THE KIDS have us awake at the crack of dawn and I get some sourdough in the oven.
Just as well we’re up and around early as Margaret gets a message from AO saying they’ll be delivering our fridge freezer in 15 minutes.
After breakfast I get on with some work and Margret takes the kids to feed the ducks and a wee walk to see Betty.
Willie and Craig roll up in a wee tipper with a load of gravel from our pal Sandy and dump it at the side door. We’re gonna try and level out the wee area at the side of the office that we use as a (men’s) toilet area when we host garden gigs.
I take a walk to the next village to pick up some local hydro stuff from Julie then it’s time to get the kids in the car and drop them at Carolyn and Steve’s in Buchlyvie on our way to Gartmore for dinner at Duncan and Irene’s.
NO LONG lie today as I have a 9am online session with one of my guitar students.
The new fridge/freezer is due to be delivered tomorrow. After emptying the freezer into bags and taking it to Betty’s garage I clear a route out the merch store and office and we move it outside. Although the fridge stopped working, the freezer was still going.
There’s some bits and bobs to be done around a Brighton show at Komedia in March then I get busy with some other design work – need new shirts and a new backdrop soon.
I’m heading out for a walk up the lochside when Will drops off the kids for the night. When I get back my walk, Margaret has a meeting at the village hall so I have the kids for a couple hours. We feed the ducks and go for a walk, then I dig the old Wii out the studio and set it up in the house for Aaron to play.
WE HAVE A bit of a long lie then start the unpacking and putting away. Not just the music stuff, but all the camping gear too.
It’s not raining so I get the sleeping pad unfurled and out to make sure there’s no dampness and then spread the tent out – it was pretty wet when we packed up on Sunday morning. There’s a light breeze which helps things dry off pretty quick then we get it all repacked and put away.
Margaret decides to go on a shopping trip into Glasgow and I spend some time in the studio editing a wee reel of clips from Saturday’s set at Uptoon Blues Festival. Margaret managed to capture three or four songs on my phone – I did take the GoPro but stupidly left the memory card in the computer.
I get some much-needed fresh air and exercise with a walk up the lochside then get some prep done for dinner before Margaret gets back with the shopping.
Grand time playing Upton Blues Festival…despite the intense heat
IT’S RAINING when we wake up. I go to the toilet and get our coffee mugs out the car then make us a coffee inside the tent.
We have some croissants and then the rain goes off and we join our fellow campers and pals before taking the gear to load in at the acoustic roots stage. Christine and Tony from Blues in Britain magazine are set up at the entrance and are also helping with everyone’s merch.
I’m not on ‘til evening but enjoying hanging out and catching up with other folks playing and meeting some new folks too.
The backstage area has everything anyone could ask and the place is rammed with folks from the moment it opens.
It’s really, really muggy and warm tho’ – not just in the venue but everywhere – and I struggle with the heat during my set but all goes well and the sound is fantastic. And an amazing crowd. Trevor joins me on my final song, Loch Lomond Home.
There’s another r couple of acts after me – Trevor and his band and then Dom Martin who does a solo acoustic set, We all hang out and it’s great to have the chance to watch (and hear) some great performances.
We get to Upton in time to catch our pal Pat on the Riverside stage…
WE MANAGE to get away just after 8am and take it in turns to drive to Upton with a few stops along the way.
There’s a few delays and jams along the way but we mange to find our camping area just after 4pm, get the tent up and wander down to the riverside stage to catch our pal Pat playing.
After picking up some supplies at a shop in the town we drop off at the tent, stop in at the acoustic roots stage then hit the meadow and have some grub and drink.
Then back to the acoustic stage for the last act and then the tent. We stir with Trev, Emma and Trev’s brother Kev and have a couple glasses of wine then turn in for the night.
I NEED to get the WIldcats’ brass pins finished, packed and sent out today so get busy in the office.
I take a break when a guy from Glasgow comes to check out the camera gear I have for sale and, thankfully, takes it. Good to get rid of it not only to get some dosh, but also because it was taking up space in the studio.
Once the pins are finished I start packing to send off and realize I only have a couple jiffy bags left. Damn. I order some more and then spend some time ,making do with envelopes, bubble wrap and packing tape.
While dealing with that I engrave some bar blade bottle openers to have in the merch bag for the weekend.
Eventually I vacate the office and Margaret gets in to sort the merch. I hit the studio to rehearse then pack the gear and start loading the car ready for an early start in the morning.
As well as merch and music gear, we also need to sort and pack all the camping stuff. Oooffft.
THE COMPUTER is having a meltdown in the studio when I try and set up for an online guitar session. I start it off on my phone and when the computer finally plays ball we switch over.
Dawn arrives for her lesson just as I finish the online session then I have a half hour break before another student on Zoom.
In between times there’s a few orders in for the brass Wildcats’ pins so I nip in and out the office to do some work on them.
After lunch I start a batch of tote bags with the new logo. Is quite laborious but I get through our stock of blank bags then go for a walk up the lochside.
We have dinner at the local pub with Betty then go back to hers for a drink before wandering home.
The brass Wildcats’ pin gets a fair bit of interest 🙂
THE DAY starts with a relatively free diary -– only two major tasks on today’s to-do list.
Disruption doesn’t take long to cast its shadow and I end up having to spend the entire morning sorting out some website related problems. Ah well.
After lunch I get some promo done for Saturday’s appearance at Upton Blues Festival before sorting out the media assets for the imminent Still Friends PR and promo.
I put the limited edition brass Wildcats’ pins on sale in a special Wildcats-only section in my online store.
My late afternoon guitar student arrives for a session after which I see there’s a few orders in for the Wildcats’ pins. I get busy!
Our pal Tom stops by to chat through some local community stuff. It’s nearly 11pm when he leaves I m,are some steak tacos for a rather late dinner.
