Edinburgh

As some of you may know, I have recently returned from a week in Edinburgh. I travelled up with Norman Cho and can put all your minds at rest, that: Yes, he is just as obsessive in person, as he is in his amazing blog. I think we got on ok though, I'm used to my own company or that of the cats, so when faced with extended periods around actual people, I do worry how I might react. Well, if I haven't thrown furniture at you after a few hours or broken in to relentless sobbing, then I'm tolerating you to a fairly decent standard... Norm didn't ever run screaming from me, so I take that as a good sign.

The journey and all the arrangements seemed fine, with me opting, after some deliberation to stay in student digs although Norm had offered me a room in his flat a little further out. I like to have my own bathroom and a bit of extra privacy. It's a girl thing.

I didn't get to see quite as many shows as I'd planned. One day was spent out of the game with a sickness bug, one day spent out of the game ... on the phone to my solicitor and several other days where I lacked the focus required to get me to the right places at the right time, but most days I saw two or three shows and I even blagged free entry into 2 So You Think You're Funny Semi Finals and a few other shows too. I took a walk around the Museum one day and a walk up to the Royal Botanic Gardens, not forgetting what a very special city Edinburgh is!

It was overall a really good week. I got to see the shows and performances of some of my comedy buddies including, but not exclusively, Laura Carr, Lindsay Sharman, Paul Duncan McGarrity, Ant Dewson and David Gibson. I spent a few happy nights at Get Happy and did a fair amount of drinking with various different people depending on who I had latched myself onto...

I knew before I went that next year I want to do the whole run at the Edinburgh Fringe, probably as part of a two or three person show. What I really got a taste for this year is how horrible it will be. It will be exhausting. It will be demoralising. It will be expensive and a lot of the times it won't be funny!

People I spoke to aren't just doing their own shows; most if not all, are doing an extra spot or two (or three or four) per day. Add in the flyering and the drinking... Well, did I mention it is exhausting? Thing is, it is an incredible way to experience the business of comedy. I'd stick my neck out and say there is probably no other way to immerse yourself in comedy, than to go all in and do a month Edinburgh. Then at the end, you come back and you take your place on the open mic scene, but you come back with more material, you come back and five minutes is like a stroll in the park. Maybe if it goes ok and it doesn't break you, you come back and you have learnt immense amounts and you are much stronger comedian for it.

During my week, I did three open spots ... That brings me up to gig 103 now, for those of us still counting. Three more than I did the year before in Edinburgh. The first one got a nice reception at Al Cowie's Llaugh, although I did bail after only three or four minutes, I was going really well and didn't want to ruin it by tailing off at the end....

The second one got a slightly more awkward reception, but not a total loss, at a gig run by Simon Lilley, called The Dog That Ate Your Birthday Cake... nice name for a comedy showcase. There were lots of audience there, they just seemed a bit ... well not there. I tripped over some important lines and could see my hand shaking, which I know does a comic no favours in terms of owning a room... Ooops. I had a hangover more than I had fear of performance!

The last spot was at Electric Cabaret. A drunken late night open mic show, on this occasion, it was inhabited mostly by the regulars at DSS, where the most impressive thing I showcased was a picture of my knitted owl and a demonstration of my crab. Oh well... A gig is a gig. Other comedians tried juggling and cartwheels. I guess you had to be there! Or maybe it is best that you weren't.

Thanks to anyone that let me anywhere near a mic anyway. Oh and thanks to anyone who, stopped to say hello or have a pint with me. It really did make for a great week away.

Edinburgh, I shall see you next year. Right, all I have to do now, is get lots more comedy practice, spend some time doing some proper writing and get heaps better as a comedian generally, so I don't make a twat of myself when I get there... As they say in Italy - No Problemo...

I'll crack on with that, right after I've moved flat. Yes... for today is my last whole day and one more sleep until I move peoples. It only took ten months, but this sh*t is really going down :)

GIG REPORTS - YOU LOVE THEM YOU SLAGS!

