And just like that, it’s over!

Three weeks, 22 shows, multiple guest spots and anyone’s guess as to how many pies I ate!!

So the big finale came on Saturday… the Royal Mile was packed! I didn’t even bother flyering outside as it was already super busy down by the venue. The room was full by 18.20 and people were once again turned away.

The show itself was a strange one. The audience seemed subdued, big jokes not landing… maybe it was because it was so bloody hot in there or maybe it was just Fringe-fatigue. Either way, it felt like my Fringe run just fizzled out…

The bucket collection didn’t reflect a quiet show though – the second best one of the run! I guess you just never know with an audience!

And so it’s over. Done. ‘Heroic Failure’ is no more. I’ve had an absolute blast! I’ve made so many new friends, people who I hope I’ll be able to keep in touch with and then catch up with again next year. But the curtain has now come down on the 2018 Fringe.

Huge thanks to the venue, not only a fabulous location but the people running the place were absolutely first class. Being the venue captain never once felt like a chore and Stuart was always there should I have any queries at any point. I hope they’re able to accommodate PBH again next year because I’d love to return here.

Tonight marked the penultimate performance of ‘Heroic Failure’ at this year’s Fringe.

A downpour in the hour running up to the show really threatened to derail things! The Mile was quiet as a result, which meant flyering was particularly challenging. Not to be beaten, I enlisted to help of my partner, who did his best to ensure I had an audience to perform to.

It worked! The room was full (well, a couple of seats short but let’s not split hairs!). An eclectic audience but also the most international one I’ve had this year: Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Poland, Czechia, US, India, Scottish English but no Welsh (we all know they don’t exist!).

It was a bit of a mixed one really, some of the big jokes failed to land yet some of the minor ones garnered a much bigger reaction! Ahhh, the randomness of the Fringe!

A decent enough bucket collection and one that leaves me in a great position going into the final day of the run. Jeez, I can’t believe that the end is now clearly in sight…

As a fellow comedian said to me, many years ago: “the best thing about the Fringe is that even if you have a shit day, you always know that tomorrow will bring you a brand new audience”.

So I started the day with a final appearance at ‘AComedyTapas’. This audience made last night’s one seem huge! Still, one person or 100 people, that’s an audience, so the show must go on!

I managed to make all five people in the audience laugh – that’s all that matters, right? This was the final guest spot that I have booked for this year – I’ve resisted the urge to book more things – as I’d like to enjoy the final two days of the run!

Flyering did feel like a bit of a chore again tonight but people were still heading down the Close (having the sign outside helps so much). I went down to set up around 18.20 and could see a lot of people there.

I was given a random one card tarot reading by a guy outside. I picked out a card that apparently meant that I would be “quids in” today. Well, I guess I can live in hope!

When I returned to my room at 18.30, the place was rammed! We had to drag in a couple of extra seats!

And the audience? Bloody fantastic! Laughed all the way through, at the right bits and most definitely at the “wrong” bits!

Nice to see a couple of familiar faces in the room too (especially when I could see them both laughing throughout).

It’s crazy to think that I now only have two shows left to perform. That’s means 20-down! These past three weeks have sailed by! I’m now both sad and happy that the end is nigh…