On the Fringe

I sent much of yesterday morning chilling in Mary’s flat. I feel a connection with her as she has a love of books and the spirit of a librarian. Seriously, she offered me a clipping from the Sunday Telegraph with an article about driving in the North of Scotland.

I eventually emerged into the fine rain to first buy a shirt at M&S, then a ticket for the bike and I from Edinburgh to London. Lunch at a Turkish kebab place near the South Bridge followed.

While was there, I poured over the Fringe Festival Program trying to decide which shows would tickle my fancy. The Fringe Festival has an unbelievable number of shows. To give you an idea, there are more than 300 venues, large and small. The shows are typically about 50 minutes. Performances start at about noon and run until quite late. Do the math, then try to decide among acts you haven’t heard of for the most part. I ended up selecting four shows that day.

Which was probably one too many.

The first was Camilla Cleese and Steve Hofstetter. They each did a stand-up set. The draw was of course Camilla, daughter of John Cleese. She has inherited her father’s height and introversion. Her father was also a source of her material. Both were very good.

The second show was A Very Brexit Musical put on by Cambridge University students. That was the only dud as I didn’t have enough knowledge to catch the references. It took me half the show to figure out that the PM who was daft enough to call the referendum was David Cameron. Boris Johnson was a too obvious buffoon in a bike helmet and high-viz vest. I also couldn’t relate to Elizabeth May as a vamp.

The next show was Police Cops by the Pretend Men. The Pretend Men are a three-man troupe of talented lunatics (and I say that with affection) who mercilessly parodied buddy cop films with skill and dexterity. Part of the performance involved dance. It also involved many character changes. Rave.

The last was the only show I had any reference to, and that was a review in the paper. Raymond and Mr. Timkins present Ham was a crazy show. They were miming a narrative to a very mixed soundtrack of popular song snippets which were appropriate to the various props presented with exquisite timing. So rave again.

Weather, meh.

 I might just plan my next visit to Edinburgh to coincide with the Fringe. Damn sight better than Just for Laughs.