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Edinburgh Delights-Cakes, Comedy & Craft

The Stand Comedy Club
Newly escaped from the office job (forever, hurrah!), I  immediately set off for my native city, Edinburgh, to enjoy some festival fun with family & friends. This year I've taken a slower approach, moseying up to the action/madness in gentle fashion with a cake stop with friends to ease me in (not as used to crowds these days, Caernarfon generally doesn't do frenzy despite the many summer visitors!).

Who better to sample a new (well, to us) cafe with but a lady who is very well informed about good cake, Kate from Cake Poppins Cake Poppins We tried out Love Crumbs at the West Port (the old town haunt of the notorious murderers Burke & Hare, now remodelled & amusingly referred to as 'the pubic triangle' due to its lap dancing/strip bars. The bars however, nestle amongst independent shops and cafes, the College of Art & a Catholic church with a beautiful starry ceiling so it's not as insalubrious as it sounds!). Love Crumbs is an invitingly quirky cafe beckoning you in with it's artfully mismatched vintagey decor and a wardrobe/cupboard of cakes. Yes, that's right a wardrobe of homemade cakes! This tempting cakey Narnia scenario was most pleasing and the artisan tea bags and very tolerant/patient staff (we made the tea last a long time) are a definite asset.

Another recommendation on a potter round the Old Town is the delightful Red Door Gallery which brings together lovely prints, contemporary jewellery and desirable homeware by independent artists. It was great to see some pieces of Tatty Devine jewellery that I've been eyeing up on their website for a while and generally there's much to desire. It took all my willpower to extract myself without treating myself to a 'Dandy Lion' bag or Suzie Wright's bear print (amongst many others) The-Red-Door-Gallery/FaceBook Another good place for independent makers/artists is the West End Fair (until Sun 25th only) at the corner of Princes St & Lothian Road. Favourite stalls spotted were Rachel Elliott (fab contemporary screen printed glass hares, foxes & jewellery) and the raggedy creatures of Nameless Wonders which had amusing anthropomorphic seagulls with satchels marked 'poo'.

On the comedy front, there's been much to enjoy. Pick of the shows has been the brilliant Bridget Christie @ The Stand. A 5 star show with a strong, positive message of feminism & equality by a fantastic, furious comedian. It's the third consecutive year I've seen her and this show is the best, really finding the right expression for all the rubbish spoken about feminism & what it means. You may be thinking this doesn't sound at all fun or funny, but you'd be wrong. Hearteningly, it was a sold out show with a very appreciative & mixed gender audience, hope is not all lost at all! Also enjoyable were Richard Herring's podcast with Alexi Sayle & David Kay (I defy anyone else to talk about the pitfalls of scone making so amusingly) which was interesting & funny and Stewart Lee crafting work in progress for the 3rd series of his 'Comedy Vehicle' programme, consistently witty and sharp. Wildly different was Seymour Mace (his Geordie accent winning my 'best voice of the Fringe' award) playing manic host Marmaduke Spatula with his lunatic delights of 'eating a banana to Carmina Burana', new name stickers for the whole audience & ridiculous set piece to finish which made my face hurt with laughter.
Still a few things to see and a taxidermy workshop on Sunday so there is likely to be a Part 2...
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