Yes, I've been taking the sperm story out to the people... Gig 83 and 84 took place in Derby and London respectively...

I do worry that I'll get myself a reputation, talking publicly about sperm, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing. Who doesn't love a cum guzzler?* Oh goodness no. Am I just making this worse? Things are really getting out of hand now. It could take me weeks, no months, years even to rebuild my flawless 'pure as the driven snow' reputation. I'm sorry if I have caused unnecessary offence.

*Mum (and all other family members) I do hope you aren't reading this and I don't want you to think of me that way. It couldn't be further from the truth and is all based on a simple misunderstanding...

Oh Gosh, Moving Swiftly on...

I've had two lovely gigs this week. Norm, Giada Garofalo and I went up to Derby on Monday. My fourth ever Spikey Mike Gong Show and as I'd been gonged off at three minutes and two minutes respectively at the last couple, I didn't hold out much hope of surviving the five on Monday. Well - I surprised everyone including myself, by having a lovely old time and surviving the gong to do an entire five minutes. It doesn't sound much, but it means something to me, so there.

Giada and I had this quite tricky moment where we got stuck at the bottom of the stairs as a load of audience were coming down at the last interval of the night and it looked just like we were there to lap up praise... We weren't - honest. Just as well we were there - as it happened one passing audience actually high fived me and said - "oooooh we loved you, I said to my mate, she is just like us." Her mate looked a little non plussed by all this. Anyway, they looked like a lovely couple of girls. They had, how to best say this? They had a very friendly easy to get along with air about them (slags) and I was delighted to be considered one of their own... Well I was delighted that they liked my set.

Unfortunately Giada and Norm both got gonged off at three and a half minutes, but that is how it goes sometimes. I know from experience that it can be a bit disheartening, but neither of them seemed too troubled by it and overall it was a nice night out and another Road Trip Win.

Last night was gig 84. Desperately Seeking Stagetime. I've been to this gig a lot lately and rate it as one of my favourite open mic nights. There was a bit of a problem last night as quite a few audience and comics left early. It started all nice and busy and by the time I went on (second to last) ... It had emptied right out. Anyway, one must plough on... They know who they are... The leave early snides...

Last night, there was a huge picture of a Dog Trust dog and acts were encouraged to come up with a dog joke. I'm not really one for jokes, (tricky as a comedian) but I did want to talk about the dog because you could see her nipples. She had obviously had pups at some stage...

Bearing in mind I was a bit drunk I said something far more slurred and much less concise, but along the lines of - "I feel really bad for her. Look at her little sad face. Just because she has saggy nipples, doesn't mean she won't make someone a loving companion. - hmmmm, I might put that on my OKCupid profile."

It is a shame that was probably one of those one off never again comedy moments, because I could eek out a good few minutes about how the little doggy had been around the block and what else she and me might have in common.

On last was Adam Larter. I like him, he is very funny. It was his doggy picture too...

I got my performance recorded on my snazzy new video recorder... but may choose not to post it up here or on youtube. I haven't even had the courage to look at the recording yet and it may not help with the whole spermgate situation...

Need another POV on the gigs described here? Try 'Norm' from my 'friends who blog' section. A hyperlink here in the text? That would be handy wouldn't it. No, don't want to.

The skinny jeans are going ok thanks. They do take some getting used to.

The dating is a mixed bag and my most profound apologies for not updating you better on that front. I know you all got excited when I kicked that off. I just can't be bothered to explain it all if truth be told. Oh, I feel bad now for not sharing. Or do I? Nah, not really.

Oh, I booked a gig for the day of my birthday too... It will be a "Get Happy" Birthday on the 7th July this year. Lovely, lovely, lovely... Be there or be square...

Do you follow me on Twitter? Would you like to? To be fair, it is a lot of very similar stuff to this, but in bite size easy to digest niblets - my username is Oggers76 and you don't get the full url or link for that either.

Cheers x