It was Tuesday, and I was going out to see a show. Environmentally conscious as I am, and a decent enough evening as it was, I decided to cycle to the pub where I was meeting my dear friend before going to a comedy show (the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is the world’s biggest comedy/arts festival, is on at the moment).  Inevitably, I ended up having just one or two more pints than I probably ought to, and decided it would perhaps be a bad idea to cycle home. What I didn’t think was that someone would spot my lonely bicycle and go “hey, wouldn’t it be super-fun to kick this to bits?”, but of course they ruddy did.

Hence I wonder: who are these absolute mongrels anyway? Walking home after dropping my bike off to be fixed (which will cost at least £50, apparently) I actually spotted 3 (THREE) other bikes that had endured similar treatments. Who? Why?

Anyway, enough moaning. The show I went to see was Pappy’s All Business and it was actually hilarious – perhaps not worth the extra £50 on top of the £12 ticket, but definitely worth seeing. The only negative was that the beer on offer at the bar outside the venue wasn’t great… I had to drink Heineken!  The pub we went to beforehand did have a pleasant surprise in stock though, namely the new-ish Pilsen from the Scottish Stewart brewery. I’m not normally a massive fan of theirs; I quite like Edinburgh Gold but their 80/- is about as boring as beer gets.

The Pilsen, though, actually reminded me a bit of BrewDog Punk IPA, except rather milder and more readily drinkable. You might even call it a session version of the Punk. That said, I was slightly under the influence when I had it and it is entirely possible that I’m wrong, so if you’ve got a differing opinion feel free to share it!

As for the festival, my current Top 5 shows would have to be:

1. Pappy’s – All Business – £12
2. Axis of Awesome – Songs in the Key of Awesome – £10
3. Axis of Awesome – Axis of Awesome and Friends Sing Songs.. and Friends! – £10
4. Jarred Christmas – Jarred Christmas Stands Up – £10.50
5. Shappi Khorsandi  – The Moon on a Stick – £12

I know those aren’t the cheapest shows around, but most of the time you get what you pay for. The worst shows I’ve seen so far are:

1. One Kiwi, One Aussie, One Hour – Free
2. Your Days Are Numbered: The Maths of Death – £9

I’ve been to a few others as well, and most of them were actually good. The ones most worth mentioning would be:

Magnus Betner – Cum All Ye Faithful – £8

Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe – free

…And that will probably cover it for now. Not sure if I will be going to any more shows, I rather overdosed in the first week!

Here are some related posts that you might want to read:

• Sazerac Rye and my pick of the fringe
• Sct. Clemens Brewery (Denmark, Aarhus)
• BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran
• Innis & Gunn Original
• Whisky Cocktail: Loretto Limonade