Nice morning for an early paddle – a few gusty spells, but lovely all the same
UP AT 7am to inflate Fiona’s board for Mikey and get all the gear together. I’ve arranged to meet Keith at the bay at 8am.
We get there bang on time and are on the water in minutes. Typically it’s a bit blowier than forecast, so this is gonna be a baptism of fire for Mikey…but I know he’ll manage just fine.
It’s a fairly rough paddle to Port Bawn at the far end of Inchcailloch where we stop for coffee then make our way back which is, thankfully, easier going.
Margaret’s got breakfast on the go when we get back then Catriona and the kids arrive and we have a nice few hours in the garden enjoying the nice weather.
In between times I take Fiona’s board back and drop off a bottle of wine to say thank you.
Once everyone;’s gone, Margaret watches the men’s tennis final from Wimbledon and i fall asleep on the couch.
I finish off Betty’s pencils and we take a wander along to see her and Joe and enjoy a glass of red.
Back home I make velveted chicken and mushroom which we eat while watching Billy’s livestream…
MIKEY goes off into Glasgow after breakfast and I get some work done in the studio.
Sun’s shining so I decamp into the garden and try and mould the new song idea into something that vaguely works.
A courier drops off an order of wooden pencils which lets me knock up some prototypes for Betty…and I also work on a graphic map with some local directions for her outside noticeboard. Hopefully it’ll stop folks ringing the bell to ask directions!
After a little more guitar playing and work on the new song idea I wander along to see Betty and Joe. The pencil prototypes get her approval and I head back home to start making up her order.
When Mikey gets back from Glasgow I start making carnitas for dinner. My tortillas are a little weird..the dough is a bit wet..but they turn our quite well and dinner is good…
MY mission to get on with some admin work in the studio is stymied by both startup and memory problems with the computer.
The Mac laptop that i have ‘plumbed in’ in the studio is getting a bit long in the tooth and I have my eye on one of the Mac Minis with Apple silicon. We’re skint tho’ so I’m just gonna have to battle on.
I eventually get the thing booted up and start archiving, backing up and clearing out some files.
It’s a slow process but I get to mess with my new song idea while it’s churning away.
After lunch I replant some of the cabbages and my butternut quash seedlings then move some of the more established stuff out from under polythene and into the fruitcage.
We’re having beef in black bean sauce tonight so i get a head start and make a batch of black bean sauce.
Back in the studio I spend some time trying to massage the new song idea into something I can actually sing. I really like the main idea and I’m hoping I can make it work.
I take a break and edit up a short video from yesterday’s visit to the local community hydro scheme and post it around local community groups so folks can see what’s going on by which time Mikey’s arrived. He’s staying the weekend.
I knock up dinner then we sit and blether for a while before turning in for a (relatively) early night.
The turbine/generator house for the new hydro scheme…
MY USUAL Thursday morning guitar student is coming an hour earlier today, so I need to be up and on the ball.
Once done I hit the studio and get on with some work on a new song idea. the sun’s shining, tho’ – so I decamp to the garden to continue…then Betty drops by for a coffee and some help with an mobile phone issue.
After some chicken ramen for lunch I prepare for a Zoom student, only to find the don’t show up. I send her a message.
There’s a meeting about the new hydro scheme – a community benefit project – so i walk along to the next village and up to the farm where a bunch of us visit the turbine/generator house and walk the length of the pipeline to the top of the hill.
There, we check out the water inlet and construction. All very interesting – and good to get a walk and catch up with folks. Fifteen kilometres walk later I’m back home and get a little more work done before we go to another meeting about the scheme in the village hall. Watch this space!
The water for the hydro scheme is piped down from Moorpark…
THERE’S a whole list of stuff – and a bunch of admin – to catch up on this morning before a Zoom session with one of my guitar students.
After the session I help Margaret make up a shopping list for her trip into town…then I jump on the bike to head for Aberfoyle – and a free bike service at Aberfoyle Bike Hire courtesy of the Scottish Cycle Repair Scheme.
It’s a mostly off-road route there and I enjoy it despite being soaked through. While the bike’s getting a once-over I go the The Station and enjoy a toast and coffee and make use of the time to get a little work done on the iPad.
The cycle back isn’t quite as wet as the outward journey but it’s really windy. The bike needs a quick wash down when I get back then I jump in the shower.
Margaret gets back with the shopping and we sort it all out then take dinner along to Betty and Joe…
We finish of the fruitcage and get all the netting in place 🙂
MATTY leaves first thing and we get on with our usual stuff. Once the admin’s out the way I head to the studio and upload the last two live videos from the Memorial Hall show to Facebook and YouTube.
While that’s ticking over in the background nI spend some time in my we songwriting space and re-visit yesterday’s idea. Still sounds worth pursuing, but I’ve forgotten some of the finer points!
I also mess with another chord progression idea that might be a bit too different from my norm…but I like it.
After lunch I tackle some laser maintenance – cleaning the mirrors, oiling the rails and a general clean up. I should probably change out the water in the cooling system but that’s gonna have to wait ’til next time.
The sun’s started to come out and we decide to get the netting on the fruit cage and finish the thing off. It all comes together surprisingly well and I’m much happier with the result than I thought I was gonna be.
I spend a little more time on the song in the studio then head out for some fresh air and a walk up the lochside.
Margaret’s dropped in to see Betty and Joe – I stop on my way back and before we know it there’s a few glasses of red down the hatch!
I like to set up a wee dedicated space when I plan some songwriting…
I’M not long up when I get a ‘consultation’ call from the doc…well, not the the doc – a ‘nurse practitioner’ – as arranged the other day.
