At the 2010 Edinburgh Comedy Festival

Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets

The Edinburgh Festival started with a bang this year, and my sister Carolyn and I have already seen a whole bunch of shows, and in my case, all of them comedy! We started last Wednesday with the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet theatre, an original one-man/two-handed show that put up to date and hilarious new twists on some well known songs, e.g. Eric Clapton's classic 'Layla' became 'Vuvuzela', in homage to the droning horns that dominated this years 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa. Carolyn and Dad also went to see Russell Kane the following night, and then we saw Andrew Bird at the Pleasance Dome (aka Potterrow) on Friday. 

Steven K. Amos

Arj Barker

On Saturday, we had a double-bill of shows lined up, with Steven K. Amos (left) at the Pleasance Grand earlier in the night, followed by The Best Of The Fest preview show at the Assembly Rooms. This was the second year in a row that we've been to see Steven K. Amos and he didn't disappoint, although the crowd filed out with the poor man still standing on stage, and he looked slightly miffed about it too! The Best Of The Fest show started after midnight and ran until about 2 am! The show was hosted by Lee Nelson, and featured Carl Barron, Arj Barker (right), Jimeoin and Terry Alderton. We managed to get seats in the front row, but luckily avoided being picked on by the comedians! It was a terrific night of entertainment, and the 'Best Of The Fest' tag was thoroughly deserved!

Kevin Bridges

Last night, Carolyn, Dad and I joined Uncle John, Grant and Gemma to go and see Kevin Bridges, a fast-rising star of the UK comedy scene. Renowed for his west of Scotland style of dry humour, his set flew by but was incredibly funny. I'd seen him on 'Live At The Apollo' before, but he seemed to connect with the audience last night and generally appeared more relaxed and on better form than I've seen him before. At only 23 years old, Bridges admits that he doesn't have a whole lot of experiences to draw his comedy routine from, but that didn't seem to stop him delivering a fluent and hilarious show, which had everyone wondering where the last hour had just gone.


All in all, it may have been a hectic few days, but it has been worth it to make the most of the fact that we have the best international festival in the world right on our doorstep. The Edinburgh Comedy festival always attracts some of the best new comedians who go on to become household names. The only regret was that our cousin Richard and his family couldn't make it to Edinburgh to join in the fun, and we all wish Richard the best of luck and medical science in the coming days and weeks in his brave fight with cancer.