How can I even begin to sum up the days that past in a flurry of walking, drinking and performing (not all in that order, and not all in equal quantities)
First off let me explain who I was with.
Rrrants. An amazing band of people headed up by Ian Paul and Donna...well...Donna mainly, she makes sure the other two behave to some degree. It was these three that managed to get the rest of us the main gig at the Peartree in the free edinburgh fringe. An outdoor venue with a large stage and seating for about 50-80. A lot of hard work went into securing the venue and organising everyone. Anyone who has organised poets before will understand its not the easiest of tasks. So I am proper super grateful for the effort put in there.
For the whole year I had psyched myself up for the event. Booked a....hotel...(I use the word loosely, we were actually living in a box for the week. No window, no cupboards, no tea/breakfast/tv/internet/room cleaning/ quite frankly we were lucky we had a bed and air without being charged extra for them.
So Saturday the 20th We managed to randomly get cheap 1st class train tickets from peterborough to edinburgh, and on our way up discovered we were in the same train carriage as Ant Smith, another one of the performers on the Rrrants stage, which was pure fluke.
We got to edinburgh fairly unscathed and found the venue with relative ease. Then went and got drunk.
Sunday was the kick off day. Our first gig was actually on the Royal mile on a stage in the middle of the street. It had no amplification so we all had to yell our heads off and randomly bombard passing people with flyers and suchlike in order to entice them to our show later in the afternoon. I had my shot on the stage and it was really tricky as we were competeing with several other acts on the street, but we managed to get a respectable amount of people stopping and listening.
Paul Ian myself vickie emma
(picture taken by Ant Smith)
After that we then headed up to our venue (which was about 15 mins walk away) and then performed our first proper show all 2 and a half hours of it. It was amazing and being a warm sunny sunday the beer garden was full of people, including my friend Runt, who turned up dressed in a complete dog outfit which must have been super warm but it was super fluffy and i'm a sucker for fluffy things...and shiny things...and sparkly/cute/funny/happy things...and things... Anyway yes day one was a huge success but it wasn't over yet. Oh no. We all went out and hit the open mic circuit and stumbled on a nice little venue with an open mic called Espionage. They made us feel like locals and it was amazing. We sang there till about 2am then stumbled home.
pic by Vikki Laxton-Bass
Monday was pretty much a rinse and repeat of the sunday, a few more poets were on the bill for the main show and the sun was shining for a second day and we all went out afterwards got drunk and did more open mics. We returned to Espionage where we met some more really lovely people who then dragged us off to a 2nd open mic in the Whistlebinkies. By the time that one had finished it was 330am by which point there was only me, poeterry and james left and there was talk of going to the Banshee Labyrinth for a third open mic that didnt finish till 5am but thought...hmmm...I'd probably been hardcore enough by that point so me and Paul returned to our easybox for the night.
Tuesday we did something similar again...it started to feel a bit like de-ja-vu but thats to be expected I guess. Again our show was well recieved with a nice amount of coins being thrown into the Rrrants collection buckets, contrary to popular belief it had nothing to do with the fact that my boobs were practically spilling out of the dress I was wearing and was more due to the fantastic show we had put on.
picture taken by Adrian
my friend Pete turned up which was a lovely suprise as I had talked to him for the best part of 7 or so years online but had never met the fellow, and what a lovely guy he was. We went for hotchocolate after the event and then after saying goodbye to him, me and paul went for a meal with a large chunk of the rrrants crew and then trekked into the deepest darkest parts of Leith to do an open mic at a place called Nobles Bar. Its always scary going into unknown terretory to perform poetry and comedy songs and we had been warned that leith was a bit on the rough side but we went there anyway and again made loads of new friends and we were all very warmly received. HUZZAH!
pic by Vikki Laxton-Bass
On a roll now Wednesday was looking to be good again back on the mile for more promoting and flyering and walking and then onto our main event. Which again drew in quite a crowd and I think that was the day Ant Smith got his first official complaint. Clearly doing a poem about shagging dead people isn't allowed. Anyway undeterred we all headed to the Cruz Ship Bar in leith to do more open mic stuff, only everyones wires got crossed and it turned out only me and Paul turned up. So rather than having the security blanket of the rest of the Rrrants mob, suddenly it was just us on our own. Ahhhh. But it turned out okay. I practiced some of my lesser known stuff simply because I had a big gig to perform on the Sunday and needed to do some pieces I hadnt tried for ages. I got free alcohol for my troubles so that was always a bonus. headed home and got to bed early at only 130am so YAY for an early night.
