Sparkles in St Andrew Square

With the due date for my library book fast approaching, and knowing that there is a long list of people on the waiting list for it, my main mission of the day was to read Sweet caress: the many lives of Amory Clay by William Boyd. Settling down to read almost an entire book in a single sitting in the middle of the summer reminded me of my university vacations as an undergraduate studying French literature, racing to get through the reading list before the start of the new academic year. Oh happy days!

This evening we continued the Fringe binge with a trip up to Assembly on the Mound to see Mark Steel. For the third time in a row that we have attended the 21:30 slot at this venue the show started late and overran. I felt sorry for those who had short transfer times to their next show.

The performance itself was mixed. There were some fantastic insights and one-liners, and I had no idea that Steel was so good at impressions, but the material as a whole did not hang together particularly well. It was as if Steel hadn't quite worked out the best way to knit his clever ideas into a unified whole. He also seemed confused as to how to address the audience: should he consider us as a bunch of locals, a group of English people up for the Fringe, or a mix?

I took my blip in St Andrew Square as we walked home.

Exercise today: walking (8,514 steps) (knee still sore).