’re ready for a nap then I go out for a walk where I find the wooden audiopoint sign I made for Betty has disappeared. I’m my way back I stop in at Betty’s she says she’d noticed it was bust up and lying on the ground and it’s now in the shop. I collect it and take it home.
On investigation I can’t work out if it’s been intentionally smashed up or maybe someone’s tried to climb on it and managed to break it. It’s a substantial bit of wood tho’, so I can’t see it being accidentally broken. I’ll work out what to do about it over coming days.
My pre-recorded radio show goes out as planned – and as Margaret’s got a sore arm and feeling a bit poor I make the tofu rice bowls for dinner.
UP EARLY to get the car packed – we’re off to Fife for a wee family break at Montrave near Leven.
Les, Mikey, Matty, Catriona and the kids are meeting us there, but not ‘til after 3pm. Margaret and I are going to to visit a mutual pal neither of us have seen for a long time. Long story…but Margaret hasn’t seen him for over 50 years and myself has been 30 years!
He and his wife have a cool place in St Monans and we have coffee and a great catch up before we make our way to Montrave.
We’re first to arrive at the cabins, then Matty quickly followed by Les. Margaret and Les get our cabin sorted while Matty and I go and do some shopping in Leven. When we get back Catriona and the kids have arrived…then Mikey.
After hanging out for a while we light some charcoal for the grill, have some grub and enjoy a few drinks outside….
A BUSY day today. My first in-person guitar student arrives and we have a good session…then I have breakfast and nip to the village to get a swim.
There’s some news releases to be written and sent out for the December gigs in Scotland then I get busy with radio stuff. I need to have Sunday’s show sorted – not just the music and stuff, but also get a pre-record done as we’re away in the morning and not back ‘til later on Sunday evening.
I’ve made good progress before an afternoon guitar student arrives...then I’m straight onto Zoom for another student in the USA.
I get some more done before my evening guitar student of the day arrives and then finish off, lock you he studio and go back to the diary to make (a late) dinner.