Thursday was an exciting day. My sister said she was coming and I hadnt seen her in over a year and a half. I looked outside and saw it proper downpouring with rain...Ahhhh there was the typical scottish weather I had been expecting all week. luckily by the time we got to the venue not only had it stopped raining but the sun had come out with such ferrocity that it almost looked like it hadnt rained at all, and by the time we were halfway into our main show we had an almost full beer garden worth of audience.
pic taken by Paul Sweetland
She couldnt stay for the whole thing which was a bit of a shame but seeing her for a few hours was nice and we caught up a bit. Afterwards there was food involved and then the rrrants mob headed into deeper darker parts of leith. This is where it almost went wrong...(mild peril...you cant have a story without mild peril...) Anyway Basically we walked into this open mic venue called Walkabout, and it was mainly filled with 20-something blokes who had clearly been drinking copious amounts of lager for quite some time. A rather serious poet friend of mine James got up and delivered some of his poetry and two young lads sat right at the front started making rude comments, really rather loud rude continous comments through his set. Now james could have just gotten off the stage and abandonned his slot, but he didnt, he carried on and performed his pieces. The blokes were then just randomly making comments at anyone, trying to start fights and generally being jerks. So when it came to my turn I got up and sang the 'You're a Wanker' Song directly at them making eye contact and pretty much directing the song at the two drunken tossers. A large chunk of the pub sang along with me. It was highly cathartic and not long after that the two of them left. Victory for the poets HUZZAH!!
pic taken by Adrian
So Friday was finally here. My last day of performances before a horrendously early wake up in the morning for the trip back to peterborough. The rain really truly lashed down on friday for the first half hour of the show it was proper miserable. But we didnt cancel we didnt. Nope nope. Like true artists we soldiered on. We had a stage and we werent about to waste it. The rain cleared up and the sun eventually came out giving the second half of the show a respectable turn out. Then we ran off to an open mic not too far from the main show. The thing was I ran exceptionally late so as a result the moment I walked throught the door it was my slot on the mic (thankyou everyone for holding out till the very last minute) and so That signified my 20th gig out of the 6 days.
There's a few things i've neglected to mention. A number of the poets really shone for me over the course of the several days. Faye Roberts being the main candidate. I positively adore her imagery and clever word use accompanied by that soft lilting voice just has me captivated and swooning.
Poeterry for his never ending quest of self discovery. I think he is a very interesting man and his poetry is always so brutally sincere that it can't help but capture your heart.
Danni Antagonist...no wait she wasn't there, but she was certainly noted by her abscence.
The antipoet. Well what can I say really two really awesome blokes who despite their apparant talent and skill seem very humble about it all. They're both very speshul (in both senses of the phrase) and I always feel blessed to count them among my friends, As I do with a large percentage of the Rrrants posse. Constant positive vibes just spew from them like a teenager having been binge drinking whiskey all night for the first time. I admire them for everything they do. And I alwyas feel speshul when they join me up on stage.
As I do with donna. who is so calm and collected even when its clear that secretly she isnt.
And finally one last person to mention. My husband. Paul. A man whom I dragged around tirelessly all week and who stupidly followed most of the time. I wouldn't even been anywhere near a stage if it hadnt been for him. Performing at the edinburgh fringe was a wild dream come true. one of those things you fantasize about but never actually expect to happen and if it hadn't been for him I would still be just boring old me. Whereas now im boring old me but i've played the edinburgh fringe festival. Its more than my music and drama teachers ever expected out of me at school. That makes me feel smugly content. No matter what people tell you, you can acheive stuff that they say was impossible, because thats exactly what i've done.
