Day ?

I am absolutely exhausted today. It didn't really hit me until about 4pm but I just feel completely knackered. I'm glad I'm in London rather than Edinbburgh for this part of my steady decline, it usually happens at the festival and I usually lose the will to live and laugh at the same time. Hopefully this way I will get back to some normality and have a burst of energy when I go back on Monday. I'm not sure I can really see this happening though. I saw 31 shows, a couple of Spanks and the tail end of a Phat Cave - all in 8 days. Not bad going seeings I arrive late on the Monday and only saw 1 show and then spent 2 days seeing just one show. Overall I am very pleased. Still have a lot more to see when I go back, my list is ever changing.

Now I have to try to remember what I got up to so I can recount some hilarious anecdotes on here to make up for being rubbish. Thing is, I was having too much fun to tear myself away and go to an internet cafe. I think the lesson we have learnt here is that I should have bought myself a laptop rather than an emac. Still, nevermind. So let me see if I can sneak the days events into the appropriate places in this blog - and no-one need be any the wiser.

Home

I have just got home from my first stint at the festival. And well done me for not making it to an internet cafe very often. I need a laptop - that seems to be the onl answer - especially as now GNER train seem to have wifi connections hidden in the ether. I am very tired and looking forward to sleeping in my lovely comfortable bed.

Incidentally, Mark Watson is a genius. I am a lifer. Kerry and I made it the whole way through the 2005 minutes and if you would excuse my language for a second, it was f*cking amazing. I will write more when I am normal again. Back to work tomorrow. Mark said I am "quiet, yet effective" and I also impressed everyone with my knowledge of the inner workings of "magic trees" - knew my attempt but ultimate fail at A level Chemistry would come in handy.

Two days of work then a wedding, then a spare day to recover and then I am back up. Really looking forward to it. This is the best festival for ages. Hasn't resulted in any tears. Yet! I've met loads of really great new people, which is always a good thing.

Anyway, it is wind-down, washing and sleeping time now.

Day 4

It's been a lot harder than I anticipated to manage to get to an internet cafe - despite the fact that there is a nice new one in between the Pleasance Courtyard and the Dome/Teviot. It's also handy for the Underbelly. And it's not just me being useless, its me being busy for a change. On my first full day at the festival I saw 6 shows. It's been really cool, the flat is lovely - it makes me want to come and live here - Edinburgh flats are just beautiful and huge. Helena was sposed to be going home tomorrow but has decided to stay until Monday which is great news, and the lovely Kerry will be up before we wake up tomorrow morning so that's exciting news for the weekend.

I've seen 13.5 shows so far. I've had a chance to write short reviews about a couple of them, post stars for most of them but sadly there have been a few which I shall abstain from putting on the site cos they've just been disappointingly terrible. One in particular which featured two performers - one of which I have seen perform stand up before and she was really good. So I was terribly disappointed to find myself wanting the hour of my life back. On the whole it is just very strange to be here. It doesn't seem like I've been away - has it really been 11 months since Fringe 2004? Its quite nice seeing shows on my own and having proper work to do cos it prises me out of bed a lot earlier and by my Edinburgh standards I have hardly had anything to drink and hardly been in the Brookes Bar. I have been very kindly been given a Spank pass so I can at least pop in and see people without having to pay and then feel as though I have to stay for the whole night. The room that Spank is in is really perfect for it and intend to go a lot more. Have so far managed to avoid bumping into many people at all. Its bizarre. I think because there are so many different late night shows and venue bars people have become a lot more scattered which I think is a good thing.

My toppest favouritest comedy show so far has been Dave Skinner and friends. I am taking Kerry to see it on Sunday to see what she thinks. There is a character who does a song with one of our favourite words in it so I can't wait for her shriek when she hears it. The most incredible thing I have seen at the festival was La Clique. It ended up being me, H, Uncle Vinny, Lucy Porter and the Puppetry of the Penis guys at one table with a really good view in the Spiegeltent. There was a trapeze lady, a belly dancing man, a drag queen, a naked lady doing magic, a hula hoop lady, a funny singing lady, the homoerotic and very strong Caesar twins and two skating Willow people who were really f*cking incredible. Again I am going back and dragging Kerry with me. We just couldn't believe what our eyes were seeing. It was no ordinary circus, it was classy, funny, sexy and dangerous!!

Anyway, my time is running out now, I have to run and see Richard Herring which I am of course very excited about. My god, I am seeing three more shows after Rich, and he finises at 9pm. Well done me. I deserve a medal.

Day 0

Remarkably performances have been going on in Edinburgh since Wednesday. It's now Sunday and I'm still in London. This is unprecedented behaviour. And remarkably I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. Getting the 1pm train up to Edinburgh tomorrow and as far as Comedy Lounge is concerned I'm going it alone for the first time. I am going to have a few partners in crime for the first ten days or so and then for the final week it's me and everyone from work... Officially I'm going up for work so I am going to try to kill two birds with one stone.. or do two jobs with one ticket. My brain is a bit sluggish tonight after Steve & Sue's wedding last night and it's nearly 9pm and I have yet to pack. My suitcase is on my bed and there are clothes strewn around it but the urgency of the situation hasn't quite hit me yet. I've been so incredibly busy especially for the last week that I've not had a chance to even think about the festival. I have a carefully planned timetable of 67 shows to see in 17 days... almost none of which are shows guaranteed to make me laugh. I'm talking Chris Addison, Jeremy Lion and the likes. I have managed to crowbar Rich & Stew into my schedule by way of a reward but my main focus this year is new talent and I am actually really excited about it.

Tomorrow I am getting the train up with H and we are staying in the flat of a friend of a friend just across the meadows. Then on Friday, H is going back to London as young Kerry comes up to play. But of course I will be very focused on work. I am supposed to be going to the office in Glasgow which will be cool but a lot of the shows I am seeing start around lunchtime so I'm not sure how that's going to work. Somehow I have to oganise a shoot in France while I am away. Tomorrow night I am going to see Adam Buxton's show with my boss. I love Adam - he never fails to make me laugh. So that'll be a very good start to the festival. I am determined not to have anything ruin it as per the last few years and it's certainly going to e very different to past years so bring it on!!