Edinburgh Festival - Part 2

Part 2 of our Edinburgh Festival adventure did not start smoothly. Tony Murphy (I include his surname because I have three good friends called Tony), Alan and I waited in Ballieston for the Citylink bus but the first passed us by with no seats and the second stopped but the the driver told us that there was only two seats left. The first show, Paul Merton's Impro Chums, started at 4.30 pm and we were running out of time. We had two choices: we could drive through in Alan's car but that meant he could not drink or we could jog down to the local train station and get to Edinburgh via Glasgow Queen Street Station. We choose the later and after a bit of huffing and puffing we eventually arrived at Edinburgh Waverley Train Station, just a ten minute walk from the venue. We arrived at the Pleasance Courtyard with just minutes to spare and found a seat at the back of the raised seated platform. I like Paul Merton, his quick wit and dead pan delivery, but I was not quite sure what to expect as Alan told me that he would be performing improvised comedy with four other 'chums'. It turned out to be a very entertaining and funny hour. They would play games or act out sketches much in the vein of 'Whose line is it anyway?'. For example Paul would ask the auidience for the genre of a film or a physical setting and then the performers would improvise within this. All his 'chums' were very talented and they all interacted very well as a group. I was not surprised that the show was a sellout and I would definitely see Paul and his Impro Chums again. Afterwards we got a burger and a pint outside in the courtyard and as we stood chatting Paul Merton himself passed by disguised in a bunnet, scarf and long overcoat. Alan took the opportunity to shake his hand and praise him for such a good show, which Paul seemed to appreciate. In the distance was Arthur's Seat, a hill of about 700 feet rising over Edinburgh, and we could see human pinpricks moving about on top. We had a couple of hours to kill before the second show so we met up for a drink with some of Alan's friends who happened to be in Edinburgh at the same time. They were very pleasant. Tony and I talked to Chris and his wife Joanne, while Alan charmed the lovely Rachel. In fact we were having such a nice time that we lost track of time and almost missed the start of Alistair McGowan's show. The venue was the Assembly Hall, a lovely old building that reminded me of Glasgow University. Alistair McGowan, for those outside the UK, is a well known British actor, comedian and impersonator, but it is for his wonderful impersonations that he is best known and loved. Maybe some people expected the show to be one impersonation after another but his set contained quite a lot of standup observational comedy. I'm assuming of course that he wrote all his own material and if he did then he made a very good job of it. His impersonations were spot on but to fully appreciate them you needed to have watched a decent amount of British tv. I was surprised when, after the show, Alan told me that his show had only been rated three out of five stars in a review magazine or newspaper. He deserved more than that. It was dusk when we emerged from the Assembly Hall, the sky tinged with a beautiful red and orange glow to the west. The silhouette of Edinburgh Castle against this backdrop was very impressive. The dark blue water in the distance gave me a pleasant surprise because I always forget that Edinburgh is right next to the sea. We rejoined Chris, Joanne and Rachel and after a bit of trial and error we finally settled on a Chinese restaurant that didn't look like it would result in food poisoning. In fact the food and service was excellent. I even tried to eat my chicken with ginger and spring onions and fried rice with chopsticks but I resorted to the safer option of a fork after spilling half my meal down my jumper. I then further disgraced myself by eating all the leftovers like I had not been fed in three weeks. I possess all of the seven deadly sins in abundance but gluttony must be at the top of the list. After the meal we found a nice little pub for another drink and chat before Chris, Joanne and Rachel had to catch the last bus back to the borders. Our own journey back to Glasgow was uneventful; Tony listening to Guns 'n Roses on his Ipod (that boy is stuck in the 80's!), Alan staring out of the window in silent thought, and myself reading the excellent 'Birds without wings' by Louis de Bernieres. My second taste of the Festival had been very successful. Two top class shows, good company, the novelty of being in Edinburgh, the energy and atmosphere of the crowds, lots of cider and a good meal. Same again next year.