Thank you Donna, thank you Ian and Paul, vikki and Emma too
Hears looking forward to next year
Finally here is a piece of video footage of me performing a fw of my songs thanks to faye roberts.
n I even begin to sum up the days that past in a flurry of walking, drinking and performing (not all in that order, and not all in equal quantities)
First off let me explain who I was with.
Rrrants. An amazing band of people headed up by Ian Paul and Donna...well...Donna mainly, she makes sure the other two behave to some degree. It was these three that managed to get the rest of us the main gig at the Peartree in the free edinburgh fringe. An outdoor venue with a large stage and seating for about 50-80. A lot of hard work went into securing the venue and organising everyone. Anyone who has organised poets before will understand its not the easiest of tasks. So I am proper super grateful for the effort put in there.
For the whole year I had psyched myself up for the event. Booked a....hotel...(I use the word loosely, we were actually living in a box for the week. No window, no cupboards, no tea/breakfast/tv/internet/room cleaning/ quite frankly we were lucky we had a bed and air without being charged extra for them.
So Saturday the 20th We managed to randomly get cheap 1st class train tickets from peterborough to edinburgh, and on our way up discovered we were in the same train carriage as Ant Smith, another one of the performers on the Rrrants stage, which was pure fluke.
We got to edinburgh fairly unscathed and found the venue with relative ease. Then went and got drunk.
Sunday was the kick off day. Our first gig was actually on the Royal mile on a stage in the middle of the street. It had no amplification so we all had to yell our heads off and randomly bombard passing people with flyers and suchlike in order to entice them to our show later in the afternoon. I had my shot on the stage and it was really tricky as we were competeing with several other acts on the street, but we managed to get a respectable amount of people stopping and listening.
(picture taken by Ant Smith)
After that we then headed up to our venue (which was about 15 mins walk away) and then performed our first proper show all 2 and a half hours of it. It was amazing and being a warm sunny sunday the beer garden was full of people, including my friend Runt, who turned up dressed in a complete dog outfit which must have been super warm but it was super fluffy and i'm a sucker for fluffy things...and shiny things...and sparkly/cute/funny/happy things...and things... Anyway yes day one was a huge success but it wasn't over yet. Oh no. We all went out and hit the open mic circuit and stumbled on a nice little venue with an open mic called Espionage. They made us feel like locals and it was amazing. We sang there till about 2am then stumbled home.
pic by Vikki Laxton-Bass
Monday was pretty much a rinse and repeat of the sunday, a few more poets were on the bill for the main show and the sun was shining for a second day and we all went out afterwards got drunk and did more open mics. We returned to Espionage where we met some more really lovely people who then dragged us off to a 2nd open mic in the Whistlebinkies. By the time that one had finished it was 330am by which point there was only me, poeterry and james left and there was talk of going to the Banshee Labyrinth for a third open mic that didnt finish till 5am but thought...hmmm...I'd probably been hardcore enough by that point so me and Paul returned to our easybox for the night.
Tuesday we did something similar again...it started to feel a bit like de-ja-vu but thats to be expected I guess. Again our show was well recieved with a nice amount of coins being thrown into the Rrrants collection buckets, contrary to popular belief it had nothing to do with the fact that my boobs were practically spilling out of the dress I was wearing and was more due to the fantastic show we had put on.
picture taken by Adrian
my friend Pete turned up which was a lovely suprise as I had talked to him for the best part of 7 or so years online but had never met the fellow, and what a lovely guy he was. We went for hotchocolate after the event and then after saying goodbye to him, me and paul went for a meal with a large chunk of the rrrants crew and then trekked into the deepest darkest parts of Leith to do an open mic at a place called Nobles Bar. Its always scary going into unknown terretory to perform poetry and comedy songs and we had been warned that leith was a bit on the rough side but we went there anyway and again made loads of new friends and we were all very warmly received. HUZZAH!
pic by Vikki Laxton-Bass
On a roll now Wednesday was looking to be good again back on the mile for more promoting and flyering and walking and then onto our main event. Which again drew in quite a crowd and I think that was the day Ant Smith got his first official complaint. Clearly doing a poem about shagging dead people isn't allowed. Anyway undeterred we all headed to the Cruz Ship Bar in leith to do more open mic stuff, only everyones wires got crossed and it turned out only me and Paul turned up. So rather than having the security blanket of the rest of the Rrrants mob, suddenly it was just us on our own. Ahhhh. But it turned out okay. I practiced some of my lesser known stuff simply because I had a big gig to perform on the Sunday and needed to do some pieces I hadnt tried for ages. I got free alcohol for my troubles so that was always a bonus. headed home and got to bed early at only 130am so YAY for an early night.
