Edinburgh 2015

A new year, a new festival and a new schedule.

Last year was filled with exceptional delights and great finds, and I was particularly pleased when I discovered that Alex Edelman had deservedly won the newcomer award. He'll be making a repeat appearance this year, provided that there are tickets left when I book them. I'm also delighted that I managed to get tickets for the legendary Daniel Kitson for my first day, with The Pajama Men following later in the night; it's going to be excellent (fact).

Last night was a slightly chaotic journey. The pricing wisdom of the British rail industry is such that a direct train to Edinburgh from Sheffield costs twice as much as getting a train to Manchester Piccadilly then getting a train to Edinburgh. Obviously, I'm going to buy the Manchester connection.

The fates had deigned to offer me a tumultuous journey for my first Edinburgh weekend: the Sheffield train was late by 40 minutes meaning I had missed my connection, which was also the last train to Edinburgh from Manchester. The solution: the train company organised a taxi to take me to Edinburgh. One 4 hour car journey later, I had come back home.
Hopefully the next three weekends won't be as dramatic.

Also, staying in my friend's very nice flat has made me realise that my Sheffield place is less than grand. I hereby vow to utilise my new-found earnings to their greatest renting potential next year. Also, it'd be nice not to have a place with frequent snail/slug visitations in one's bedroom (even on the 1st floor). I did accidentally step on a snail last night - perhaps that is an omen of times to come? Who knows?

Top tips for this year:
Liam Williams (as ever, he encapsulates the current generation in biting mockery)
The Pin (outstanding sketch duo with a very intelligent, beautifully crafted hour)
Alex Edelman (will this year's show live up to the hype and promise of last year?)
Joe Lycett (a reliably funny, charismatic stand up)
Pappys (excellent sketch trio - they're doing a variety of things this year)
Pajama Men (exceptionally funny physical comedians with elegantly written character shows)
Adam Hess (he's a bit mad and hyper, but very funny)