Edinburgh Fringe Days 9 & 10. Rest, Rest, Rest.

It's true what they say about Edinburgh weather. Wait a minute and it changes. But there has been

Colinton

enough sun these last few days for pottering by the Water of Leith or sitting in Anne-Marie's steep but lovely garden and watching the peacock butterflies on her Buddleia. Everything is steep round here with the river running past in a ravine below.

Not a lot to report really these last two days. After the excitement of The Devil Without I had a quiet day catching up with emails and the like and only went into the city for the show. I leafleted people in the pub with a pitch for all of us (comedy and/or theatre from 12pm to 10pm every day) which felt very much like the right thing to do. Hopefully someone else does that too but if not, it doesn't matter.

At some point I will start leafleting the people who are commuting to the station which is right next door, but not yet. I truly believe that the bulk of the work is best done a/ internally by being at peace about it and keeping on honing the show (God knows what I am asking for, after all) and b/ word of mouth.

I do need to get funnier though. It's that natural point in the run where you get tired of your own material. That, no matter how hard you try to hide it, tends to show. So a bit more honing is required.

On Friday lunchtime, I took my latest homeopathy for the L-ed ... and I got a reaction almost at once with discomfort which swelled, literally into a very swollen and sore neck overnight and practically no voice in the morning. So instead of Saturday being a day when I went and had a one-to-one with the media guys at Fringe Central, it was a day in bed feeling rotten. Still, I had Uncle Eckhart and Auntie Esther Hicks and a meditation CD from Anne-Marie so the time passed pleasantly enough.

It was a bit of a stagger into town though ... and I wasn't expecting a lot of people given my energy level. The Tickled Pigs have been doing a roaring trade these last two nights and when I saw they had a packed room tonight it was a challenge not to be a bit envious. I am glad for them,—they were so worried earlier in the week—but their comedy is very general and mine is really rather eclectic so although I'd like those numbers I'm not sure I'll get them just yet. But I will get them...

Still, I had 21 people tonight which was the largest audience so far ... and some good laughter even if I did cut it short by 10 minutes to save my voice. The nicest thing was that one group of four had come from word-of-mouth from someone who came earlier in the week and three of them stayed behind afterwards to ask me questions about my work and wondering if they could link up on Facebook.

But the best of all was when I overheard them going down the stairs afterwards and one of them said, 'I could come back and listen to all that again every night.'

The thing is, I'm funny - mostly. But I'm serious too. I'm telling them truths that are in the Bible and misconceptions and clearing up a few things. So it's not wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am comedy at all. And it's so lovely when someone appreciates the whole package.