Thursday was an exciting day. My sister said she was coming and I hadnt seen her in over a year and a half. I looked outside and saw it proper downpouring with rain...Ahhhh there was the typical scottish weather I had been expecting all week. luckily by the time we got to the venue not only had it stopped raining but the sun had come out with such ferrocity that it almost looked like it hadnt rained at all, and by the time we were halfway into our main show we had an almost full beer garden worth of audience.
pic taken by Paul Sweetland
She couldnt stay for the whole thing which was a bit of a shame but seeing her for a few hours was nice and we caught up a bit. Afterwards there was food involved and then the rrrants mob headed into deeper darker parts of leith. This is where it almost went wrong...(mild peril...you cant have a story without mild peril...) Anyway Basically we walked into this open mic venue called Walkabout, and it was mainly filled with 20-something blokes who had clearly been drinking copious amounts of lager for quite some time. A rather serious poet friend of mine James got up and delivered some of his poetry and two young lads sat right at the front started making rude comments, really rather loud rude continous comments through his set. Now james could have just gotten off the stage and abandonned his slot, but he didnt, he carried on and performed his pieces. The blokes were then just randomly making comments at anyone, trying to start fights and generally being jerks. So when it came to my turn I got up and sang the 'You're a Wanker' Song directly at them making eye contact and pretty much directing the song at the two drunken tossers. A large chunk of the pub sang along with me. It was highly cathartic and not long after that the two of them left. Victory for the poets HUZZAH!!
pic taken by Adrian
So Friday was finally here. My last day of performances before a horrendously early wake up in the morning for the trip back to peterborough. The rain really truly lashed down on friday for the first half hour of the show it was proper miserable. But we didnt cancel we didnt. Nope nope. Like true artists we soldiered on. We had a stage and we werent about to waste it. The rain cleared up and the sun eventually came out giving the second half of the show a respectable turn out. Then we ran off to an open mic not too far from the main show. The thing was I ran exceptionally late so as a result the moment I walked throught the door it was my slot on the mic (thankyou everyone for holding out till the very last minute) and so That signified my 20th gig out of the 6 days.
There's a few things i've neglected to mention. A number of the poets really shone for me over the course of the several days. Faye Roberts being the main candidate. I positively adore her imagery and clever word use accompanied by that soft lilting voice just has me captivated and swooning.
Poeterry for his never ending quest of self discovery. I think he is a very interesting man and his poetry is always so brutally sincere that it can't help but capture your heart.
Danni Antagonist...no wait she wasn't there, but she was certainly noted by her abscence.
The antipoet. Well what can I say really two really awesome blokes who despite their apparant talent and skill seem very humble about it all. They're both very speshul (in both senses of the phrase) and I always feel blessed to count them among my friends, As I do with a large percentage of the Rrrants posse. Constant positive vibes just spew from them like a teenager having been binge drinking whiskey all night for the first time. I admire them for everything they do. As I do with donna.
And finally one last person to mention. My husband. Paul. A man whom I dragged around tirelessly all week and who stupidly followed most of the time. I wouldn't even been anywhere near a stage if it hadnt been for him. Performing at the edinburgh fringe was a wild dream come true. one of those things you fantasize about but never actually expect to happen and if it hadn't been for him I would still be just boring old me. Whereas now im boring old me but i've played the edinburgh fringe festival. Its more than my music and drama teachers ever expected out of me at school. That makes me feel smugly content. No matter what people tell you, you can acheive stuff that they say was impossible, because thats exactly what i've done.
Thank you Donna, thank you Ian and Paul, vikki and Emma too
Hears looking forward to next year
