The Pig Yard

Edinburgh Day 1 (Saturday)

Travelling, or at least the prospect of travelling is such a nightmare. There are too many variables and therefore the control of the whole process is quite fraught. Steve had several days of depression beforehand but the morning arrived when we had to pack and head for Birmingham to catch our FlyBe flight. All went surprisingly to plan, no hold ups on the motorways, we found the car park with no diversions and walked straight through security. I think it was Nick who said it would be a turboprop and he was right, as always. It's a little disconcerting to see propellers on a plane these days as we're so used to jets but our little aircraft did what it was designed for and we were landing at Edinburgh within an hour. We had a brief wait for our single piece of hold luggage before we made our way outside and jumped into a taxi that took us to the flat that would be our home for the next week.

After unpacking we went to buy some essentials from the local supermarkets, one is never enough so we visited both Tescos and Sainsburys for good measure. Then a quick bite to eat sitting outside a local cafe under an awning while the rain drizzled down. It then rained and rained while we wandered through the familiar streets of the Old Town. We picked up our pre-booked tickets, very efficient service, and finally made our way back to the warm dry surrounds of the flat. It was a busy day...

Edinburgh Day 2 (Sunday)

The forecast was for a day of rain - heavy, drizzle or light and the met office got it absolutely spot on. With this in mind we didn't surface until quite late and by mid morning we found ourselves having a coffee in a small cafe on the Royal Mile. We went to our first free gig at lunchtime - The Tourists was a sketch show and it was surprisingly good. The script was brilliant, funny, subtle and at times surreal. Worth every penny!

On the way back to the flat for a spot of lunch we saw a brass band playing with great enthusiasm and it made us realise why we enjoy the festival so much. It is so alive and we feel great about being a small part of it. After a bite of lunch we decided to try our luck with another free show of three "up and coming" comedians. We were a little late in finding the room in the venue and so we had to stand at the back. As it happened this did us a great favour. The first act was reasonably good with a theme based around people who unnecessarily press buttons at Pelican crossings when someone has already pressed it. He had a soundtrack which he used to good effect. He got a thumbs up. The next act was trying to play the shy student act but failed miserably on all counts, thumbs down here and the final act was a guy who was billed as a famous cricketer and he came on as an over enthusiastic sportsman, enthused by his sport to the exclusion of everything else. We left before he'd finished because he didn't amuse us at all and we were embarrassed by the banality of it all.

The highlight of the day was Ruby Wax. She was truly fantastic. Her show was based on her experience of her mental breakdown and depression. It was a very professional production and she combined her humour with her friend Judith on the piano who sang songs that created a symbiotic feel to the whole event. It was humorous and moving at the same time which is a difficult balance to maintain.

To finish the day we quickly booked up to see Mark Dolans, a stand up comedian who apparently has appeared on Channel 4. He was clever, confident in his dialogue with the audience but it wasn't a laugh out loud experience. Steve read somewhere recently that our appreciation of stand up comedy has been spoiled by programmes like "Live at the Apollo" because this gives edited highlights and we start to think that every comedy show is full of belly laughs every second. Mark Dolans was probably very good but he didn't rise to our expectations. We expect a comedian to be clever and "laugh out loud"!

Of course all of the above events were surrounded by street theatre, music, comedy, magic and juggling. Here's another example... Depression in the rain but their harmonies were magical.

Edinburgh Day 3 (Monday)

We specially booked an early show, 9.25, to get us out of bed and started. The rain had finally stopped after 24 hours of drizzle so our walk across the city to the Surgeons Hall was very pleasant. We opted for an American High School Theatre group because we wanted to support a young group, even if they were young and American. Their play was about the consequences of being on the sidelines of an alcoholic or drug addict. It was well performed but as always when young people act out something very deep and meaningful it is somewhat limited due to their own narrow life experiences. We've seen a lot worse and they portrayed grief and emotional upset with some gravitas. It did go on a bit and it over ran by ten minutes which meant we had to walk very fast to the next venue situated in the New Town (across the city). Luckily they were also running late due to a technical hitch on their computers. When in trouble blame the computer - it works in most instances.

