Once again, I've been far too busy to type anything here. I don't normally drive to gigs if I can help it (to be honest I don't drive at all if I can help it) so I'd forgotten how much downtime you lose when you do. Anyway, DG and I headed for Ardkinglas on Saturday and had a great time, playing for nearly two and a half hours to a friendly and enthusiastic audience in the drawing room with its wonderful collection of pianos. The Muir & Wood square from about 1820 proved itself perfect for accompanying Robert Mackintosh's tunes with his own basslines. And what an unexpectedly bassy-sounding room: in the afternoon, David was having trouble making an impression over the huge racket my harpsichord was making, but with the room full of people the balance felt really good.

Afterwards we were well entertained by David and Angela, and then we had the enormous fun of actually staying in the house with all its original 1907 features and fittings. Couldn't resist taking a photo of my bath tap in the morning. The miniature barrel organ that played 10 different hymn tunes was another favourite, for the joy of hearing it playing 'Cranbrook' when I turned the handle, otherwise known as 'On Ilkla Moor baht 'at'.

It was a bit of a shock to be back in a big concert hall at Perth on Monday lunchtime: the audience are so far away. We started by walking through the audience playing Lastrumpony, and photos of the same appeared in the Courier and the P&J on Tuesday. On the way back to Glasgow I needed a break from driving, so we stopped at the Allan Water Café and I indulged in a nostalgic snowball ice with raspberry sauce, just like the ones I used to have in the Gardens Café in Byres Road thirty-something years ago. Playing with it was just as much fun as eating it.

After I'd packed DG onto the plane on Tuesday morning, it was off to heart buchanan for a more 21st century café experience and a chat with Alasdair Roberts which may yet bear interesting fruit. Then lots of preparation for last night's company AGM and board meeting, and today I have a healthy pile of admin to get through. Holiday's coming soon ...

When DG and I were shopping for food on Sunday morning I overheard the beginning of this which only really make sense if you know the original, but then rather a lot of people do. This morning eBay has also brought me a copy of Jean Redpath's Love Lilt and Laughter LP from 1966, which was in a house we used to visit on holiday in the 70s. I taped my favourite tracks onto cassette, holding the mic up to the big speaker of the valve radiogram, and knew all the words to The Kirk Swaree and Paddy McGinty's Goat by the time I was 10.