Nice to get out for a wee walk up the lochside with Bill and Dorothy
ONCE we’ve had breakfast and got ourselves organised we all go for a wee walk up the lochside. It’s a nice way to chill and Dorothy treats us to ice creams on the way back 🙂
When we get back the replacement Ninja Woodfire is on the doorstep 🙂 We chat for a while when we get back then our guests ink their stuff and hit the road.
I’m starting to feel a bit tired but no time to doss around – I have a load of prep for tonight’s radio show.
In between times I download all the video from yesterday’s garden gig…then it’s radio time!
We get together for a coupla songs at the end of the garden gig
I MANAGE to drag myself out of bed early(-ish!) to get the sourdough in the oven, into it shower and start prepping feta, sundried tomato and basil egg bites for breakfast.
After we’ve all eaten and planned our strategy for the day we start prepping outside for the garden gig. All caught on a timelapse video that I’ll post in a few days.
For the first time we have everything working and set up in good time for our 3pm ‘gates’ – the consensus it’s thanks to our decision not to livestream the gig this year. It’s always been a timesucker in the past. Unreal we set up some cameras and record it all so we can post clips and stuff on our socials.
We have a full house – erm…garden – for the afternoon and everything goes to plan, including the weather.
We’re all tidied up and back indoors soon after 7pm which lets us eat, drink and bleeder the night away.
OOOFFFT. Birthday. Sixty-two today. How the fuck did that happen? No time to mess round tho’, a busy day ahead.
There’s some evens stuff to be subsided off for tomorrow’s (Saturday) garden gig and I need to sort and mark all the cup/tumbler orders ready for pickup.
Next, some prep for tonight’s pizzas and tomorrow’s dinner – it’s gonna. I’m hectic tomorrow so any prep that can be done now the better. I also wanna get as much done in advance of Sunday's radio show as possible.
I have a late afternoon guitar student and am not long done when Bill and Dorothy arrive….
AFTER a 9am online session with a guitar student I hit the office. Main job today is engraving all the insulated cups and tumblers for Saturday’s ‘gig in the garden’.
Each cup/tumbler has my logo on one side and the garden gig logo and set on the other…and each needs an engraving pass, then a cleanup pass.
The ‘passes’ only take two or three minutes so I can’t go away and do anything meaningful – instead I do some social media posts and stuff then grab a guitar and run through some songs while sitting outside the office. The laser’s vented outside but it’s still better not to be sitting beside it.
There’s a lot to do and it takes me most of the day – no time for a walk or anything as I also need to try and get a little more prep done for Sunday's radio show – after tomorrow afternoon I’ll be busy!
AFTER my early guitar student leaves I hit the office…there’s a load of special edition insulated cups and tumblers to be engraved for Saturday’s ‘gig in the garden’.
Each one need my logo on one side and the garden gig logo/date on the other. I manage to get my logo done on the cups before we have to go to Glasgow….after I’ve parceled up the faulty Ninja Woodfire grill in a DIY fashion with bubble wrap, cardboard and more parcel tape than I would normally use end year. I’d planned to send it back in the box the replacement will come in, it looks like they want this one back before they send the replacement. And I don’t have a box anywhere near big enough, hence the DIY approach.
We have various bits and bobs to do in Glasgow then we drop the Ninja off at a DPD pickup point in Springburn before trying Costco, Home Bargains and Tesco.
It’s after 7pm when we get back, get the shopping away and meet Betty for dinner.
I manage to free up some time to take the kids a paddle….
AFTER my 9am session with a guitar student I get sorted to take the kids a quick paddle.
I have another student coming late morning and manage to get given and showered just in time.
After lunch I hope the studio and put together a news release for the Gullane show on 29 August then send it off to relevant media and journalists.
Catriona and WIll pick up the kids and I get some buns in the oven for tonight's smashburgers. The phone rings and it’s a reporter from the East Lothian Courier. We have a good chat and hopefully some contest for the show will ensue.
