John Gavin Guest Blog

So it's nearly that time of year again. The time of year when one of the largest comedy festivals around is only a 20 minute train journey away from my home. Being from the west of Scotland, the Glasgow Comedy Festival is something to get really excited about. This year’s festival has so many different shows that every taste is catered for. Not only that, being a non-driver, it means that there is loads of gigs that I can get do and get home from without having to get a train home too early.

This will be my second festival as a comedian. It also marks a personal milestone as it will be my first ever solo show. The show has been in the back of my mind since October really. The only thing is, it was really at the back of my mind, hiding like a bat. I say a bat as it only came out of hiding at night when I was trying to get to sleep. You have no idea how long I have been kept awake at night by such thoughts as:

• "What should my poster look like?" - this was a huge pain for me and has changed so many times I lost count.
• "What should I pick as an intro track?" - being a real music geek this is a problem. The last time I did it the first list of potential songs stretched to 164 songs. The worst of it is that the layout of the venue means that if I wanted an intro track I'd have to walk past the mic and physically turn it off myself.
  
• "Could I get some fireworks?" - I won't even go into the directions my brain took me that night.

Weirdly at no point did I think about any new material. Next thing it's nearly Christmas and nothing is done. Plans for writing were scuppered by a very busy festive period involving four nights out, 14 gigs in 22 days and getting things ready for Santa Claus coming and trying to be a good husband and father. They were also scuppered by the snow. At the first sight of snow I was out in my wellies sledging and having snowball fights. Sledging was a particular favourite (although I did find out that my body, especially my back, cannot endure the same rigors it did when I was eight).

Thankfully January wasn't too manic so there was time to get the show ready for previews in February. For some reason I hit a particularly productive period just after the New Year. I wish I could tell you what it was that brought out this productive period. If I did know what it was I would bottle it and sell it to other comedians. There is a good chance that it would sell faster than bread and milk on a snow day.

Only thing I have worry about now is ticket sales. Well that and hoping that people decide not to see Dave Gorman instead of me on the 25th of March...

John Gavin will be performing his solo show The A-Z of Parenting at Uisge Beatha on Thursday 25th March. Find out more here.