ONCE I get all the routine stuff out the way I drive to the village for a swim. Need to get back into some kind of exercise routine…all these hospital stays and gigs have disrupted things a bit.
I stop at the chemist on the way back to see if the auto injectors prescribed by the doc have arrived. They haven’t. Tomorrow hopefully.
After lunch we go to the village hall and hang the blacks and backdrop so we can get a good start setting up tomorrow (Saturday) for the fundraiser show. Margaret has to get some stuff in Milngavie so I walk home and enjoy the fresh air.
In the studio I start re-stringing guitars, putting stuff on charge and changing batteries.
We have a group of eight pals coming from France for the show and they arrive at their B&B just after 8pm…they eat at the local pub and once they’re finished we wander down and join them for a drink.
SOMETHING weird has been happening with my phone. All connectivity has slowed right down and not resolved despite rebooting, resetting network setting etc etc. It’s driving me nuts.
I have an online meeting with PRS (Performing Rights’ Society) folks about the prototype performance reporting system I’ve been helping test.
There’s not much time after the session before another meeting – this time with Help Musicians’ about branding and social media stuff.
A late afternoon guitar student arrives at the studio with his dad and we have a good session. For some reason, though, my phone is no longer accepting tap to pay card payments in any of the apps I use. Same thing happened the other day but the card was accepted no problem on Margaret's phone (same apps/user accounts). Grrrrr….
All the phone hassle prompts me to go on line and order a new iPhone. No thinking about it, no fancying about. Just did it. Margaret and I were both on 12s and I sorted Margaret with a new 17 a month or so ago. She’s been really happy with it but I thought I could sit it out until maybe the 18 comes in the autumn but I just don’t have it in me to deal with phone hassles on top of all the websites/hosting issues at the mo’.
I jump in the car and drive to Braehead to pick up the new phone.
I HAVE a session with an online guitar student first thing then we head into Glasgow for my appointment at the eye hospital.
Margaret drops me at Gartnavel and goes to get some shopping. We need a pork belly from Costco and a fair bit of pother shopping. Margaret’s cooking dinner at Betty’s for six of us tonight – and we have eight French folks coming for Saturday’s show that we need to entertain on Sunday. Oh, and Jonzip and Maggi are here for the show and staying over Saturday night.
I have a Zoom interview at 2pm with a journalist in Sussex ahead of next weekend’s Brighton show but Margaret’s ‘running a little late’ (!!!!) with the shopping and doesn’t pick me up ‘til nearly an hour after I’m done…and leaving no chance of getting home in time for the interview.
As 2pm approached we park up just outside Milngavie with what appears to be a decent mobile data signal and I do the interview…first part is OK with just a few freezes, but the journalist also wants to record a section of video and the signal just isn’t stable enough. He has another meeting at 3pm so we agree on a 2.45pm return and Margaret boots it home just in time. I get into the studio and the video section of the interview goes flawlessly. Phew!
I have an in person guitar student later in the afternoon then hit the studio to try and sort some social ads for the upcoming shows before we go along to Betty’s.
We’re there half an hour before Fiona, Barbara and Thorsten to get things going in the kitchen and we have a grand night.
I’M STILL not 100% but not feeling too bad when I wake up. Mikey heads off into Glasgow then Margaret jumps int he car to go to a community organisation event in Crieff hosted by DTAS.
She’s only just left when my guitar student arrives and we have a good session.
Tickets are (extremely) slow for the Brighton show a week on Saturday so top priority is to get a news release together and contact the local/regional media. I strike lucky and manage to speak to journos on two of the main papers and set up a Zoom interview for tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon.
Having made promo key rings to put out as giveaways at the last few shows I’m keen to maintain the goodwill generated. I suspect quite a few folks at the hall fundraiser gig on Saturday will have been at a recent show and hence already have key rings so I 3D print a jig to engrave aluminum bottle opener key rings for this Saturday.
I’m not long back in the studio after lunch when the doc calls – a planned phone appointment. It was set up when I was discharged from Forth Valley Hospital a fortnight ago to discuss options to try and get this mystery vomitting thing under control….or at least try and head it off at the pass when it looks like it’s gonna start. Twenty-odd years of it is really getting us down. I’ve had cameras up and down, every test known to human kind and spoken with doctors and consultants in numerous UK hospitals, not to mention in Finland and the USA!
More recently there has been mention of abdominal migraine and some kind of pre-loaded injection that might help. Of course, we won’t know until it gets put to the test….
Anyway, I didn’t expect another hospital episode so soon so I fully prepped for my chat! The doc agrees that the best next step it to try the injections so will prescribe the necessary.
There’s a load of stuff needing done for the community hydro society and once that’s out the way I have to test a new system PRS is developing to allow artists to register their live performances. I’m one of a handful of testers on the pilot.
Next on my list is getting a news release out to radio with promo links for the forthcoming Going to See the King EP along with Info on the Aldershot and Brighton gigs that co-incide with the release.
Once done I edit up a short 20-second teaser video about the EP to start spreading round my socials then go back to the house for dinner.
FInal job of the night is engraving a big batch of bottle opener keyrings….
I WAKE up briefly a few times during the night…then about 7.30am I wake again as the nurse changes my drip. I get her to disconnect me for a minute so I can go to the toilet.
Soon after another doc comes to see how I’m doing and ask a few questions. One of mai. Issues around all this is that different health board areas can’t access my records form other areas…or the doc…so everyone we see has to get the full story, background etc.