MY 9am online guitar student has moved to Thursday this week so I get some admin and stuff done before the next one. I used to try and schedule all my online and in-person guitar lessons to a Monday and Tuesday but now they‘ve all shifted around and they’re scattered through the week!
Once I’m clear I get the smoker on for tonight’s pork belly and Catriona drops the kids off – they’re staying with us this afternoon and tonight/tomorrow.
In the studio I do some rehearsing and work on a new song then I do some prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook. I also need to start thinking about next Sunday’s radio show ‘cos we have a busy few days and weekend coming up.
I go for a wee walk and record some video to promote tonight’s livestream then back home in tiem to go live. Not sure what happens but Facebook stops the stream halfway through and won’t let me back on. Mmm….
Then when I check the temperature in the pit for the pork belly I get no reading. I then I get back to the house the vent fan and transmitter have vanished….and I find them by the fence a few feet away. Can only think a rabbit or something has got too close, caught the probe cable and yanked the whole lot out!
AFTER breakfast I hit the office – I wanna design something for a special gift and have an idea what I want, but not sure how I'm gonna do it!
There's some trial and error and finally I get the result I'm looking for then hit the studio. As well as some final prep for tonight's Dave Arcari's Deep Blues on Rock.Scot I need to make up some kind of set list for the garden gig on Saturday (15 August).
Next job is prepare some pork belly. Two slabs. One for the smoker tomorrow (Monday) and the other wrapped in tinfoil and put in the oven for two hours – it stays wrapped and goes straight in the fridge for making bao buns for lunch later int he week.
Back in the studio I run through the set I made up earlier and also mess with some old songs that I haven't played in a long – a very long – time. I also run through some new stuff that I'll maybe play next Saturday if I'm brave enough.
Margaret's back on her 'couch to 5k' so I take a walk upon the woods and accompany her...then it's radio show time.
The radio show finishes at 9pm so I rush back to the house to get online for Bill and Dorothy's livestream and watch the first part while making dinner – linquine con nduja with cherry tomatoes – then relax and enjoy the rest of the livestream.
Zila and Betsy take a wander to the bay after lunch
STRAIGHT into the studio to prep for tomorrow’s radio show – some of my cousins are coming for lunch and I wanna get as much down as possible before they get here.
Margaret had invited Matty to come too and he arrives late morning and disappears straight into the shower…when I get back to the house he’s doing some ironing and my cousins are meant to be arriving. Ginny has called tho’ – they have a sale tree and need to wait for the rental company to send a repair truck. I go to Milngavie and collect Zila and Betsy – Fred stays with Ginny with the car.
When we get back we go to the local open where Margaret booked a table – she got the time changed to allow for the delay – and now he time we’re ready to order Fred and Ginny have arrived, so all works out grand.
After lunch i take Betsy and Zila to the bay then we wander back to the house and join everyone for coffee and blueberry cake that Margaret made this morning.
Everyone heads off just after 6pm – they’re back for next week’s garden concert – and I go to the studio to finish the radio show prep to try and free up some time for tomorrow.
AFTER breakfast I clear up and tackle a few wee jobs that have been waiting to be done including replacement the propellers on the wee drone. A fiddly but necessary job after last weekend’s ‘flyaway’ and crash.
I call the chemist pub the village to see if the repeat prescription I asked the doc for last week is ready. Usually just a day or two and then a text to say the prescription is ready for collection…turns out it is test but they have a glitch in the messaging system. I’ll collect later.
Next job is to get the hydro society news release out to the relevant local and regional media then I go through some more music submissions for Sunday’s radio show. I really like doing the radio show but seriously underestimated how much turn it would take.
Smashburgers on the menu for tonight’s dinner so I make some dough for rolls – a double whammy as it means I don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow (Saturday) to make them.
Mid-afternoon I get the bus to the village, pick up my prescription and walk back home though a rainstorm. I’ve dried out by the time I get home and go back to the studio…