The Butterfly Effect was a 3 man music ensemble who used a bizarre variety of instruments to create a story regarding how chaos theory works. It was brilliantly simple, comic and musically enchanting. It was one of those shows that you enter not knowing what to expect and come out having had a great experience but not sure how to describe it. We loved every minute.

After a wander around a craft market, lunch and a chance to write up our reviews of the morning's shows we were off again to the Pleasance Courtyard to see Ed Reardon's - Writer's Burden. His show was based on his Radio 4 show where he plays a disgruntled writer making his way through mediocre assignments. Nothing beats a grumpy old man and Ed Reardon is just that. He was perfectly on target and lived up to our expectations.

We just had time to leave the venue and immediately queue again for the same venue to see Art Malik and his daughter in Rose. Another brilliantly performed show. We expected Art Malik to be good but his daughter, Kiera, held her own and was his equal on stage. The story was full of pathos with a touch of humour as there is in many father/daughter relationships. It told of an immigrant father whose wife died in childhood and he swore he would bring his daughter up to be an English rose, even naming her Rose. As with all teenagers she rebelled and eventually became a Muslim despite his efforts to deny all religions. Deep and thought provoking.

We returned to the flat for refreshment before venturing out into the evening to catch the street entertainment on the Royal Mile. Many of the crowds are there to catch the Edinburgh Tattoo but this militaristic event is one we agreed held no interest for us. We tried finding a pub with live music but settled on watching a Dublin rock band who delivered a very good 20 minute gig before the organisers moved them on to make way for the next act. The events continue late into the night and some of the venues remain active until 3 am, way past our bedtime.

Edinburgh Day 4 (Tuesday)

Within minutes of coming out we were enticed to book another show that started within the next half hour and rather than queue we decided to try and book using Steve's iPhone - it didn’t work but Jane’s thankfully picked up a 3G signal and we managed to fight our way through the Fringe web screens to book the tickets. The hassle was worth it because the Seminar was an excellent one woman, comedy show based around a motivational seminar to relieve the stresses and strains of life. It turns out the speaker had more stress than anyone in the audience.

Next we were across town to see Shylock, a production with Guy Masterson explaining and acting the role of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He also gives a brief history of persecution of Jews through out the ages. Guy Masterson is an incredible actor we’ve seen him in several other productions: two years ago in a bird watching play and four years ago in Under Milk Wood. It was professional, very good and well done however it didn’t have any of the emotional involvement found in the low key production One Under.

The last of our shows for the day was Rock the Ballet. One for Jane really and the idea of ballet to rock music also appealed to Steve. It was a sold out event and the queue started 40 minutes before the doors were due to open so we joined because there was nothing else to do. We hadn’t eaten all day due to us rushing in and out of events so Jane nipped out of the queue to buy something to revive our low blood sugar levels.

Disappointingly for Steve the show consisted of six testosterone filled male ballet dancers and only one female. Steve thought the best way to describe it as "ballet meets the Chippendales". Jane loved it and the granny sitting next to Steve on the other side was overtly lusting after these young, bare chested dancers with whoops and very unlady-like behaviour.

Edinburgh Day 5 (Wednesday)

Today we took the train to Glasgow. Our intention was to wander around and find many of the buildings designed or influenced by Charles Rennie Mackintosh but as it was pouring with rain we made our way as quickly as we could to Glasgow School of Art where we took the official tour of the building. It was superb with most of the original detailed features in place and we learned the reasons behind the design. A great tour.

Afterwards we made our way to the Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchihall Street and had lunch with, of course, tea. To sit in this space, which in itself is a work of art, munching on delicate sandwiches off plates with a Mackintosh design and drinking tea - heaven.

