2021

They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse

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The rain gods realised it was 241 Monday at the Edinburgh Fringe, oh yes! It may not be much of a 241 Monday but the rain gods were gonna christen it, a full-on dunking. Finally around mid evening they got bored and allowed the skies to finally clear – just as well as I had to queue outside for a show, that started 30 minutes late (technical lighting problems). Yes, I went to my first show today! Well, the lovely people at Assembly were doing a Locals offer – half price tickets for a select few shows for the next few days. Naturally, I had to check the list, nothing that really tickled my fancy, but Guy Masterton, Fringe institution, was doing a one man show, definitely worth a shot!

So there I was at the back of nine o’clock sitting in the magnificent Palais Du Variété spiegeltent in the Assembly George Square Gardens. I took a moment to have a good long look around and savour everything. Really, you couldn’t have a fringier start to a Fringe – a wet, wet day, an atmospheric spiegeltent, and Guy Masterton performing Under Milk Wood (abbreviated, or he called it, Semi-skimmed). I’ve never seen it or read it before, the little I knew about Under Milk Wood never appealed to me, but this, it seemed was finally the time to try it, taste it and see!

How was it? Very theatrical, darling. But it worked – thinking back on it now, I could almost believe I saw it with a full cast of actors, the stories in black and white vignettes on film. Guy Masterton is a masterful storyteller, riveting to watch, yes, a bit theatrical for me, does that say more about me or him? I am very glad I went, I experienced something a little out of my range (hey, these days I eat salad mixes with tomatoes, cucumber and celery in them, would never have done that twenty years ago!). I really appreciated some of the lighting effects, white spotlights from below sending dark silhouettes on to the red background (very Lynchian) and when they flicked from side to side to have the effect of two people arguing, I loved it. I found myself thinking that the shadow might actually start acting apart from him, move independently, even attack him! Yes, the shadow play really did a number on me – was that Masterton’s intention with the effects?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him perform before. I’ve seen plenty of his Fringe work as producer and director, best known are, 12 Angry Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Odd Couple and more recently The Shark Is Broken; all rather excellent. Oh yeah, on my wander home after the show tonight I passed Pip Utton, another Fringe institution who’s had a number of his shows directed by Masterton.

Must go lie down and sleep now. Ah, it feels my Fringe has begun now! A few photos from this evening for your delight and delectation.

George Square Gardens have some interesting trees growing! Bristo Square this year.

Not really as busy as a usual 241 Monday would be at the back of ten o’clock.

No paradise nor bedlam this year!

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It’s Friday night, I’d usually be in a final preview show at this time (four years on the trot it was Will Seaward just starting as I type this). It really doesn’t feel like Fringe time, apart from the weather – thunder early afternoon and heavy showers since then. I took my walk early evening once it was looking dry for a while. I was noticing the things that were missing, a Spot The Difference Stroll. There’s often six differences to spot in those pictures, so six, i ) no C cubed at Riddles Court, ii) nothing at St Columba’s, iii) nothing at Roman Eagle Lodge aka C Aquila, iv) no Paradise in the Vault (a big miss, I always see something great in there), v) no Paradise in Augustine’s (not that any production came close to that in there!), and vi) no Bedlam!!! That’s a really big hole in the aesthetic of the Fringe; an iconic building looking bare and closed up, such a shame.

Was it because of the rain, lack of interest or a lack of people, but George Square Gardens, weren’t remotely busy; the Assembly side was positively genteel with a harpist playing on a small stage set into the bottom corner. I think it’s the Underbelly in Teviot Square (shows how much of an impact it made on me), also quiet. Oh, I’ve just realised – no Pleasance Dome, of course. One small thing that made me smile was a few couples dancing the tango by the Dugald Stewart Building; I have no idea what that was about but it was quite charming to watch a while!

As I was quite peckish by then I headed home via the Sharwarma House on Nicolson Street. They do a rather good lamb sharwarma wrap for a reasonable £5.99, there’s plenty of it. I washed it down with a bottle of pils, yes, a pils, one of the few times I do prefer a lager to real ale or cider.

Oo yes, I did book some tickets today, six, enough to save a bit on the booking fees. I did try to book two more, but, well, the computer said no, and it kept saying no no matter how many times I tried! Why did I keep trying? Well, when the screen shows which days there’s still tickets available, but then comes up with “Sorry there are not enough tickets available to fulfil your request” at a request for one ticket!! I was a tad narked, any of the days I clicked on said the same thing and both shows are the same venue theSpace Triplex, hmmm. Maybe I’ll try checking them next week in case more tickets are added after Monday, I do hope so.

