Monday 30 June 2025

A NEW trustee on the local community trust drops by to get a photo taken for the website then I get online for a session with a Zoom guitar student.

My OCD has me messing with potential finishes for the Conic Hill leather bookmark. I get a version I like and decide to make it available in the West Highland Way Gifts’ online store.

I have a load of other stuff to get through in the office and eventually get to the studio to prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.

Sunday 29 June 2025

AFTER breakfast burritos in the garden I get busy with some work.

There’s some design and production considerations for a short run of bookmarks.

Before I start messing with artwork I need to known the format the customer would like…and also what kind of leather, faux leather etc he would like.

I outline some options and fire off an email then label up the replacement Kickstarter package to go to Germany.

In the studio I look out the window various ‘bits’ of the defunct acoustasonic and try matching things until I get a workable outcome.

It works and although the guitar couldn’t be sold with the drill mess at the neck joint it’s stable enough and everything works 🙂

I order a set of locking tuners and power points for the bridge.

A reply from the bookmark client gives me a heads up on design. I trawl through some photos I have of Conic Hill but none are suitable…it’s not windy so I stick the drone up and grab a snap to use as a reference for the graphics. I also snap an aerial pic of Balmaha bay.

Saturday 28 June 2025

AFTER our breakfast burritos– been a while since I made ’em – I get busy with emails and stuff.

A message from a Kickstarter backer in Germany tells me her reward package hasn’t shown up.

I investigate and see it was sent internationally tracked on 2 June…tracking shows it’s never made it past Glasgow! I can’t raise a claim until 20 days after latest promise delivery date (?!?!?) and experience tells me it can take 30 days more just to have the claim acknowledged.

It’s not the customer’s fault so I let them know what’s happened and get a replacement package sorted to go to the post office on Monday.

Our village hall has a 100th anniversary celebration event – not really my cup ’o tea but important to show some support – so I take a walk along. Margaret’s gonna drive so I’ll see her there.

I spend what turns out to be a nice hour or two catching up with folks then wander home.

In the studio I tackle the Still Friends compilation video that wouldn’t render yesterday. After a lot of trial and error I find one clip that’s causing the problem. A short 15-second clip from a show at Kilmaronock Old Kirk.

I reimported the video but the same thing happens so I end up having to replace it before re-doing the end credits sequence with lists all the venues in the video. I deleted it yesterday thinking that was what was causing the problem.

Upon done, I go back to the house light a chimney-full time touring musician, singer/songwriter of charcoal and prepared to make smash burgers for dinner. Nice.

Friday 27 June 2025

A HYDRO Society board meeting first thing lasts the whole morning and is mostly productive.

After lunch I take the bus to the village to pick up a prescription and start walking back. I only get about 1/3-way home before the rain comes. Big style. I call Margaret and get a lift home.

There’s a few issues with Apple IDs, billing set up and family sharing so we spend a good while sorting it out with help from someone at Apple. The support is pretty good.

In the studio I carry on with my idea of compiling a load of live clips of Still Friends into one video. I wanna keep the original sound from each video rather than just use the images and edit to the studio version.

I get it pretty much done but for some reason there’s an issue trying to export the final movie.

No time to mess around any more tho’ as we’re going along to Betty’s to take down her kitchen curtains and pre-dinner aperitifs.

Wednesday 25 June 2025

THE phone rings while I’m in the shower…it’s Forth Valley Hospital offering me a cancellation appointment at 11am.

My dentist referred me a few months ago ’cos they’ve been concerned about a ‘thing’ on my tongue for the last few years.

I have an online guitar student at 9am but nothing else in the diary for the rest of the morning. My usual in-person student can’t come this week.

Margaret drives to the hospital and I’m seen by a specialist who reckons all’s fine and nothing to worry about. Just keep an eye on it (my tongue, that is!).

The oil light’s coming on in the car just a month after a service and a very expensive oil leak fix. We call onto Arnold Clark in Stirling where they top up the oil and book the car in for a ‘software update’ next week.

Back home I cut the grass, do some trimming then continue video editing in the studio until an occasional student arrives for a session.

After the lesson I work on a new idea for a social media ad for live shows. I wanna get an ad up and running for September’s show at The Met in Bury.

Tuesday 24 January 2025

AFTER breakfast I finish off a wee keyring I’ve made for Freya’s swimming locker.

In the studio I back up my daily blog posts and pix then start looking out live videos of Still Friends. I’ve had a notion to try editing together loadsa live clips and see how it looks.

A courier delivers an Anker (C1000X) solar generator that I ordered from Costco at a bargain price. It’ll be good for our summer festival camping…and indispensable during our frequent power cuts.

I’m keen to see if it’ll power our PA system and the Quad Cortex so I take it to the studio and try it out. No problem. And it looks like it could power the entire rig for 14 or 15 hours. And unlike a petroleum generator it’s silent.

I can see us getting hold of some solar panels to charge it!

After my late afternoon guitar student leaves I get out for a wander up the lochside.

Margaret comes home with some shopping which we put away then tackle some of the Still Friends video clips in the studio. It’s gonna be a bit of a fuddle but looks like it might work 🙂

Monday 23 June 2025

SOURDOUGH – admin – shower –breakfast – online guitar session. The usual Monday routine 🙂

There’s some more video from The Glad Cafe show to edit and I wanna spin a track into tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.

Our pal David drops by to fit a new outdoor light at the side of the house then I nip along to Betty’s to help with an email issue.

I’m back just in time for my afternoon guitar student arriving with her mum.

Once we’re through with the lesson I send out a news release on behalf of the local hydro society then finish editing the live video.

By the time I’ve got everything sorted for the livestream it’s time to go live….

Sunday 22 June 2025

AFTER a lazy morning I get busy editing some video in the studio.

I finish off the main video for the next single – Walk the Walk – then make a start on some more stuff from The Glad Cafe show.

I have some ideas for another Still Friends video too…

We’re off to Betty’s for dinner. Margaret’s doing the cooking and is underway by the time Fiona arrives to join us.

Saturday 21 June 2025

I MANAGE to get a few jobs out the way before we jump in the car and head for Doune.

We stop to exchange an empty gas canister for a full one at Deanston garage then on to Catriona’s for a a coffee before we go to the gala day.

There’s loads going on in the park for the kids and we have a grand afternoon out.

Back at Catriona’s neighbours Tom and Nina come over and we get the grill going. Margaret and I cook up some grub and we sit outside and chat. Freya’s wee pal Alice and her mum Laura join us too.

Friday 20 June 2025

AFTER a bit of a long lie I get busy in the studio.

First task is making some reels from the live video of Still Friends from last week’s show at The Glad Cafe. I post one of them around and keep one back for tomorrow.

Next, I have some stuff to do for the local hydro society to promote a survey we’re running to gauge interest in a local energy club.

While we have some decent weather I get the tent from the attic and we put it updraft to check all’s OK before festival season.

Just as well ’cos not only has the cord snapped in the pole I repaired after our last outing, the replacement ‘ends’ won’t fit on the tent pins!

Margaret finds a section of pole with a ferrule at each end and we make up a new pole. All good.

I order some spare ferrules and shock cord in case we have a disaster.