FEELING pretty burst when I wake up but need to get in the shower and get going.
I manage to get the gear unpacked at the studio and the merch in the office/store before breakfast.
There’s time to get a little work done before Missy and Judy arrive. They head back to the ’States on Sunday after a month-long tour of Scotland…and my Glasgow show last night.
I get the pizza oven fired up and we have some pizza, a chat and show them round the village.
We’re having bacon-wrapped pork loin for dinner tonight so I get the smoker going and process underway.
Next, we make a batch of burgers for tomorrow (Saturday) – all the kids are coming to see Auntie Glo so there’ll be a bit of a cook-out party.
Finally, a batch of Alabama White BBQ sauce for the pork then we go along to Betty’s for an aperitif. I nip back home when the met reaches temperature and get to off the smoker and into a faux cambro to keep warm ’til dinner time. Then back along to Betty’s for another glass of wine 🙂
Glad Cafe, Glasgow…a grand night out thank to everyone who came along 🙂
IT’S another nice day…and really warm.
After breakfast with Auntie Glo I hit the studio and finish stringing guitars then start packing the gear and car.
We have a light lunch in the garden then I get some work done while Margaret sorts the merch.
We pick Betty up just after 4pm and make our way onto Glasgow and load in at The Glad Cafe. Betty and Auntie Glo sit in the cafe and have a coffee, Margaret sorts merch and I set up and soundcheck.
Engineer Gav has done my sound before and everything goes smoothly. My pal and special guest opening the show Shug (Al Hughes) soundcheck’s next then we have some grub in the dressing room.
There’s a good crowd in – some Wildcats, folks from both my primary and secondary schools, other pals, relations and lot of ‘new’ folks.
The night goes great and both Shug and I have a blast.
It’s just after midnight when we roll up back home and head off to bed. I’m feeling broken – apart from the heat in the venue I really need to get match fit! Hope it didn’t show!
A BUSY day today starting with an online guitar student at 9am.
We finish just before my in-person guitar student arrives…when she’s through I go for the bus to Balloch.
Margaret’s got the car to pick up Auntie Glo and I have my last session of the academic year with the kids at the school.
I get the bus home and realize the weather might just be OK for a paddle. I’d deflated the paddleboard this morning for the first time in ages, so get it inflated again and message Fiona. Ten minutes later we’re on the water for a quick paddle 🙂
I’m not long home and just getting out the shower when Margaret arrives with Auntie Glo.
I hit the studio to change some guitar strings then we have a lovely dinner and chat for a while.
I finally get round to engraving a bunch of promo bottle opener keyrings
SUN’S SHINING! I’ll get some tidying up done outside before Auntie Glo comes tomorrow (Wednesday).
First, though, I need to do some more promo for Thursday’s show at the Glad Cafe in Glasgow. Tickets sales have picked up over the last week but I wanna have the place full.
Next job is packing some of the Kickstarter reward stragglers…folks whose mailing addresses I need to chase up.
I find a jiffy bag full of bottle opener keyrings that I’ve been meaning to engrave for ages. I tried one when they arrived and it didn’t work very well – today I try some different settings and get a decent result. I make up a jig and manage to get a load of them done in just ten minutes. Good to have them for the merch table at Thursday’show.
Finally I get outside and do some work edging the front garden flowerbeds and tidying things up.
Then it’s onto the back and fixing the fence behind the office and filling part of a crater created by a fallen tree on the other side of the fence.
We need to put some weed barrier on the top, then a load of chuckles but meantime it’s sorted enough to get the log splitter out from under the smoker shelter and back where it came from.
There’s also a big old cross-trainer under the smoker shelter. It’s covered in birds shirt and been there since I took it out the studio!
I ordered a cover on Amazon who’s arrived today so I clean the thing up, move it round behind the bar area and cover it. Job done..just in time for one of guitar students to rock up with his mum.
Margaret gets home from having her hair done in Edinburgh and runs me up the lochside to drop off a Kickstarter CD to Ivor and Izzi.
USUAL early Monday start to get my sourdough in the oven…and Margaret’s off to get the car MoT’d and pick up some shopping.
I have an online guitar lesson mid-morning then do some more work on a flyer for the local community hydro society.
Next, some more promo for Thursday’s show a the Glad Cafe in Glasgow.
It’s another stinkin’ day outside so I don’t get any fo the garden stuff sorted. Instead, some more rehearsals for Thursday before my afternoon guitar student arrives with her mum.
It’s rubbish weather so I hit the studio and run through some of the songs I’m planning to put in my set for Thursday’s show.
I’d a couple of things needing done for the community hydro society which takes a little longer (as ever) than I expect.
There’s been a lot of feedback on the social posts about my logo evolution – I add them all up and scan through the comments. It’s a close thing and if I take into account some of the suggestions and implement them it looks like I’m close to making a decision.
An enjoyable morning at Balfron primary school’s summer fayre 🙂
NO LONG lie today – need to sort stuff and pack the car for the West Highland Way Gifts’ table at Balfron Primary School’s summer fayre.
It doesn’t start ‘til 11am but be need to get there by 10am or soon after to get set up.
There’s a good buzz about the place and we have an enjoyable few hours until the event closes at 3pm.
Back home we make a quick video to punt round my socials and promote Thursday’s (12 June) show at The Glad Cafe in Glasgow.
I get it edited up and ready to circulate tomorrow (Sunday) then we do a little more work on the front garden flowerbed pulling out some huge rocks so we can properly bury the (now fixed) electricity to the studio.
RELEASE day for Hellbound Train – the second single from my forthcoming (November) album Still Friends.
There’s more Kickstarter rewards to be packaged up, including some with additional items – I offered overseas folks the chance to add stuff postage free.
In the studio I get the camera, gimbal, microphones and stuff ready to shoot a quick promo video for both the single and Thursday’s show at the Glad Cafe.
By the time everything’s set up, though, it’s pouring rain so I head back to the office.
I get through the stuff to be sent out today and we jump in the car. We’re off to Meatopia – a big BBQ event – in Glasgow and stop off at a post office en route.
We have a great few hours at SWG3 for Meatopia…lots of great grub, demos, music and more. Plus we hook up with the Hang Fire BBQ girls Sam and Shauna…we’ve been online pals for ages, so it’s great to meet them. And sample their amazing beef cheek and ox tongue tacos 🙂
STRAIGHT into the office to continue packing the Kickstarter rewards packed packages.
It’s pretty much an all-day job and other than a few backer’s whose addresses I’m still waiting on, I get all the packages finished and postage printed.
There’s just enough time to get them to the post office in Balloch. Margaret drives and drops me just past Kilmaronock so I can get a walk home.
Betty comes for dinner and I fire up some charcoal for the grill and our marinaded flank steak….
I HAVE an early Zoom session with a guitar student then we dash into Glasgow. I have a last-minute appointment at the eye hospital for an overdue check up.
Margaret drops me off at 10.30am and goes to drop off a bunch of Kickstarter rewards until packages at the post office and pick up some shopping.
It’s nearly midday by the time I’m done and we’re on the way home.
I grab a guitar and stuff I need for a session at the school in Balloch and head off for a couple hour with the kids. On the way home I pick up a couple bags of sand to seat the flower bed edging.
There’s time to get some more Kickstarter rewards packed up before my 6pm guitar student arrives.
Later on we venture outside for pizza…I made another batch of Roman/thin-crust dough the other day – and a good three or four years since we got the Ooni, Margaret preps and cooks her first pizza. And it’s great 🙂