On the plus side, and oh so fringe side, my new favourite from 2019 is back, Luke Rollason, yay. He’s back at the Monkey Barrel again – I have my ticket booked! So looking forward to seeing his latest offering.

I’ll leave you with a photo of the Bedlam Theatre taken back in 2017. Adieu!

Is this the way to Arthur’s Seat?

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I was asked yesterday afternoon as I was about to unlock my tenement front door. Why yes, madam, and I hope the looming clouds don’t shed their load until after you’ve enjoyed the wonderful panoramic views and are back down. Judging from when the rain started she may have made it halfway back, and with no brolly or rain jacket -soggy! Before that I’d passed a family standing on the street debating whether the hotel they’d found was the right one, I almost turned back to enquire the name of the establishment they were looking for but then I remembered that I never remember the names of the hotels in the area, so I silently wished them luck and continued on. I should try and learn which is which as there’ll soon be plenty of confused travellers wandering around.

I’d been out to put some of my Fringe Fund in my bank account as so much stuff will be card or online payments this year. There was also a package from Amazon to be picked up from a locker in Waverley Mall, trickier than I thought! I followed the directions to where it should be but couldn’t see any lockers, perhaps I was approaching it wrong? Back to the entrance, followed the directions again, nope. It didn’t help that the instructions said that the lockers were next to an I Love Scotland shop that clearly isn’t there anymore! Doh. Finally I did the unmanly thing and asked a security guard, oo, I was so close to them the whole time! A sign or two would help, they are tucked away somewhat, I feel certain that I’m not the only one unable to see them.

Back outside the mall on Waverley Bridge another fine guitar band were rocking and playing the blues. See, Waverley Bridge has been closed as a thoroughfare for a while now, so bands have taken to playing at the Princes Street end (probably one of the very few pluses about the council’s Spaces for People).

《big pause whilst I catch up with a friend over lunch, a wander and a coffee》

After my friend toddled off home I decided to have one more treat and went to Ciao Roma for an ice cream, a single scoop of passionfruit cheesecake in a cone, yay. As its been a gloriously sunny day I headed to Waverley Bridge to see who was playing. It was the lead and rhythm guitarists from one of the bands that plays there quite a bit. They were rather good so I stayed longer than intended. Vocal duties were shared between them, two very different voices, really can’t call which I preferred. Mind, the final number, a sublime bluesy version of Minnie the Moocher sung by the lead guitarist, oh yeah, he really delivered it with style. So, basically, if you’re passing by the east end of Princes Street in an afternoon, be prepared to get waylaid a while by some great sounds!

Aaanyways, back to yesterday. The band waylaid me, had to leg it up Cockburn Street and down the Royal Mile to grab a coffee from my new favourite barista, Roy – he closes at 3pm. Lovely chap, makes a damn fine coffee! He’s in one of the old red telephone boxes outside the chemist, just up from John Knox House. He opens up really early doors, 7am I believe (I haven’t risen that early for some while). Coffee procured I headed off and checked the latest menu boards outside a couple of local cafes, indeed early glances had not deceived, they were now doing eggs benedict. Annoyingly, closer inspection revealed that they’re using ham rather than bacon, no no no. Ham will not do for this moose, as won’t a base of anything other than a muffin (that’s a no to wanky “toasted artisan bread” Rocksalt). Which reminds me I should revisit Em’s Kitchen, they’ve had a refit so I should check that their eggs benedict hasn’t suffered from the changes.

Ah, changes, the Sturgeon’s been at it again. Scotland’s going “beyond level zero” on Monday 9th August; er, zero mean zilch, nada, a big fat nothing, still having face masks as a legal requirement in the same indoor settings (also “likely to be mandated in law for some time to come” from the lips of the Sturgeon herself) and having to provide contact details in all the same hospitality spaces as now, isn’t nothing nevermind past nothing! Not that I have a problem with keeping some safety measures in place, but calling it level zero and beyond?!? It’s not, its more like level 0.5.

Mind, even the deputy first minister is unclear about what will be allowed next week, he said on morning television today that “vertical drinking” would not be allowed (you maybe wondering, like me, wtf is “vertical drinking”?) that’s apparently standing drinking at the bar in a pub, Mr Swinney agreed that people would have be masked while ordering a drink at the bar and would not be allowed to stand and drink it there ………. hours later a government official confirmed this was not the case, drinking at the bar will be allowed. There’s also still confusion on mask wearing in nightclubs when they re-open (in five days time) apparently the government are still working on this one! The Sturgeon claims to be very cautious about bringing in Covid passports, hmmm, saying that could be to gain public sympathy for having to make such a difficult decision before it’s announced (cynical, moi?).

