A Month Full Of Journeys On The Rollercoaster Ride (My Personal Review Of Edinburgh 2018)

And so it ends. Well it ended on Monday night to be precise with most of the performers who made it what was now back in more familiar surroundings and the 2018 Edinburgh fringe now goes in to our history and our memories. So I’d like to thank all friends both old and new for making it worth the rollercoaster ride. I’d especially like to thank Fay Roberts and the team at Other Voices for their continued support for me both poetically and personally and being a cast member of my favourite show in the fringe meant more to me than I can ever put in to words.

I must also give a special mention to Hannah Lavery for being the first performer to make me cry at a show since Sophia Walker in 2014, and Tina Seiderholm who did exactly the same on the final day when I finally made it to her stunningly beautiful show Everything Wrong With You Is Beautiful.

Speaking of emotional moments, it is ever so slightly biased opinion that no fringe would ever be complete without the aforementioned Sophia Walker who can melt my heart in a way only Jen Hughes has ever beaten. As for Jen she provided one of my favourite and one of my soppiest moments of the entire fringe when we had a wee catch up in The Banshee. Yes there were very nearly raindrops but I just about held it together and I mean just.

It goes without saying that an event as huge as the fringe will of course have its regulars and my thanks go to Elizabeth McGeown, Matthew Macdonald, Matt Panesh , Jenni Pascoe, and Sophia Blackwell, all of whom have been consistently supportive of me through the years and great sources of friendship and inspiration and new friends made at Other Voices such as Carmina Masoliver, and Sara Hirsch. Talking of friendship I have to mention David Lee Morgan for being not only a valued friend but a very respected mentor and for a show which deserved bigger audiences than it got.

This year also saw the rise of a real star in Imogen Stirling with her fantastic show Hypocrisy which was on for a five day run and challenged our attitudes to others and asked us to examine them and then ask if we would like to be treated in the way we treat others and somehow I don’t think we would.

If Imogen’s show was running for limited time only it was still a marathon compared to Catriona Knapman’s 2016 show Out On The World returned to the fringe for one night only and I’m really glad to say that I managed to see it. Trust me this 45 minute world tour combined poetry , geography and politics in a way which was creative, entertaining , and informative.

It has to be to said that there some shows I was never going to miss and one such show was Robin Cairns giggle fest of a comedy The Weegies Have Stolen The One O’Clock Gun. This is comedy at its brilliant best as we follow the adventures of the hapless Morningside Malcolm who gets caught up in a plot to steal the one o’clock gun from Edinburgh castle. The result of course is hilarity and a great way to spend an hour in that time between afternoon and evening.

From comedy we move on to grief and one of the most moving shows of the fringe namely the In The Works production The 900 Club. This was an excellent thought provoking piece of spoken word theatre where four friends have a reunion to remember the loss of a friend and all of them struggle to cope with the grief and the issues each of them has to confront before moving on.

Still on planet poetry I was making new friends like Amy Kinsman, and Connor Byrne two brilliant young performers I hope I’ll see a lot of in years to come. In comedy Marc Jennings, who reminds me of a young Des Clarke in his rapid fire delivery and top quality material is in my opinion a star very much on the rise. I also enjoyed Funny Lassies a trio of Scottish comedians I went to see on the recommendation of my friend Emma Mooney. Other comedy shows of note included Jimmy Hogg in Tales Of Petty Crime, Jocks, Geordies, and Aussies, in which John O’Brien was top man , and an excellent one woman show by Coventry based comic Stella Graham whose tales of cars, class difference and cookery made for a very entertaining hour filled with warmth wit and more than a few pearls of wisdom. Another show I really enjoyed was the Hot Mess production Bezzie Mates which was part of Just The Tonic comedy at the caves and was billed as the only LGBT sketch show on the fringe. Now I don’t usually do sketch shows but I’m glad I made an exception on this occasion and saw a duo whose comedy tackled real issues like Brexit, sexism, fake news, and toxic masculinity without being preachy.

There were also the shows which were so enjoyable I went to see them twice such as Dan Simpson’s Worried Face Emoji and the majestic Kate Smurfwaite in her show Clit Stirrer but more on them later as I will hopefully be reviewing later. That is of course providing I can actually remember.

As for performance opportunities they were fewer than I would have liked due to factors such as geography and time of the event. That said I have to say I was in all probability happier with the level of my performances than I have ever been at any previous fringe. Sometimes it really is about the quality rather than the quantity and this year was easily my best in that respect.

