Oh F***, it's nearly 40!

Warming Up

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The Fringe is now just over a month away and I don't know if I am looking forward to returning or not, but the guest line-ups are looking good and I don't have many gaps to fill. Hoping I will be getting a Key into one of those empty slots too!

The other day the Stand asked me if I wanted to be part of a 30th anniversary of the club offer where Edinburgh residents would be offered cheaper tickets to the shows. Weirdly, with my accommodation now costing £3500 a week and seeing other prices escalate and my ticket prices going down if anything, I didn't really feel too inclined to join in with that. "Is there anyway we can charge Edinburgh residents more?" I replied. I thought that was quite funny. The Stand have remained silent.

Reluctantly I have to accept that if you live in Edinburgh you'll be able to buy tickets for the same amount as everyone else. Which isn't fair. As anyone from outside of Edinburgh will have to be a billionaire to afford to stay there.

I don't really blame everyone in Edinburgh for the way the Fringe is heading, of course #notallscotch, but I am not in a position to be offering discounts. I'll give you a discount if you all give me one. To be honest if you just charge the same as you usually charge for stuff I'll give you a discount.

I'm your fucking King. Have some respect.

I am lucky that the podcasts I record here will bring in some additional revenue and I had the realisation this month that I didn't have to be nice and put them all out during the Fringe run. If I can get a couple of extra months of podcasts out of the records then it won't be so financially disastrous. Maybe I can have an autumn of not having to worry about doing too many podcasts and so some actual work.

I feel trepidation about returning. I do still love the Fringe, but it's also a place with many harrowing memories of depression and failures (personal and professional). I am returning mainly because Catie was keen to do stand up again and it will be hopefully fun to be up there as a family. I am going to do my best to remain happy and unpressured and am hoping for a return to the glory years of RHLSTP where I went into interviews unprepared and half-cocked (though now I am half-balled) to see what happened.

Will I be haunted by the ghosts of my past, disgusted by the wealth and status of my audience and feel fossilised by the strata of past Fringes pushing down on me?

Do I need to loosen the fuck up and just try and enjoy myself? I am going to try. Its coming up to the 40th anniversary of the first time I came here (I originally calculated that as 30 and felt OK about it, until I realised the truth and now feel sick) and remarkably (and I think this will be hard for anyone to beat, it will be the 17th anniversary of when I first podcasted here - I was way ahead of the curve on the live podcasting thing, though arguably others have made more of a success of it subsequently!)

Did anyone do a podcast with an audience before Collings and Herrin? Is all of this our fault?

Sorry.

If it hadn't been for Catie's show, (go and see it, she's ace. I love her act so much I married her) I think I might have left it until 2027 (if still alive) as it feels like I should continue the franchise of Oh Fuck I'm 40! and Oh Frig I'm 50! with Oh Shit I'm 60!

And weirdly I am looking forward to that (though doubt I will do a full month run). 40 years of Fringes (on and off). Oh Fuck!

The Sheffield RHLSTP is now sold out. I really appreciate the support I get in this fine city, where both the last two appearances have basically sold out before the guests have been announced. Not like the London goal hangers. Support RHLSTP when it comes to your town and I shall return!