What will the changes on the 9th mean for the Edinburgh Fringe, and I guess the International and Film Festivals too? If social distancing has gone can they sell tickets for all the spaces left empty so far? Will venues with two or four people bubble policies drop them? Or at least, will capacity numbers be increased? Interested parties, Fringers and Fringees, want to know!

Ah well, that time again. Bon nuit!

Heeeere’s August!

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July did seem awfully short but at least it was toasty. Now as the first of the new month ebbs away, I’m wondering how the Fringe got so close without me organising any tickets?! Maybe its the complete lack of large posters everywhere? No programmes lying around the place to be marked up, cut up, saved for best? The town is busying up now but it feels more like a June rather than nearly Fringe time.

I have been looking at the In Person shows on the Fringe website and some ideas jotted down. Interestingly I noticed this evening that Barry Ferns isn’t down as doing the whole Fringe run now, but from the 20th until the end. Did he have second thoughts about his knees handling a full run? I really wouldn’t blame him. And John-Luke Roberts in the programme with another show than the one at the Monkey Barrel, he’s bringing back his Terrible Wonderful Adaptations for two nights at the Assembly Roxy. He’s more like an MC, ringmaster of the bizarre and absurd, in TWA so I’ll pass as I’m seeing him elsewhere, and it is £12 a ticket. That money may be spent instead seeing Watson: The Final Case, also on at the Assembly Roxy.

I have to be very wise with my money this year, what with no three days of cheap previews, no Assembly locals’ ticket offer, no Half Price Hut (ok, I am just assuming there won’t be an equivalent this year). My Fringe fund has never seemed so finite before! Do enough staring at screens these days, so I’m determined to see mainly live shows, there may be a few tantalising nuggets online, but as I’ve always said, “If the rest of the world wants to turn on my doorstep to entertain me – who am I to say no?!” Ergo, the shows on my doorstep get first dibs over flat screen offerings.

So far theSpace venues have a number of shows that interest me and as most shows are just doing short runs this year I’d best get on and book some tickets. Oh, and there’s booking fees to add in, £1.25 per ticket, up to £5 per transaction; I need to book enough at a time to make it worth it.

Ho hum. Maybe I should buff up my ukulele playing and try busking for some extra pennies – most likely thrown to make me stop! I must bid you all good night, it’s rather late now.

Good night, dear hearts 💛

It’s hot in the city!

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To quote Billy Idol, it’s hot in the city tonight, one more day of gloriousness, then, here comes the rain again, along with cooler temperatures. Will it improve again by the start of the Fringe? Hope so, I fully intend to start my Fringe atop Arthur’s Seat watching Barry Ferns – as long as it’s not wet. It’s been so nice for so long now, and with restrictions on holidays to hotter climes chopping and changing so much, Portobello beach hasn’t been this busy in years; the eateries along the Prom are doing excellent business.

I’ve been noticing on my walks in the Park that it looks like being a bumper year for cherries, yay. This evening as I walked off my tea I realised the somewhat screechy birds way up high were swifts; I knew that they were around at that time of the evening but I’ve never heard them like that before. There were quite a number of them having fun swooping around, chasing each other. A good excuse for me to pause awhile and just enjoy the spectacle overhead.

My tea? A lamb hotpot pie courtesy of Brewsters along with lots of steamed broccoli and carrots. Brewsters pies are very nice, they started doing chicken pies and now there’s occasionally lamb hotpot, steak and ale or steak and kidney, all very tasty with perfect pastry and no scrimping on the meat content. Tonight I washed it down with a bottle of ginger beer, also bought at the Farmer’s Market. Slim Hat are a new venture by a young couple living in the Old Town, this truly is a local product! It is as the label says, an authentic ginger beer, with a good kick to it, I wish them well.

Alas, anyone thinking of buying some at the Farmer’s Market to take into a show at MultiStory will be disappointed as there’ll be strict rules in place that no food or drink may be taken on to the site. This did make me wonder when I read it, as many carry water bottles round with them during the Fringe usually – will these too be banned? Seems harsh. Not that it will probably bother me as I most likely won’t be in there, being a solo Fringer (see my last post), nor am I likely to be seeing any shows at the Gilded Balloon this year as the same silly two or four bubble policy is in place. Mind, I’m not that bother at the moment as a cursory glance over their shows so far didn’t turn up anything I fancied.