Talking of respect I have to give a massive shout to the cast of Kin a short spoken word play written by Noah Kinworth. This was beyond doubt my favourite show of the fringe as it tackled the social and economic problems faced by families society labels dysfunctional. To say this show was powerful passionate and thought provoking would be the understatement to end them all. Indeed it was a total injustice that on a night I attended I was only audience member to see this superb cast of fantastically talented performers and was treated to a very intimate show where the cast was five times the size of the audience. This to me was an outrage especially after two hours of flyering so I hope that the rest of the run provided a more fruitful harvest in terms of bums on seats. Since I was the only audience member this lovely and talented team from the University Of Worcester didn’t bother to pass round the traditional free fringe donations bucket , I naturally felt that I had to give something back so I asked if since I was a fellow spoken word poet I could do a payment in kind performance as my thanks for them performing to an audience of one. This was an offer they were only too glad accept and performed two of my favourite crowd pleasers Karaoke Queen and Every Saturday Night and though they enjoyed my choices as much as I enjoyed performing them, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them that I got five times the audience they did Though to be fair I think it cheered them up a bit that I did it for them. I just hope they come back next year and get the kind of numbers their talents actually deserve because there are some times the truth really is stranger than fiction and this story is undoubtedly one of them.

As for my other gigs I gave a good account of myself in my two performances at Scottish Poetry Library and my two shows at part of Other Voices in what was my first year as a cast member in my favourite event of the fringe. I particularly enjoyed my slot on the final day when using typical Glasgow girl subtlety I silenced the crowd in the alcolve outside the banqueting hall by using my two most lethal weapons of choice my mouth and microphone before starting what was my best set of the entire three weeks and one of my best ever in my 25 years of spoken word history.

So as I look back and reflect on this amazing rollercoaster ride that was Edinburgh 2018 I do so with a sense of contentment as I remember that the fringe is about so much more than performing. It’s about the chance encounters with strangers who become friends, and great chats with fellow fringers as share time between shows like those I had with Chris O’Neill, and the amazing Ley La who provided. moments of hope at times when I needed them and Sophia Walker for that chat on a Friday when she knew without asking I was breaking and didn’t ask why. She didn’t need to she knows me too well and she knew it was a transwoman’s issue and before too long she had me smiling again like she always does in a way only Jen can beat.

So that’s almost all I have to say on what was fringe 2018 except to thank the staff of the Banshee Labyrinth for looking after me and all the other regulars who call this place our Edinburgh home. Also mentions must be given to the staff of Piemaker, home of the delicious Tattie Dog, and of course Bene’s at the Cannongate end of the mile which is in my completely unbiased opinion having been a customer for all of my 14 fringes the best chippy on the mile by a mile. And one final mention must go to my friend and flatmate Janette who has put up with incessant ramblings on Edinburgh every year since 2005 without so much as a moan and even goes to the trouble of making me packed lunches so I might be able to see an extra show or two. Now that’s what I call five star friendship. So that’s it over till we meet again next August. Until then I wish you well in all you do, and thank every single one of you for making my August as enjoyable as it was and a month full of journeys worth the rollercoaster ride.

Till next time

Gayle X

Memories Musings And Mars Bars And Topics Which Couldn’t Be Fudged (Thoughts On A Festival Saturday And A Day I Could Never Make Up)

Hey everyone. On Saturday which I realise is almost a week ago I made another visit to Edinburgh in a day which turned out to be both enjoyable and eventful though not in the way I had originally planned. This was a day I could never have scripted not even if I wanted to but like all the best stories I just let the day unravel and prove that the truth really is stranger than fiction.

The drama started just as the 900 bus had pulled out of Buchanan Street as a number of passengers complained about the smell. Honestly such was the stink you would swear you were at the Royal Highland show but at least at that event people know they may have to expect manure as it traditionally comes with the territory. It says a lot for morality of the driver that he insisted on changing the bus so the passengers could have a better quality of journey.

Bus changed I was all set and ready for Edinburgh and yet more misadventures in our capital city. However the entertainment started for me before I left the station as my bus companion not of my choice may I add was an older women who seemed to only have one topic of conversation her hatred for the SNP. Without any evidence she falsely accused the party of just about everything from ‘the corruption’ her words not mine of Glasgow city council to planning to get rid of democracy and create a one party state. Unfortunately for her however, she was up against a seasoned party activist who though younger than her by at least two decades was also faster, sharper, and quicker out the blocks. Now I don’t mind taking my share of the blame for what some opponents would say are my party’s shortcomings the card I carry will ensure I do that but what I won’t do is let my party be blamed and viciously scapegoated for what I know to be the mistakes of others.