There’s word of another scan and maybe even an endoscope (urrrgh). I’m feeling well enough to check my phone and realise that even if I do get out today it’s unlikely I’ll be home in time –or feel like – doing my usual Monday night WIldcats’ livestream on Facebook.
I do a wee livestream from my bed explaining and then go back to sleep. I doze on and off all morning then find there’s a change of plan and I’m not needing scan after all. So I’m allowed to try eating something.
I have soup and a sandwich and it stays down. Things are looking a little brighter.
Margaret arrives mid-afternoon and the nurse takes out my cannula so I can get washed and dressed then we have a chat with the doc before heading homeward.
I sleep most of the way in the car and try and catch up on a few bits and bobs when we get home. Turns out Mikey’s coming to stay tonight which isn’t the most convenient but never mind. I have a shower then a little bit of chicken and a couple of wee potato’s and some brocolli then go to bed.
Mid-afternoon apparently – still out of it and hooked up to various IV stuff….
ANY hopes of the vomitting being a one-off quickly disappear and by 2am Margaret’s called NHS111. Not sure how long it is, but an ambulance is at the door pretty quick.
As usual I’ll not quite with by this time but I rember getting cannulas in and IV stuff before the ambulance whips me to Ninewells.
I’m not on good shape, but attention is pretty prompt and poor Margaret sits by my bedside all night watching me spew, moan and writhe about. I’m moved to a single room in the acute ward around 8am, still not any better, but getting he best attention.
Margaret sit it out and explains to three or four docs and specialists that come round in between IV changes, bloods and other stuff. I think it about 6pm when I have a final huge spew of brown stuff and manage to fall asleep for the best part of an hour.
I feel a lot better. Still fucked, but a lot better when I wake and Margaret feels she can leave me for the night and heads back to Jane and Angus’s for the night.
I manage a few sips of water, seem to have stopped spewing and conk out….
WE WEREN’T late last night but the last few days and overnight drive back after the last gig have left us pretty knackered…so a long lie feels justified!
Breakfast is more like brunch then I head to the studio to tidy all the gear that’s just been dumped after the gigs and downloads the video footage from the trip.
One of the things on my to-do list is to make up a teaser video for the forthcoming Blind Willie Johnson tribute EP…if I can get my shit together and get pre-release stuff out it might help generate some radio play to help promote the gigs down south. Tight for time tho’!
I manage to get some wee snippets filmed before we have to leave for Dundee…we’re staying with our pals Jane and Angus, and Tricia and Ged are joining us there for dinner.
We have a wonderful evening and great meal…then, just after midnight, I start to feel a bit unwell. Sure enough, a few minutes later I’m being sick and it begins again….
Nice to get a front page teaser and page three feature…
WE ROLL up home just after 4am and head straight to bed. I wake up after 10am – Margaret’s already up and getting ready for her 11am meeting with the roads folks from the council.
After breakfast, still frustrated with my websites’ downtime and slow loading I get on an online chat with the hosting company. I’m told my memory and resource usage is at its limit and that’s the problem. I don’t agree – none of my websites are particularly resource-hungry and I don’t get huge amounts of traffic. Plus, I’ve been monitoring the usage and it seems to fluctuate between what I would expect and running high….with no apparent reason which makes me think there’s some malware causing the problem.
Anyway, bottom line is they suggest upgrading my hosting package…at a cost of over £500 a year. Fuck off.
I have no time right now but I think it’s time to find a new host. Particularly since they forced me to upgrade to the latest version of PHP or incur a charge for supporting ‘an old version’ (interestingly, not any deprecated version!).
More pressing matters involve spreading the word about upcoming shows. Helpfully, the Stirling Observer has a page three feature and front page teaser which I use as content and post round my socials, local groups and WhatApp.
I can’t rely too much on traditional press etc for the Aldershot and Brighton shows the following week tho’, so after creating cover images for all my socials, YouTube and so on I set up an video ad and manage to get it all up and running before it’s time to head to the pub to meet Betty and some of her family for dinner.
Ace time playing at Smile for Huddersfield Blues Club
THE HOTEL WiFi is shit so I don’t manage to get any proper work done before we leave.
It’s not a long drive to Huddersfield but when we get there we spend a good couple hours trying to find somewhere with parking that we can get a late lunch. None of the retail parks have anywhere other than Costa which is generally overpriced and not much good for anything other than coffee and cake.
We find a Sainsbury’s but it’s cafe is a poorly stocked Costa then try a few other places that pop up. They’re either closing, closed or not there at all. A cafe at Dunelm also turns out to be shot and they don’t have any hot food left. It’s not even 4pm FFS!
No other option but to try and find a car parked in the ‘town centre’. Most are closed down and the whole caper is a boot depressing. And frustrating. A small Sainsbury’s has a car park so we abandon ship (car!) and proceed ion foot finally finding a place to eat that turns out pretty good.
We retrieve the car, go back to a retail parks and have a wee sleep then find the venue and load in.
Our pal Pat – who runs the blues club – is waiting and we get all set up and soundchecked no bother.
By showtime the place is packed and I pull of a decent show. Well, judging by the response and feedback after 🙂
We’re packed and in the car by 11.30pm and start the long drive home. Normally we’d have stayed over, but Margaret has a meeting at 11am that he couldn’t shift…
