Just a quick post this week with highlights from the end of the Fringe and two pieces of exciting news.

Comedians of note: Shalaka Kurup, Bec Hill,  Bella Hull, Ian Smith, Kieran Hodgson, Ivo Graham, Raul Kohli, & Bill Bailey plus loads of compilation shows

Theater: one woman clown as a Mary Poppins character called Dirty Work, 5 Mistakes that Changed History, sketch troupe The Cambridge Footlights, improv troupe The Oxford Imps, Wodehouse in Wonderland about PG Wodehouse in his later years, a mad cap comedy based on the premise of a production of The Importance of Being Earnest being upset by the lead actor not turning up, so they have to replace him with a member of the audience,  a one man show called Bing! with actor Jason Woods.

Circus: We loved a show called 360 Allstars with world-class musicians, breakdancing, biking, basketball tricks, and acrobatics and another show with aerialists and acrobats called By a Thread.

Music: Aquapella from the University of Bath, an afternoon of acoustic blues and roots at the Jazz Bar, a concert called The Billy Joel story, a musical called See It, Say It, Sorted.

We went to an improvised show where the audience members accuse each other of a “crime” and then comedians prosecute and defend before another comic judge. Well, I lazily filled out the questionnaire, accusing Nathan of disrupting my sleep with his snoring, which is mostly fictional. Unfortunately, they ended up picking my paper and putting Nathan on stage and trying him. It ended up with me calling his brother, Warren, as my witness (over the phone). I’m sure Warren was very confused.  The audience acted as the jury and they acquitted him. Thank goodness!

We enjoyed hiking to Arthur’s Seat above the city and the weather has been crazily warm and dry and pleasant–very different from our last visit to the Fringe in 2019.

News item one is that this is the end of our four and a half months in Europe. When we left in April, we were planning a three-month trip, so it definitely wasn’t as expected. It’s been a wild ride, for sure! We’re happy to be returning to the US and family and friends, but this has been a great adventure!

News item two is that Lauren and Bo are expecting! We are excited to meet our seventh grandbaby in March.