The woman appeared shocked when I reminded her as gently as I could that Glasgow was not governed by the SNP but by the Labour Party which is a unionist party and owes its loyalty to Westminster and it is that party who have been running the city for the best part of 80 years. Realising she was out of her depth this woman resorted to insults and smears she attacked First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor Alex Salmond as brown shirts who want to break our United Kingdom.

When I said that her United Kingdom could never be my country, she appeared incredulous with rage accusing me of being against democracy because in her words the SNP didn’t win the election we just said we did as we had counted the votes before they had been cast. I told her not to talk nonsense as opinion polls had been predicting our victory for many months before the election was held and even senior figures in other parties had privately conceded that the writing was on the wall. I then asked her which party she supported and it wasn’t exactly the shock of the year when she replied she had always voted Labour as her mother was in the Orange Order. Now I’m not given to being snide but there are sometimes even I can’t resist and this was one of those occasions. I told her that this information did not surprise me and I was speaking as a daughter of the kirk.

My polite if well delivered rebuke seemed to leave her ego somewhat deflated and remove some of the wind from her sails though not before she made the rather fanciful claim that a young SNP MP will be hanged for treason and the world will know of her shame. This she informed me will be when ‘our’ I think she meant her Untied Kingdom will hold the second referendum which they will win by a massive majority as the question will be not Do you want to be separate but do you want to get rid of that silly wee parliament in Edinburgh and get rid of it forever. Honestly you couldn’t make this up and this was before I even got to Edinburgh, I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved to see someone get off a bus in my life. Believe me this was a thoroughly unpleasant woman and her views were completely and totally repellent. In fact if truth be told I think she had more in common with some of the extreme right wing groups with whose labels she tried and failed to smear the SNP than a political party who for all their faults play their part in the civic life of unionist Scotland.

Anyway, with my version of Nightmare On Buchanan Street finally over I was free to get on with the rest of the day and enjoy the unique atmosphere that makes Edinburgh in August one of the best places on earth. This is especially true on festival Saturdays when the atmosphere is at its most relaxed despite the fact they are by far the busiest days of the fringe.

Now there are some festival traditions which have to be observed no matter what and going to Bene’s for my festival haggis is one of them, even if this year that meant going slightly off route compared to where I needed to be. As always I was given a warm welcome and informed the fringe wouldn’t be the same had I not popped in for a visit. I was also asked why it had taken me so long to come down and see them. I said that as the Scottish Poetry Library was undergoing refurbishment there were no courtyard readings this year which meant I wasn’t down at this end of the mile so much but I made a special effort just come down to my favourite chippy. I also assured them that things will return to normal next year.

As I sauntered back up the mile to the place that I call home (The Banshee) I noticed that the Fudge Shop were enticing customers to taste their wares. Naturally being sweet toothed, well I’m a Glasgow girl so it’s in my DNA I didn’t need much in the way of persuasion and though I was tempted to try all kind of varieties I settled for a taste of lemon meringue which I have to say was absolutely scrummy. Whilst in the shop I was talking to young English girls from Shropshire who said they were having a great time and they were up here for the full three weeks. Of course I was delighted to hear such good news so I asked them what it was they liked about Scotland and they said everyone was really friendly and people actually talked to you. They assured me that such behaviour does not happen where they come from. However they said that it was always the same up north.

As you would expect this jarred with my nationalist beliefs but they were such lovely girls I didn’t have the heart to tell them that up north fades in to the distance when you reach Gretna as you are now in Scotland and North Britain doesn’t exist except in Gordon Brown’s wet dream.

Skillfully avoiding a diplomatic incident I kept the conversation food focused and I asked them I they had tried either haggis or irn bru. As it turns out both girls had indeed tried both and one liked haggis and hated irn bru whilst it was the other way round for her friend. There was however one local delicacy they hadn’t tried or at least not yet and they asked me if I had. I told them I had never had a deep fried mars bar. This was not because I wouldn’t like them as I’m pretty certain I would but because being old enough to be their mum I now the wisdom of that old saying a minute on the lips a lifetime on the hips so I thought I would leave to those who were either young enough to get away with it or at least work it off in the gym.

Finally I reached the safety of the Banshee and though I missed Monkey poet’s show I didn’t miss his creator as I caught up with Matt Panesh in the bar and he introduced me to a couple of members of his audience one of whom Mhairi was wearing more SNP badges than I was. For those who know me they will know this is no mean achievement.

As is always the case with SNP members these days we debated maiden speeches and she said that her favourite was delivered by a certain Mhairi Black. I however had to say that my favourite was delivered by Glasgow East MP Natalie McGarry who also happens to be my local MP. Well anyone who remembers that her constituency is home to the current Scottish League Champions aka the glorious Glasgow Celtic will do just fine by me. Anyway I’ve known Natalie for years and I know how hard she’ll work to serve the people of her constituency.

