Edinburgh has been engulfed by a blanket of fog. The city, when sunny, is a great example of a cosmopolitan city, especially during the festival. When foggy, however, it's wonderfully eerie and spooky. Just looking up at Edinburgh Castle from Cowgate road is a sight to behold. The flags on the turrents flapping behind dense mist. And at night, whilst illuminated by lights, it takes on an almost magical quality.


Whilst navigating my way through the fog, I saw a great little show called 'Cooped' at the Assembly Rooms. A farce of epic proportions, and a random, if frankly disturbing, bit of full frontal nudity. Set within a gothic mansion, a murderer runs rampant, and the inhabitants - a seamstress, a butler, detective and the owner - must figure out who the killer is before they get dispatched. The humour is similar to the Airplane and Naked Gun franchises. Utterly ridiculous, but extremely watchable all the same.
After that, I saw the deeply dissapointing Michael McIntyre at the Pleasance Dome. He had been a Perrier Newcomer nominee last year, so I was expecting laughs aplenty. Instead, I sat stoney faced throughout. Mabye I'm being exposed to too much comedy at this festival and have lost my ability to laugh and, instead, I've become a bitter old cumudgeron. I hope not. But his show was slighty naff. The naffness was heightened when he accompanied each of his jokes with the cheesiest smile possible. I was cornered after the show by a woman who had seen me taking notes throughout. She told me how she had seen him twice already and how she thought he was the best comedian at the Fringe. She asked me what my opinion was and whether I'd be writing a good review. She had real hope in her eyes. I couldn't exactley say: "Rubbish!" and walk off. So I mumbled something along the lines of, "Very good, yes, very good. He certainly has a natural...speaking...voice. Good day!" Then walked off.

The Bedlham Theatre is now becoming my favourite venue. It always puts on innovative shows. True, some of them are hit and miss, but at least all of them are original. And it is student orientated, which gives the productions a freshness about them. After Little Red Things, which was sensational, I saw the equally impressive Alice Through The Looking Glass. A great twist on the legendary fairytale, with great sets and creative direction.

Special mention to Tim Vine's poster along the road to the Underbelly. It could well be the best poster ever conceived.