The kids do well on their bikes..stabilisers off soon I reckon š
I WAKE up early and find both Aaron and Freda in the bed with us! Margaret takes them downstairs for breakfast and I get myself sorted.
After breakfast we take the kids to the park on their bikes and Catriona gets back. We have a quick coffee with her then head for home.
Margaret goes for a nap and I spend some time working on stuff for next Sunday’s market beside the Balmaha visitor centre car park. Half way through he Dremel seems to gear up to it’s highest speed and the regulator stops working. Bah. That’s not good as the high speed settings aren’t much good for my needs.
I knock up red beans and rice for dinner and we have a fairly chilled evening.
WE have a long lie then breakfastā¦.then I clear the decks of emails and other routine admin stuff.
In the office I design another item that needs to remain secret for nowā¦then I knock out a couple more Loch Lomond pins to see how I wanna finish them for next weekās āmakers marketā in Balmaha.
My bikeās booked in for a service at Roots Cycles in Doune on Tuesday morning but weāre heading there today to babysit overnight. The guys at Roots are happy for me to drop the bike today so I cycle over and Margaret drives.
The first half of the 25-mile cycle is off-road and funā¦the second half on roads and not as excitingā¦.but I enjoy the ride and get the bike dropped off at Roots just in time before they close.
Itās a short walk to Catrionaās where Margaretās already got the kids busy. We take them 9n their bikes to feed the ducks then back home, bed and dinner for usā¦.
Phil and Marion at Kilmaronock Old Kirk…great evening š
THE morning is spent finalising artwork for the red vinyl edition of Devil May Care…there’s a fair amount of technical issues with ink coverage and stuff.
I get it all done leaving just the sideA/B labels to be done over the weekend then the lot can get sent off on Monday.
I also try out some ideas for a Loch Lomond pin/brooch but my first attempts don’t really work out.
There’s some merch to be finished and sent off. My plan is to get Margaret to drive me to the village to get the last post and then walk home….but last post has changed, to the stuff won’t be picked up ;til tomorrow (Saturday)... bah! regardless, I enjoy the hour or so’s wander home listening to music marketing podcasts along the way.
Back home I design and make another ‘master’ for the Loch Lomond pin and cast a prototype. Much better…but no time to check it out properly ā Margaret’s got an early dinner ready as we’re heading out to see our pals Marion and Phil play at Kilmaronock Old Kirk.
They play a great show and it’s nice to catch up with folks…we’re home by 10pm and watch a film before bed.
MAIN job of the day is sorting out the audio masters and artwork for the red vinyl edition of Devil May Care.
For the audio I need to check timings, track order and side splits and include the bonus track ā Loch Lomond Home (acoustic). Once done the audio masters need to be resampled for vinyl cutting…then onto the artwork.
I take a break mid-afternoon for a guitar lesson with an in-person student then tis back to the studio. Hopefully I’ll have everything sorted and off to the pressing plant tomorrow latest.
I finally manage to get out for a wee walk and do a couple of livestream updates to my Facebook page and profile.
When I get home I try and log into may US bank account…apparently it’ll be considered ‘abandoned’ if I don’t have a transaction soon and the balance will have to be claimed through some weird process! The website want to send a code to a US cellphone which I don’t have anymore and the only other option is to call the bank.
Four or five failed attempts later using Skype I finally get to speak to someone. it appears to be a condition of holing an account that you have a US cell phone. Fuck. There is a little light at the end of the tunnel tho’ ā I can make a small payment into the account from here and that should sort things out.
Meantime, Betty’s arrived and Margaret’s getting dinner ready…
A duck takes an interest in paddling at Port Bawn š
I HAVE a Zoom session with one of my occasional students then Fiona comes up to go out for a paddle.
We go out and round Inchcailloch, stopping at Port Bawn for a break.
The roof guys are getting on pretty good with your new roof and it looks like they’ll be finished in the next couple of days.
There’s a bunch of social media stuff to do and I send out a general eNewsletter…letting folks know the Kickstarter was a success and thanking folks for their support. I also let them know the guitar necklaces and pins are in my online store and some info on the upcoming Edinburgh show.
In the studio I install a set of power pins on the Acoustasonic…they replace the ‘traditional’ bridge pins which ā along with the locking tuners ā will make string changing a lot quicker and easier.
Back at the house we clear all the crap form behind the office and chuck it in the roofers’ skip.
Dinner is green curry – first time in ages…then we watch some telly.
I MANAGE to get some of the stuff away and sorted out in the studio before my first Zoom guitar student comes online.
I almost forgot it’s my birthday…I plan to make the most of my last year as a ‘fifty-something’.
