Catmachine

It is of course typical that when  I write an entry making a big song and dance about how I am going to temporarily return the blog to its original purpose by writing about my short trip to the Edinburgh Fringe it mainly covers my journey up and then before I get the chance to write part two I get so distracted by space knockers that I have to write a blog in defence of the Mars Curiosity Rover . And then do nothing for several days. Of course it's not strictly true to say that I haven't been doing anything. I have been very busy. For a start, I have been writing, just not blog entries. And when not writing I have been commuting back and forth between Dolphinton and Edinburgh on the local buses. This means that I haven't been able to stay in town as late as I would have liked as the last bus is at 9.35pm. Nevertheless I have managed to see a few good shows - some of the best being  Bad Musical , Michael Legge: What a Shame and My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver...

Far back in the mists of time when I first started this blog its main purpose was to make sure I didn't forget things. That was six years ago. But then it evolved and I started waffling on about any number of old things, often to do with philosophy or science. Then I started becoming busy with other forms of writing and blog frequency was one of the victims of my lack of time. In an attempt to remedy this I am now going to temporarily return the blog to its original purpose. I'm off to Edinburgh again to, amongst other things, see some shows on the Fringe and it would be nice to have a record of what I end up managing to see. I hope it's more than I used to - previously I seemed to simply end up sitting in bars drinking with the idea of going to see a show hanging over me like an unpleasant obligation. Ridiculous. After all, I can sit in a bar and drink any time. Of course I have to get there first. The trip did start suspiciously well when a Brighton bus driver l...

The good thing about social media is that you don't have to suffer in silence. I spent an evening of irritation at Gatwick Airport yesterday and its the kind of annoyance that just keeps on giving (quite apart from the fact that my plans for the festive period were royally stuffed). Still, at least I got a blog entry out of it. It started out OK - we got through security in record time, having been diverted via the spare suite on the upper level. It was when the gate for our flight to Edinburgh was due to open that the trouble started. At around 6.30pm, the information available for flight EZY713 went from Gate opens at 18:25 to Please wait . At this stage I wasn't that bothered - I was assuming that this was just the prelude to Boarding at Gate 6 . After all, I reasoned, surely at around half an hour before take off they'd know (and pass on the information) if it was going to be delayed or even cancelled. Please wait . Take off time came and went. At this point I was st...

For some reason - probably being busy or at least as busy as you can be when actually on holiday - I didn't get the time to complete this aide memoire whilst still in Edinburgh. So I'd better do it now before memories fade but the scars still linger... Saturday 19 August I think this is where I left you. Made my way over to the Gilded Balloon to see Hils Barker - a show I had not only done the poster for but also designed some fake chicklit covers for: Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Friendly, chatty standup with just the right level (for me) of annoyance with the world and some amusing musical sequences too. I then made my way over to the Pleasance Courtyard and saw Star Trip - a comedy-mime-music-dance science fiction show.Very odd. The second half of it was pretty good though. Afterwards I suddenly discovered that we would be doing a Gonzo show after all... Sunday 20 August Up latish and into town as per. J and I met up with M and made our way over to the Baby Bel...

And so on and so forth... Got back into town the following day just before J's show. Hung around the courtyard for a while then had a drink with J,P,D and D's brother & friend before making my way across to the Smirnoff Underbelly to see Gary le Strange: Beef Scarecrow . Another great show. Very different from the previous ones and somewhat disturbing. In a good way. Then it was off to Brookes for the rest of the evening. So - so far two days and two shows. Not a good rate as I'm only here for a very few days. I'll have to do something about that today.

Another in the occasional series of not-so-much-a-blog-as-an-aide-memoire-to-prevent-myself-forgetting my holidays... After a flight which involved a lot less hassle with the security than I had imagined (I actually turned up to early to check in) I arrived in Edinburgh. It was raining. I walked from the bus stop to the Pleasance Courtyard which didn't seem to have changed - odd to think that it doesn't actually exist as such outside August. Met up with J, D and P, hung around for a while and then went to see their show ( Bad Play: Second Coming ). Which was excellent. Would definitely like to see it again and not just because it's family. After that it was off to Dolphinton for a relatively early night and ten hour's sleep, which was greatly appreciated as I was a little the worse for wear after the apparent "excesses" in Brighton the night before.