Mid afternoon found us back on the train and then meeting up with Tony & Jude in Edinburgh. Coffee on the top floor of Jenners department store overlooking Prince's Street Gardens. It was great to catch up. We met up later for a light dinner before heading off to see Mark Thomas, Extreme Rambling (Walking the Wall). This was a discourse on the trials and tribulations of him walking the border between the Israeli and the Palestinian lands. As a well known political, comedic activist this was a must see show. He surpassed our expectations, playing to a full house he made a very strong political point with pace, comedy and passionate belief. His use of language, the descriptions of his experiences made us feel as though we were with him on this extreme and dangerous walk. We left better informed, entertained and with an opinion on the situation that Israelis and Palestinians face every day.

As we turned out of the very humid venue it was raining once again. Would it ever stop?

Edinburgh Day 6 (Thursday)

Another morning waking up to the sound of torrential rain. Jane said that even the locals believe this weather is exceptional. Small consolation. Our first show was just before midday at the Assembly Rooms, George Square that was a bit of a walk so we borrowed the umbrella from the flat and tried to stay dry, avoid the rivulets running down the steep, cobbled streets at the same time as dodging the other Fringe enthusiasts who also have umbrellas up. How we arrived at our destination with our eyes in tact is nothing short of a miracle.

The show was a light piece of theatre based on Mark Twain’s view of the first bible story. It demonstrates the differences between men and women first learned by Adam and Eve as they shared their first few days in the Garden of Eden or National Park as Eve wanted to rename it. Considering he wrote this in 1904 the differences still hold true in this modern age. Eve’s declaration of love for Adam in her final speech had Jane in tears.

We had lunch at the Gilded Balloon where Steve managed to congratulate Ruby Wax on her superb show and have a brief discussion about depression and its effects on others. Our first show of the afternoon was Tim Vine at the Pleasance Courtyard. We had great seats, not too near the front so we got “picked on” but still close enough to feel involved. He was very funny with a combination of quick fire one liners and interviews with member of the audience. His delivery was somewhat similar to Tommy Cooper's. Great laughs.

A short break and then our final show of the day, a sketch show written and performed by three "up and coming" comedians. A noticeably young audience. They were very short sketches and the equivalent of one liners so no expansion of some simple ideas. Watching this after Tim Vine probably wasn’t a good combination because it was two shows with limited depth. Emerging from the venue it was 7pm and we decided we’d had enough for the day so headed back to the flat. Thankfully the rain had stopped for the time being.

Edinburgh Day 7 (Friday)

A gentle start to the day. We met up with Tony & Jude at the Elizabeth Blackadder exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery. It was in celebration of her 80th birthday and she’s still painting in various styles and media. A truly amazing woman. After a coffee at the Dovecot centre sitting on the next table to Paul Daniels and Debbie Magee (not sure we should mention that) we headed off to our first show of the day which was a dance/movement piece called Triplet. The first piece was very good with different sounds and movements being used to describe Bedlam but the last two items were more obscure and less well danced, lacking precision and finesse. 

After lunch back at the flat we headed off to see Cul-de-Sac at the Pleasance. Three professional actors delivered a great piece of comic theatre along the lines of Stepford Wives and based in a Cul-de-Sac where everybody followed a set of unwritten, middle class rules which involved a local fixer having access to all the inhabitants’ wives.

We did consider fitting in a late afternoon show but decided to give it a miss and finally met up with Tony & Jude again to see Sarah Millican. She delivered a brilliantly observed, self deprecating show with great humour and panache. It was an excellent way to finish our week of nineteen shows with the debate as to which were our top three events. We both agreed that One Under was the best.

We completed the evening with a veggie meal at Henderson's but decided not to stay for the cabaret act.

Goodbye Edinburgh, Hello Highlands

Thankfully the rain held off until we had seen most of the artwork so we could sit under cover and enjoy morning coffee before setting off on the long, four hour car journey up to Forres.

We arrived at Tony & Jude’s and the sun was shining giving the whole area the magical atmosphere that we remember from our last visit.