Next I hit the studio to colour up a special order for a guitar necklace. It works well and I send the customer a photo to check the colour is correct. She’s delighted. I parcel it up and get it ready to post along with some vinyl going to Estonia ā we sold out of vinyl halfway through so folks have been ordering online š
An email tells em my package from Thomann has been delivered by DHL. Nope, no one’s been here and the ‘show delivery’ location and photo doesn’t work. I call them and ā unlike DPD ā at least manage to speak to someone who is helpful and sends a photo of delivery. The package is jammed in a letterbox but fuck knows where! He says he’ll investigate and get it sorted.
Meantime, the guitar bag from GuitarGuitar finally arrives…then I hot the studio and edit the Estonia video blog in prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ Facebook livestream.
Another video lesson then straight into the livestream..then back to the house for dinner š
ANOTHER early rise to meet our driver who will take us from the festival site to Tallinn airport.An hour or so drive.
We say cheerio to Krista and start our homeward journey.
All goes to plan ā Tallinn to Stockholm, (extremely expensive!) lunch, Stockholm to Edinburgh.
We arrive in Edinburgh around 2.30pm…but my guitar doesn’t appear. the AirTag tells us it’s close by but none of the staff seem to be able to help. We decide one of us should exit baggage and see the folks at Swissport, the baggage handlers. I go and speak to them but they ignore the fact that the guitar is actually here somewhere close by and insist I complete a lost luggage claim. I walk away!
Margaret and I are trying to stay in touch by phone, but there’s no signal and the airport wifi won’t let us use any VoiP (voice) services so we try and communicate via WhatsApp messages. These eventually stop working too!
Luckily Margaret found one person who gave a shit and after a while the guitar is found in their office outside!
That means we’re a couple of hours later leaving the airport than expected, so but he time we’re home having picked up some shopping it’s well after 6pm.
THE alarm goes off at 6am and we drag ourselves out of bed, check out the hotel and cross the road to the bus station for the first bus to Tallinn.
The breakfast room at the hotel doesnāt open ātil 7 am so they gave us āpacked breakfastsā to go,..the cafe at the bus station is still closed so I nip back to the hotel where they organise coffees too š
We sleep most of the way and arrive in Tallinn just after 9am. A driver from the festival picks us up and an hour later weāre on site.
Our pal – and festival rep – Krista meets us at my stage where we leave the gear then go on to our accommodation.
Sound check is at 1.30pmā¦and showtime 2.30pm. Krista and her partner Henk join us for lunch in artist catering then we head along to my venue.
I have a fantastic audienceā¦and despite busting two string during my 75-minute set everything goes great. Margaretās rushed off her feet selling merch š
Krista and Henk help us back the short walk to our room and after sorting the gear for packing I crash for a while.
Krista and Henkās room is almost next door to us..and some of her family are there too. Krista , her sister, Margaret and I go for dinner then back to my stage/venue to watch and Irish band.
Margaret and I are pretty goosed so we say goodnightā¦another early start in the morningā¦.
Third Estonia show, third full houseā¦Kultuuri-ja Huvikeskus, PƵlva
WE have a lazy morning at our accommodation in Tartu – I do some social media promo for tonightās show in Polva and we drink coffee and munch croissants.
Once packed, Martin comes to pick us up and take us down to our hotel for tonightā¦too early to check in but we can leave all our gear and bags. Next stop his house where we have a late lunch with him and Marilin.
Then itās back to the hotel where the venue has sent a minibus to pick us up. I get the gear out of the luggage room and Margaret checks us in and drops our main bag up in the room.
Andres and Siret join us on the minibus and Martin takes his carā¦a smaller vehicle will be bringing us back after the show.
Itās an hourās drive to Polva and then straight on to sound check.
Booker Eerika has loaded the dressing room with a load of grub and drinksā¦the hospitality is first class, as is the venue and production.
I play two sets and have a grand time. Itās another full house and everything goes well.
Weāre back at the hotel in Tartu before midnightā¦some snacks, a drink and a showerā¦then some work. Weāre up at 6am for the bus to Tallin!
BREAKFAST is good, albeit a slightly weird dining room packed with Estonian holidaymakers and spa users.
We pack up and head for the bus station earlier than weād planned as I need to get to a music shop and buy a short patch lead for plugging my foot stomp. I forgot mine!
Itās a three-hour bus ride to Tartu but it goes in quick and soon weāre at the venue where weāre shown around by Kai. She also takes us to our accommodation upstairs.
We meet our pal Martin for coffee then pick up some supplies – we have a kitchen area etc in our room – and then chill for a while before going downstairs for sound check.
Once weāre done and the merch is set up we nip back upstairs for a quick bite to eat. Margaret goes back to man the merch and I get changed for the show.
Weāve another full house when I kick off my set and have a blast playing a couple of sets to a very enthusiastic audience. Kai has done a great job promoting the show.
Once weāre tidied up we go out for a drink with a bunch of our Tartu friends then wander āhomeā back up the hill.