I do hope the other venues don’t have similar policies, I would like to see some real live shows! Oo, I do have one show booked! It’s not actually through the Fringe website, but, as it’s John-Luke Roberts at the Monkey Barrel Comedy Club in August I’m counting it as Fringe. I have done some perusing of the Fringe programme online but it really isn’t as enjoyable as going through a physical paper one. I do hope they go back to a physical programme next year, it’s much more agreeable and I get to keep a copy as souvenir and reference book.

Well, it’s very late now, so I should be toddling off to my bed. I shall leave you with another selection of recent photos, enjoy!

There’s gonna be a lot of cinnabar moths later! All the ragwort in the Park seemed to be crawling with cinnabar moth caterpillars a few days ago.
Sunset captured on a gallivant along the East Lothian coast.
Okay, so I may have tinkered with this a bit! I had The Twilight Zone by Rush going through my head at the time.

Old, posh, rather batty – no, not me!

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Another cracking day here in Edinburgh, I’ve been lazying in the Park just sunning myself and reading. It’s a rather good book, Lady in Waiting, the autobiography of one Anne Glenconner. You may well not be familiar with the name, I wasn’t, and then my friend who was lending the book to me said, “You remember her, she was on the Graham Norton Show. Old, posh, rather batty, very funny. Princess Margaret’s chum, husband bought Mustique?!” Ah yes, her. Definitely wanted to know more – well I’m finding out an awful lot!! What a life she’s led, what a character, surrounded by characters. Okay so maybe some of it maybe embellished, who cares, it’s a great read. If you remember her from the show and like me went Oo and then forgot about her, get the paperback!

Today was so gorgeous here that the shallow pools by the parliament building had a number of small kids splashing about in them and obviously not an impromptu splash for many as they had swimwear on. Not sure if the architect of the Scottish Parliament had paddling pools in mind when he designed the foreground landscape!?

In other news, the Edinburgh Fringe programme is starting to fill out nicely, with more shows being added to the website today (that’s http://www.edfringe.com). There’s another twenty real physical venues added, one Online added, three more outdoor meeting places and, yay, the West End Fair will be back in physical form! Always a good place to look for unusual Christmas presents, and maybe a treat for oneself. Be warned though, some only take stalls for a week rather than the full three weeks, if I want to ponder on a purchase I’ll always check how long they’ll be around.

Sone rather disappointing news about MultiStory, the new festival hub being set up at the NCP carpark on Castle Terrace (a multi-storey carpark going down on to King Stables Road, geddit?). Apparently no single tickets are being sold! I hadn’t picked up on this until I saw a comment on Facebook raising the issue. The reply from the Gilded Balloon said, “Unfortunately, due to government restrictions tickets are only available in groups of 2 or 4. If availability allows, we’ll release some single tickets closer to the show dates. If any single tickets are released, we’ll announce it on social media.” Erm, I think they mean if a show isn’t selling, shows no signs of selling many tickets, they’ll make a quick, late on,splash announcement to entice more in, anyone’ll do.

Of course, it also means three friends can’t go together, either one drops out or they pay for four tickets, or they don’t bother and instead buy one ticket for another show that’s online and with the leftover money get a few drinks in. I’m not sure why the current government restrictions won’t allow single tickets to be sold though, especially since they may be sold later?! Maybe just easier for their booking system, perhaps? To be honest, as yet I’m not too bothered, the few shows they’ve so far announced don’t appeal to me, but I feel for the lady who raised the point on Facebook. Solo travellers unite – at least with one or three other people!

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from a clamber in the Park few days ago and one from the other evening when I went out to Cramond. Toodle pip!

A fine view from the side of the Nether Hill over Salisbury Crags and the Radical Road. Sadly the Radical Road has been closed for some time now due to rockfalls from the Crags above. The other is the only pic I managed to get of one of the many butterflies in the Park that day.

Cramond causeway – the Toblerone-inspired design ensured that only the fittest should make it across to the island, the passage of time and tides had made the task even more of a challenge.

Nothing much on the telly tonight…..