After chatting with Matt I decided it was time to go and see a show. This was after all what I had travelled all the way from Baillieston to do. The show I selected was Nerdsmith by Dan Simpson this was a very enjoyable way to spend 50 minutes of my time. In the show Dan as you would expect took us on a stroll through the world of nerds with poems on lists, technology, and deadlines. I particularly enjoyed Eulogy for a Deadline as this brought back memories of my student days at Strathclyde and the excuses I sometimes had to make for late essay submissions. I also loved Click Bait which takes the audience on a tour of the internet and examines the perils of the virtual dating scene. This gentle but thought provoking poetry was both interesting and enjoyable and I would recommend you go and check it out if you get the chance to do so.

After Dan’s show I made another appearance at Stand Up Tragedy. On this occasion the show was hosted by Dan Simpson yes the same Dan Simpson who had just finished his own show and his co-host for the evening Paula Varjack. In a fast paced enjoyable there were tales from six acts starting with Scott Tyrell whose story of attempting to have an intimate moment with his then partner now wife was somewhat spoiled by his eight year old step daughter.

In the chat that followed the story Dan who was the organiser of the spoken word side of this multi arts event Paula does the non poetic side of it asked Scott if his step daughter had ever had this poem. Scott replied that both his step daughter and his wife had heard the piece and that he read it at his step daughter’s 18th birthday celebration. Now I’ve heard of unusual gifts for special occasions but giving your daughter what we in the West of Scotland would call a beamer isn’t one I would expect. That said though I’m sure she would have enjoyed what was a really funny story.

Scott was followed by character actor Charles Adrienne who more often than not performs as his female alter ego Samantha Mann. In a frank and honest confession Charles said that I couldn’t get over the shame of being a man in a dress. This is especially true when he or should I say Samantha has a bad night at a comedy club. As a transsexual woman I have to admit I did muse on why he would feel guilt about what he does though to be honest I think I’m coming from a very different place on this issue. You see to Charles women’s clothes are exactly that women’s clothes which he enjoys wearing. To me the same clothes are my essential every day wear. They are part of who I am just like my shapely legs, my developing breasts and my oversized bum which cushions me whenever I fall these days. To Charles being a woman is about being a glamorous character to me its my every day reality.

Next up was former three day event champion now poet and performer Tina Sederholme who told us the tragic tale of how despite qualifying for Badminton which is the pinnacle for a UK showjumper she never got to compete in the event she had given nine years of her life to reach. This was without doubt the most moving part of an excellent show.

Tina was followed by character actor Lisa Gornik who regaled us with tales of comic fails and her journey to lesbianism in a way I found both engaging and enjoyable. Hannah Chutzpah was next to entertain the audience with tales of being out jewed and giving herself permission to be who she is for all her faults and flaws which we all have as well as our good points. Toby the lead singer from the Black Diamond Express was last up to end an entertaining hour after which we yes I was invited to tag along went to Slangavar for refreshments and nibbles.

It was during this time with fellow performers I learned the truth of the saying be sure your past will find as I met up with someone I hadn’t seen in years. The woman concerned, Pat who was enjoying some quality time with her niece nephew in law and husband Brian initially struggled to place to where she knew me from before realising we had grown up together in the same north Glasgow housing scheme. During a lovely catch up we talked on a wide range of topics from my transition, to poetry, from Celtic to Scottish Independence, from music to memories, to where we live now and of course men.

With a refreshing honesty I wish more people would adopt when talking to a transwoman, Pat asked me if I’d had a man since my decision as to live as a woman. It was with equal honesty I said I had kissed a few that I thought would be ok only to find they had later morphed into frogs but as yet prince charming had eluded me.

Intent on proving my feminist credentials I said I had standards and when I met a man who could meet them I wouldn’t be slow in letting him know. Both Pat and her neice said that was the way to go and told me never to let my standards slip.  By this time however I think they had gathered that the line ‘Second best is never enough’ from the Madonna hit  Express Yourself is not so much a line from a song for me as a personal statement of intent.

I have to admit this chance meeting was one of those nice surprises you get from time to time and after performing two of my poems especially for Pat and her family Karaoke Queen and Every Saturday Night being the poems of choice,  I headed on my journey back to Baillieston.

As I boarded the bus for the journey home I had time to reflect on the events of an enjoyable festival Saturday and as I did so I knew I could never have scripted a day which was filled with memories, musings,and mars bars,and topics that couldn’t be fudged.

Love And Best Wishes

Gayle X