They’re very good and it’s handy not having to trek down to the village. I send off some photos to help explain my problem and they say they’ll call back later on. Meantime, i have a Zoom guitar student.
Once the session is done I set up a corner of the live room in the studio as a wee songwriting space. This usually helps me focus and avoid distraction…and it’s quite conducive to creativity. I hope.
I spend an hour or two developing an idea and it seems to progress reasonably well.
Matty’s staying, but even by mid-afternoon there’s no sign of him..he’s been holed up in the spare room.
The nurse calls me back with some info and a prescription which I’ll cycle down and pick up tomorrow (Tuesday).
Preparing for my Wildcats’ livestream later I realise i haven’t posted to TikTok in over a week, so. do a quick video post then do some work on content for the livestream.
Willie comes to ‘drill’ a hole for the doorpost on the fruit cage then I try out some cheap pens from Amazon for engraving. They don’t fare too well but I suspect that may be down to me rather than the pens. I’ll get back into it tomorrow…but the laser’s gonna need a good clean and maintenance session first.
Suddenly it’s time for another Zoom guitar session with one of my weekly students and then it’s almost straight into the livestream…
AFTER a seriously long lie we get up and have breakfast…erm..maybe brunch.
I spend some time in the studio making Spotify canvases – a kind of looping animation assigned to a particular track that, apparently, boost engagement, sharing and whatnot – for a couple fo existing tracks…just to see if they make any difference. I made one the other day for the forthcoming Wanted (Dead or Alive) and thought I should so uncouple more while in the mood!
Still keen to look at ways of putting out a full concert video behind some kind of paywall. Last week’s research showed Vimeo OTT as the only achievable option, but after discussing with Martyn the other night it might be worth pursuing Amazon as a service.
The songs have all been edited individually and are in 4k…Amazon’s maximum definition is 1080 which will take some of the processing weight off my system so no bad thing. I convert the files then import hem all into Final Cut to get an idea of what I’m dealing with.
This all takes time, so while the computer is churning away I mess with some guitar ideas. riding for the new album starts in earnest tomorrow!
Matty’s coming back to stay another night and I planned grilled chicken for dinner. I prepare the marinade and chicken then move onto the sauce before taking a walk up the lochside. It’t pretty windy , but the fresh air feels good.
MATTY’S up and away before we get up…and enjoy a slightly late breakfast.
It’s the local sheepdog trials today – an annual fixture in the community diary – but before we go I need to edit the last version of the video for Wanted (Dead or Alive) . I have widescreen and vertical versions – just the square format to do now.
There’s also a couple of journalists that I forgot to send the news release and links to so I do that then go back to the house and start a batch of pork, chorizo and butter bean stew.
Will and the kids are coming to meet us at the sheepdog field and Margaret gets a message to say they’re nearly there…so she jumps in the car to go and meet them while I finish the food prep then I start walking to meet them.
As it is they pass me on the way back ‘cos the weather isn’t great and the kids were getting restless. I carry on and spend an hour or two chatting with folks then walk home and spend some time with Will and the kids before they head for home.
Betty’s invited us along for dinner so we wander along and have nice evening at Passfoot. Joe generally needs to go to bed after his 10pm pills so we don’t hang around too long.
Back home we open a bottle of red and settle down to watch Only Murders in the Building – we’d heard it being talked about on the radio earlier today. Six or seven episodes in (Margaret’s terrible for saying ‘just one more before bed’!) I fall asleep….and wake up after 4am. Time for bed, methinks…
I DON’T wake up ’til after 8am…and I’m feeling fine!
There’s a couple of blog posts to catch up on then I get busy digging some holes in the garden for the fruit cage ‘spikes’. Most folks could probably hammer them into the ground – but they’re about a foot long and our ground is so stony and rocky that we can’t get them in more than half an inch at best.
Time for the clamshell hole digger thing and a monster heavy punch bar to dislodge/break the rocks. It’s fucking hard going and the first hole takes about two hours of sweat and pain. The spikes are only an inch or so in diameter but the holes have to be a good 10/12 inches across to let me break through the ground. We also need a bit of leeway make sure the main structure sits true.
After lunch I start hole number two then take a break and go to the office to finish off once last piece of work for the music branding course. I’m using the upcoming release of Wanted (Dead or Alive) as my subject matter – much better to have a real-life practical project – something that I’m working on anyway.
Interestingly, the decision to use the release as my ‘catalyst’ encouraged me to change my mind over keeping the release low key and just something The Deadliest Catch folks could find…spreading the word might just help bring in a new.. wider audience to my ‘normal’ stuff!
I also spend some time making and uploading a Spotify canvas for the release and editing a vertical format version of the video for socials/reels etc on release day.
More time digging holes, then I call Martyn to see if he’s around tonight and wants to come for pizza after last night’s ‘cancellation’ due to my lurgy. He is… 🙂
After two and three-quarter – the third hits a huge rock that I have trouble trying to break – holes, I go inside to ball up the pizza dough, prepare the caramelised onions, chestnut mushrooms, passata, mozzarella etc ready for this evening.
I’m just finishing when Willie drops by. Margaret and texted him earlier to see if he had any ‘implements’ to aid the hole digging. He has a wee look, nips to his van, comes back with a big fuck-off drill and make short work of getting through the rock in the third hole and making the fourth hole. Life saver! There’ll be another hole required for part of the door frame, but until it’s all in place and properly aligned we don’t know exactly where it’ll be. He says to give him a shout when we need it drilled and he’ll pop back 🙂
Martyn arrives just after 7pm and we crack open some beers and sit and chat outside. Matty – who’s staying the night (‘cos he has a hill race in Dumfries-shire in the morning) – arrives soon after then we get pizza on the go….