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As I type this the UEFA Euro 2020 final is half way through, England are beating Italy 1-0. Yes I have the football on, well, it is quite unusual, for England to make it to a Final. To be honest I’m not fussed who wins, ’cause, one – it’s only football, and two, I have a soft spot for Italy. I had a good mate in school who was Italian and really football mad (we had the same taste in music); he tried his damnedest to get me into football but it really wasn’t to be. When we met up again in the nineties we’d watch the Italian matches shown on telly on Sunday afternoons, then I understood more about his passion – it looked like a completely different game compared to British football at the time, it flowed. I wonder if my old mate is watching tonight, last I heard he’s in Japan.

Outside its quite a pleasant evening now, mind the drizzle could start up again. I was walking in the Park this afternoon when it came on, so my hike up to the top (getting in practice for next month) was rerouted to home before I got too soggy. Umm, I could go out later, perhaps, the bats in the Park are quite lively now and I’ve discovered another couple of great spots to watch them. Oo, Italy just drew level. This is a tricky one for some Scots, the ones who aren’t hardcore ABE (anyone but England), as long as there’s no dodgy call that helps England, then I think many Scots would be okay with a win.

In other news, George Square Gardens had the beginnings of the Assembly Festival garden going up, one bit definitely looked like a spiegeltent skeleton. I don’t think Assembly have announced any In-person shows yet, at least, when I looked through this week’s additions to tickets there’s only a venue numbered for Assembly Showcatcher (Online). There’s now forty eight numbered venues;four are venues that are both physical and digital, so they have a venue number for each. The Fringe Player is back, with venue no.65 (a quick look back, in 2000 venue 65 was St Ann’s Community Centre, South Gray’s Close, Cowgate). I counted fourteen online venues and twenty nine physical venues. Yes, that leaves five unaccounted for; those are just meeting places on the street for walking tours.

All the big four (Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance and Underbelly) are still to announce any In-person shows. The up-and-coming Summerhall have been busy bees and already have In-person, Online Scheduled and Online on Demand tickets available for plenty of shows, yay them. ThespaceUK also has plenty of tickets already available at three venues and online; the garden in Hill Square has been upgraded from just an outdoor bar to an open-air venue, the Garden Theatre (there’ll still be a bar, of course). Greenside, a slow-grown company with three sites, always worth checking out the shows on offer here, announced back in April that they would be digital-only this year.

Of course, the online content this year will make plenty of the Edinburgh Fringe available around the world, especially the On-demand shows, the Scheduled online shows will be available depending on one’s bedtime (you’d have to be really certain it’ll be a good show to watch from Western Australia). Families with young children should get a good deal with any children’s shows online – one ticket bought for a whole family! Of course, that means much lower incomes for the shows, or maybe enough extra families will come on-board that ticket sales won’t dip.

Italy just won a few minutes ago on penalties 3-2, ben fatto, Italia. I’m guessing there may be a connection with the car horns I can hear outside! Commiserations to the England team, I’d say they played well, but I was only half watching and what do I know about what I just saw?! Hey, it is only a game, it’s not like it’s a matter of life or death 😉

Time to call it a night, I reckon, it’s a night! Toodle pip!

Here, there and by the sea

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Another trip back home’s over. That was a good one! Plenty catching up, walking, playing games, going out. A trip to Hebden Bridge and a pop into Halifax. I love an old fashioned indoor market and the one in Halifax still delights me! It’s not what it was years ago, but it’s still bustling with life and variety. It would be a very sad day if it were ever to close, I find myself looking up at the architecture and appreciating it now. They’d never build anything like that anymore!

And being in Halifax, I decided to see how the Piece Hall is looking these days …… hmmm, I’m divided. I can understand why modern marketing types would do what they’ve done in the most recent redevelopment (modern is all) but I much prefer the 1970’s version. I noticed all the stairways have glass doors now to keep the weather out, so no longer draughty and cold but aesthetically? Nah.

Closer to my Scottish home now, and I read the news today that Ollie Turbitt, bass player extraordinaire, is leaving Scotland and Logan’s Close for new adventures in Italy. I do hope the lads will manage to set a farewell gig for him, that would an awesome evening! Thanks to the interwebby I caught Carl Marah (LC’s lead guitar and singer) playing a set with a wonderful singer/songwriter Kirsten Adamson. She has great voice, full of warmth, like an audial hug! One to catch when live shows come back into fashion.

