This month sees me starting with an apology! A different type of apology to any other - Judy, I apologise for not mentioning the Loch Lomond Scottish open. I apologise for only talking about St Andrews in my last diary - oh ye who got me into golf in the first place, ye who got me FREE tickets for Loch Lomond! - you are indeed godlike and I'd be nothing on that golf course if it wasn't for you having got me into it in the first place - THANK YOU! (will that do???)

Anyway, my fearless, bring-it-on, robust god-daughter (GD 2) was going to see the Gruffalo. She loves it, loves the book, loves the story, loved the Christmas TV show. So you'd think the stage show would be the natural progression...

Wrong!

Almost as soon as the lights went down, she started crying! She was scared and she wanted to go home - that was even before we'd seen the bloody Gruffalo!!!

Argh...!

Home for the songs from Calamity Jane me thinks...

It was a precursor for the weekend though, cos all that weekend I had the joy of GD1 and GD2...lovely!

And more fun to follow in the coming days...lots of music and lots of golf. We finished off the Christmas single recording and then we went to record a wee video...indeed, we got some very strange looks when we were singing Christmas is Coming Home to Glasgow in the middle of September!

But - most importantly - whilst playing a leisurely round of golf, I managed (somehow) to score a birdie!!!!! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! For those of you don't know, that means managing t get the golf ball in the wee hole in one less shot than it's supposed to take for that particular hole. Honestly, it was such a buzz...suffice to say, that I never need to hit a ball again! (well, unless I get a hole-in-one!!!). Still, it felt like a hole-in-one...and our celebrations on the very-sophisticated-and-posh golf-course gave it away...so much for calm and respect for other golfers - Judy and I went mental in celebration! Not very cool, I know...!

Still, we got over it - well, not really actually, I'm still on cloud nine about it! But, I felt it important to get on with life and get some stuff organised...for example - A GIG! Indeed, I have to remember that my job is as a professional singer and not professional golfer as I am occasionally given to believe!!

I had a great show in Kilmarnock. The Wellgreen opened the show as well as the wonderful Robbie McInnes (check him out on facebook). Then the Wellgreen boys (Marco and Stuart) lent me their talent and put together the most amazing gig - as well as being brill on their respective instruments, their harmonies were amazing! It was a lovely gig in the Ingram Room at the Grand palace.

There was one vital omission - David! Where was he? Well, probably in the delivery room with Yvonne and his new wee baby girl - Daisy! Just great, Noah has a wee sister and he is loving it. Wee Daisy however, is not so wee...I think she weighed somewhere around the 10lb mark - ouch!

Anyway, congratulations to the Roger family - lovely news.


October

Now, I'm not a fan of Ryanair, infact, suffice to say, I canny stand Ryanair (still, I've said that name twice in the one sentence!) I believe it when I hear that they will be charging folk to go the toilet soon...not a friendly airline and not a helpful airline...HOWEVER - we went to Paris at the beginning of October to see our beautiful pal from New York - easy for us to get there than to NYC, especially when you hear that we got flights for twenty quid each - TWENTY QUID! How cool! Even more so when you hear that we stayed for free, in Rita's friend's palatial apartment about a ten minute walk from the Eifel Tower! Lovely time in Paris (with only hand luggage or course!)

So, straight back from Paris only to do a workshop at Parkhead (the home of Celtic football club) As I'm sure I've mentioned before, of the two, dirty, capitalist teams in Glasgow, I do prefer Celtic - good attacking football! And so, there I was, up in the Jock Stein lounge singing to a load of 4-year-olds...

From Paris to Parkhead - it doesn't really get much better does it?

No, in fact, it gets worse!

Yes, we took the Ryanair flight from Paris, via Parkhead, and flew straight in to DETOX!

This is our sixth year doing it - honestly! You'd think we'd learn, but no...alas no...

Although, that's not strictly true, we have learned to make things a wee bit tastier...we've found a few treats that we can have and so it really makes it a wee bit more exciting - no, not true...in fact, it is REALLY BORING!

However, much more manageable now, we just get on with it...November has been renamed as Movember in homage to all those guys who grow mustaches in order to raise awareness for prostrate cancer - we renamed October - Boretober!!!

My beautiful Niece, Louise and her partner Claire got married and we had a lovely, special, family day - and don't worry girls, I will have the DVD done for Christmas!

I got to hang out with GD2 (always amazing fun)

But, the big excitement this month was GD1 - Caitlin was starring in a show at the Citizens theatre...Tall Tales for Small People...she's pretty cool and, of course, I'm her auntie, but she is a really great wee actress (I'm looking out my Oscar's outfit as we speak)!

Also, Christmas is Coming Home to Glasgow - done and dusted, just waiting for the EPs to come back from the pressing plant. They will be on sale in all the usual places, online and inshops and at gigs. I have two more show to go - one in the Pleasance in Edinburgh on 12th November and one in Glasgow, Recital Rooms on 4th December - Christmastime, really is here - and this year I'm so excited!

And it felt like Christmas all at once, when I walked into the Barrfields Theatre in Largs. I used to play there years and years ago, when Wet, Wet, Wet and I used to play lots of shows together. Last time I was there was almost Christmas, it was December 14th 1985, I'd just fallen in love and it was special.

No different then, when I walked in last week to see the Gallagher & Lyle Homecoming gig - it was magical, it was special and I felt so amazingly lucky to be there - they were fantastic.

It's nice when music does that to you isn't it - when it takes you back to a place...I was eleven years old when I was listening to the Breakaway album, mum & dad had it on in the big old 'music centre', which housed a turntable, radio and cassette deck all under one, smokey plastic cover...

Here's to special music and special times!

Hopefully see you soon at one of the gigs coming up.

Carol