Broken Wrists and Breaking Bad

The past few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. Upon a recent trip to Edinburgh, I discovered a few things.

1. Mint chai tea lattes are awesome

2. A whole bottle of vodka on a stomach of nothing but haribos and dim sum =

3. Add in a pair of stupidly high heels and you get:

The number one thing I have learned is that broken wrists are probably the least fun things ever. I have now been living for 2 and a half weeks with a cast, and let me tell you, it ain't no picnic. The number of things you need your left hand for are astounding. I get so frustrated trying to tie my hair back! Opening bottles and jars is a challenge beyond compare. Perhaps the most annoying thing is the endless stream of questions from people asking how it happened! The irony that I've been doing snowboarding (the number one cause of a broken wrist) lessons now for 2 months without injury and yet I manage to break my wrist by falling over in a kitchen.

I've been pretty down about it all and it's just as well I had Breaking Bad to get me through it. Only ten more episodes to go! Jesse is a god.

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Sunsets and Shepherd's Pie

Things I have learned this week:

* What garlic looks like when it's growing in the ground

* How to make a shepherd's pie

* How to make fried ice cream

* The latin phrase "Cogito ergo sum" = "I think, therefore I am"

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Funny Tuesdays

Last Tuesday, I went to the 'Red Raw' night at The Stand comedy club in the West end of Glasgow. It cost £2 to get in, and to be honest it was the best £2 I've spent in a long while! I got to see 10 comedians performing a 5 - 10 minute slot each, including one of my friends who has just started doing stand-up, and was performing his fourth ever gig. The Red Raw night gives up and coming comedians a chance to showcase their stuff and get noticed, and it's excellent (and cheap) entertainment for the rest of us!

My friend David was given a slot right near the beginning, and he more than held his own alongside the one and only Frankie Boyle who followed him, trying out some of his new material. Him and other well known comedians like Kevin Bridges often make an appearance at The Stand, where many of the big players on the Scottish comedy circuit started out.

It was my first time at The Stand and I was blown away by the standard of the comedy. Having had a horrendous morning it was just what I needed to take my mind off things. Laughter really does solve everything. And it felt great to see someone I know doing so well up there on the stage in front of a whole room full of people. I have so much respect for stand up comics treading the boards for the first time and making a name for themselves- I can't imagine anything scarier than putting yourself and your material so OUT THERE, it's bad enough having people judge something so personal as your own jokes, stories and personality without doing it in front of a live audience.

And not just any audience. A GLASGOW crowd. There really is nothing to surpass Glasgow humour - I feel so lucky to come from a city where banter and laughter is at its heart, as much a part of life here as the gritty realism, deprivation and crime. Us Glaswegians really know how to look on the lighter side of things, and that's something I hope never to lose sight of. It makes me really proud and protective of my city, in spite of what people say about it.

I could go on, but I'll end the soppy chat there. Main thing is, get yourself down to The Stand on a Tuesday night in Woodlands Rd. You won't regret it.

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