On live shows and fringes, not only is the Fringe back on in Edinburgh, there’s also gonna be Fringe By The Sea in North Berwick, running 6 -15th August. Fringes everywhere! I’ve had a quick scan of the prog and see that Scottish pocket legend Lulu Is playing the Belhaven Big Top on the first Saturday evening, nice, but the cigar may go to Dr Salad at the Glenkinchie Lowland Stage .Why? Turns out one of these purveyors of heavy romance is one Scott Rough (LC’s other guitarist and singer); he’s scratching an itch the LC sound doesn’t reach. I’ve checked their sound out and it is not displeasing to me!

Must go and walk up Arthur’s Seat while it’s not raining, I need to get back into the climb up and down if I intend Mr Ferns up there next month. I shall leave you with snaps from the old country.

walking in Yorkshire in summer, well, two out of three were nice!

Check this one checking us out! That’s one odd cowish looking sheep if you ask me!

One of the arcade entrances into Halifax Borough Market.

Fringey things are afoot….

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Hi there! Bruce here, coming to you from deepest dankest Yorkshire, yes, even in summer the damp is never far away. I may be away from Auld Reekie but I’m keeping tabs on what’s happening, like Fringe tickets now being on sale! One thing I managed to miss is that social distancing will be down to one metre as of the 19th July (how did I miss that?!) On the Edinburgh Fringe website it says that the Scottish Government has advised that even the one metre could be lifted on 9th August; two thoughts on this, i) I’m not going to hold my breath, and ii) its a bit bloody late to appease anyone. Did the decision for allowing the drop to one metre come too late for Underbelly? Whatever, apparently Underbelly will not be going ahead with plans for a Circus Hub venue in the Meadows.

Underbelly will be back in George Square as well as having an outdoor stage in Bristo Square. Assembly Festival will also be back in George Square Gardens with one spiegeltent and an outdoor stage. The Pleasance will be creating an outdoor stage in the Courtyard, let’s face it so many of their spaces are cramped, they couldn’t happen this year! Summerhall will also make use of their courtyard as a venue space – where will folk do their boozing and schmoozing?! Gilded Balloon will as ever be in Teviot (I guess the Wee Room won’t be used this year). Heaven knows how the smaller venues will manage, or if they’ll bother even trying.

The Edinburgh Farmer’s Market may benefit from having a new venue right next to it; the top floor of the NCP car park on Castle Terrace is to be an open air festival hub run by the Gilded Balloon, Traverse Theatre, DanceBase and Zoo Venues. At least I hope the Farmer’s Market will still be able to be in its usual spot over August, okay, yes, I am slightly troubled about this development.

Tickets for over 170 shows (but less than 180 shows, I’m guessing) are now available from the Fringe website. These can be In-person or online shows, the online shows may be scheduled or on-demand, or a show may be a mixture of the aforementioned. At quick glance it seems that if a show is both in-person and scheduled online it’s listed twice, this could take some time!!

One show that I spotted is back is that bloke atop Arthur’s Seat! Oh yay, Barry Ferns is going to back on Arthur’s Seat at one in the afternoon from 7th to 28th August, oh, with Wednesdays off and as long as his knees hold out. What with the Ferns’ return and all these outdoor stages, better pray to all the gods for a dry month!

Happy days will be here again!

There’ll be tears before bedtime

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Tears of joy or frustration? As yet we don’t know, kick off isn’t until eight o’clock. Tonight Scotland play England in UEFA Euro 2020, may the best team win! (He says diplomatically) Yes, I know it’s football, a game I do not normally have any interest in, but hey, I may as well watch it – if just to know how mute I should be if I go out later. Mind, if Scotland win it will be crazy about the town afterwards, when I say crazy obviously not as crazy as it would be without Covid still dampening everything down.

Already this afternoon there were some tanked up guys around (tanked up=drunk), they’d better be careful not to be comatosed by eight! Many folk are noticing how much their alcohol tolerance has reduced since last March. A number of pubs have announced on Facebook that they’re booked up tonight, I suspect many pubs in the UK will have their best night in over a year! Mind, it’ll be a tricky night to keep to current regulations, that’s pubs get to have one metre distancing with no singing, shouting, mingling – yeah, there’ll be none of that, unless Scotland win. People must sit quietly at their own distanced tables, anything more exuberant and its classed as an event like theatre and the two metre rule comes into effect. Oh boy, good luck policing that tonight!

Oo, it’s nearly time, my chicken wings will be ready to take out of the oven. What? Who am I supporting tonight? Okay, so Six Nations Rugby I quietly support England, but tonight I’d like to see Scotland win. Mainly I hope it’s an exciting game. Is that rain I see in Wembley? It’s blue skies and light fluffy clouds up here.

Here we go! Come on, the lads!