The first of July (though not much of it left) and I haven’t made any mention yet of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I know a bit different to previous years. Have you seen the programme this year?! It’s huge. Lug that around in your bag? Probably not. When I popped into the Fringe shop to pick up a couple, I was actually taken aback by the size, the assistant enthusiastically told me how many shows there are this year, I just meekly smiled back.

What I really wanted to do was point out that quantity itself is not impressive; and unfortunately too much quantity makes finding the quality (that is, whatever a person considers quality) that much more difficult. Now I’m a seasoned Fringer, I have my methods for wading through and finding the nuggets, but this year’s programme is intimidating for me, how’s the novice Fringer gonna feel?. I can’t imagine trying to randomly find shows online, there’s no algorithms for a moose mind (oh, they probably think they’re getting it right, haha, really, no), that why I prefer a printed version, but jeez, it’s been a trawl.

I’m sure that once I commit to plunging in proper, cutting out, finding the precious previews, I’ll be fine, and that starts tomorrow! Oh, I have made one sweep through, plenty queried mark-ups. I’ve noticed that this year there’s a lot in the Theatre section that aren’t even up for a full week, oh crikey, oh well, as long as they get something out of the experience besides an overdraft, I suppose. Sorry, I’m being quite a negative Nancy, aren’t I? But while I’ve felt for a while that the Fringe was getting a tad too big, this is the first time I thought, oh jeez, at seeing the size of the programme.

And on that note I will leave you for some other more uplifting notes in Whistlebinkies. The Hollow aka Louis Crosland and band (whoever that may be tonight) are playing in about ten minutes time. Toodle pip!