07/08/05 Cream Crackered!

I struggled to get out of bed this morning. Totally knackered.
I spent the afternoon filming The Edinburgh Samba School taking part in the Festival Cavalcade procession along Princes St.
Another sunny day. They've been doing the parade for 8 years now in a "big" way, and every day has been gloriously sunny. In terms of Scottish weather in August, that is an unbelievable statistic. The odds must be about 10 000 000 to 1 I would have thought, (at a conservative estimate)
There was a pirate theme in evidence this year, and an accompaniment by a big brass section. My intention was to film half of the parade from the float, then dismount and film the second half on the ground. The lorry usually stops now and again. However this year it just kept going continuously and it became clear that there would be no stopping.
Therefore, I had to ignore health and safety directives and jump from a moving lorry. I hope T.E.S.S. appreciate me risking my life to get some artistic shots of the parade. It all sounded great although there were the usual intermittent timing problems between the musicians on the float and the bateria. But the overall impression was great and it was by far the best float in the parade on the evidence I saw.
More flyering at night. It's a 2 for 1 deal on tickets tonight. We get an audience of 60. Patrick's compering is masterly. He has to leave early to do another gig leaving the show in the hopefully capable hands of Tony and I. It feels like a bit of a "Home Alone" situation to us. We do a spot of audience interaction and banter ourselves. It all goes really well. Katy Smurthwaite is the guest act and has me cackling heartily backstage. Tony has me in fits as he spontaneously introduces a dog ventriloquist routine into his act. We're trying to tinker with the show every day, and it's grand when a new idea goes down really well.
What will he have up his sleeve tonight? A nation holds its breath! :-)