Just Do More, Richards

I guess the reason why I keep doing the Edinburgh Fringe every year is that it's a reminder that it's one of the hardest things you can do - not just the shows/flyering/networking, but also just the sheer amount of walking. And then the rest of my year seems rather easy... I'm back in my schools next week, and the private lessons start properly then, too (although they kinda started, albeit slowly, a day after I got back from the fringe). I'm aware that from next week onwards things will get really bonkers again (not fringe bonkers, though, must remember that) with no time to breathe, so I've been trying to use this last, calmer, week, productively.  We had a read-through of the radio sitcom I wrote on my cruise, with Alan H, Kate, Alex, Nicole, Cara and Alan M all very kindly lending their talents. We made the mistake of picking the loudest pub by the station so we had struggles hearing each other at points, and I made the mistake of not ending it on episode three ...

I feel lazy for only a doing a week at the fringe this year. In previous years, Young Richards would do all three weeks, 8 shows a day, and barely notice it (apart from the 'shingles year'). I could still do that now, I reckon I'm in quite good shape but Aggie needed a holiday, and straight after that we had to attend the wedding of a close mate, and everything just seemed to land awkwardly in August. So here I am, just up for the final week, 8 days, 2 shows a day like the lazy part-timer I am. The shows were 'No Dreams' (which ran in Durham recently, as well as opening in France before that and a brief Cambridge run...it's a sleepy, slow little show and I was a bit worried about how it would go down in front of lively fringe audiences) and 'There's a Band Playing...' (my Leicester Comedy Festival show, which has also had runs at the Brighton and Bedford Fringes, as well as house shows etc - it's a loud show, booked for a central, loud room, I we...

 "That's Africa over there," pointed out my wife, as we sipped gin on our balcony whilst we sailed away from our final port. At that point, I realised I may actually be middle class. Rest assured, first day back and I've just picked up a four-pack of Carlsberg from our local Londis. But, for the past two weeks I've been winging it well enough, I reckon, wearing my tux more than I ever have done, eating the fine foods. I even washed my hair every day and only swore once at an old person who didn't know how to queue.  We've just returned from our two weeks away on a cruise. I'm not a holiday sort of person, so two weeks away at sea, with limited internet (sometimes two days totally off-grid), away from my dog, who is my favourite thing in the whole world, away from...well, drums...on a beautiful cruise ship with amazing restaurants, top class entertainment but could easily be considered a 'floating prison' if you see it that way...I wasn't re...

I've missed doing this. I've missed doing this with this band. A two gig Saturday with my Fred's House chums, two festivals. We used to do this stuff all the time, but we're all so busy with other things these days. When we do get together it's a bit of a treat, though and that was the case at the weekend. Two festivals; the first one a REALLY packed sold-out show in the afternoon. Whilst the rest of the line-up, particularly ours on the main stage, seemed to be on the heavier side of things, I like the fact that we never compromise - we play our nice, happy, summery, original tunes.  We then headed over to Bedford to headline a festival there, which was a little smaller but really lovely.  The gigs were fine; we were tight, we should be after all these years, and we're clearly still into it despite barely gigging. But it's not just about the gigs, is it? It's about the backstage chat, the catching up over grub, the long car chats. Lovely stuff.

I've had a lovely few days on the road. My car is still making weird rattling noises (including a few new ones) but when it really gets warmed up, it's fine, and the 500-mile round trip to Durham didn't feel like an issue at all...if anything, it drove really nicely.  Durham's a lovely place, but I didn't see much of it as I'm rubbish at being a solo tourist. Indeed, in the many spare hours I had between shows, I found a layby, sat in the back (tinted windows), and did some admin work (teaching invoices, tour booking) on my laptop, using my phone's 5G hotspot. The whole car office thing was rather cool once I'd removed the smelly dog blanket and bought a meal deal from Sainsbury's.  The venue for Durham was a 'proper' theatre, 70-capacity. The manager seemed concerned that I brought my own PA speaker with me rather than using theirs, and that I didn't bother with any fancy stage lighting ("just switch them on mate, I'll tell the ...

Schools out! Although I seem to be teaching more than ever...lots of drum courses, in some cases for the really young kids it's bordering on babysitting. I already have a business called, 'Team Building with Drums', maybe next it should be 'Babysitting with Drums'...I'm a VERY expensive, noisy babysitter, though... Alongside the courses, I've been writing, lots, as always. Edinburgh is creeping up, I like what I'm doing with those (despite a bit of a panic earlier about the 'Band Playing...' show although it's pretty much worked wherever I've done it apart from the first day in Brighton), but also launching two new shows in October. I like being a one-man theatre company. I also like working with actors, but I don't like the constant Doodle Polls for availability.  Played an odd gig on Saturday with a makeshift blues band, a 70th birthday party in the rain, but it still worked. Although massively under-rehearsed, stick good musicians ...