Friday 22 July 2016

AN ONLSLAUGHT of emails keeps me busy after breakfast, then my pal Rab calls – he needs some guidance on updating his website and wonders if I can make up some notes for him.

It takes me a good couple of hours, but hopefully it’s a good step-by-step guide to make the updates he wants to be able to do – not just this time, but for future reference too.

The outside grill’s needing cleaned after last night’s burgers…and the wooden ‘worktops’ on each side could do with some attention. They look a bit manky and with Margaret’s brithday gathering next month it’d be a good idea to clean thing up a bit. I grab a sander out the shed and rub them back…then Margaret wipes them down with meths and gives ’em a couple of coats of stain. Quite a difference!

I didn’t have time earlier int he week to cut the grass at the front of the house so I give it a quick run over with the mower then get back to work.

There’s a nice wee breeze keeping the midges at bay and I need a walk. I load up some podcasts and head off on one of my regular walking routes.

On the way back I change podcasts and notice a 4G signal on my mobile….mmmm…I wonder if I can do a Facebook Live stream? Yup, no problem – I do an off-the-cuff ‘broadcast’ about next week’s Estonia shows, answer some questions that come in over comments and then finish my walk.

I check when I get home and the post has a reach of 16,491, 101 likes, 58 comments and 1,900 video views – that’s a bigger reach than all my combined page posts over the last 10 days. Unbelievable traction….just need to find a way to harness this opportunity!

Back home I open a beer and make our Korean BBQ beef yum yum rice bowls…that’s a mouthful in more ways than one 🙂

Saturday 9 July 2016

Beer? Time for grain....

Beer? Time for grain….

A FEW things to get done before my pal Martyn comes to pick me up…he’d invited me to brew up some beer at his place today.

There’s a few times during the process where there’s no brewing-specific activity so I plan a Facebook Live stream about the brewing, next weeks’ shows and some general chat/Q&A. I chuck my we travel reso guitar in the car too.

The brewing thing is straightforward and quite simple…but needs a fair bit of attention and takes time. There’s downtime between periods of frantic activity. In between we chat and eat – Louise has made bread with the spent grain from the last brew. Magic!

Margaret’s been at home making apple and rhubarb pies for the local coffee shop and Mikey’s arrived to stay over, so around 4pm they come along and help us out when we do the Facebook Live stream at 4.30pm.

The live stream is a load of fun – definitely a good way to spread the word with a reach of over 150,000, 25 shares, 130 comments and 102 likes in fifteen minutes – watch it here on my Facebook page!

Then we get back to drinking beer, chatting and finishing of the brewing process.

It’s nearly 7pm when we drive back home through a big downpour and I make some lemongrass, basil and lime tofu.

TIme to cool down.

TIme to cool down.