Comedy Night 2 September 2008

Setting off for The Fox and Grapes on Tuesday I was a bit doubtful about how this one would go down. Many people would be just back from holidays, the schools started back that week and the weather was, to put it politely, filthy. Would people turn out in these circumstances? Well friends, I underestimated your resilience and your need to be cheered up a bit. As it turned out there was an excellent showing, with to these eyes, a good representation of newcomers.

The next piece of good news was that we had three acts on rather than the two we had expected. Could the quality be up to standard? I should never have doubted MC Alan and his ability to come up with the goods.

First up was a female comedian from Burnley, Mel Moon. Mel started off well with some banter with the crowd and went for the sympathy vote with mention of her recent accident. The insurance payment helped her buy her keyboard which she used to help serenade us with some cracking musical comic pieces. I bet Mel is fed up with the Victoria Wood comparisons but it doesn't do either of them a disservice to make them. A great start to the evening.

Next up was our surprise act. Wanting to try out some new material in front of a critical audience Dom Woodward had asked Alan if he could fill the showcase slot. Some of you may remember that Dom was with us a few months ago and I don't think it's unfair to say his set was a little patchy that night. Well done to him for braving The Fox and Grapes again, and even better he was very, very good. He had learned lessons from the previous performance and had us in stitches from the start. Only one or two jokes failed to hit the mark and they were soon forgotten in the torrent of laughs that soon followed. Two down, one to go, could the headliner follow such a great undercard?

No problem. Ciamh McDonnell hit the ground running with a series of self-deprecating observations about his hair, his size, his accent, his age ... He already had the crowd eating out of his hand and despite the occasional heckle, which he handled masterfully, we were with him all the way. He has a look of Dermot Morgan (Father Ted) and sounds a bit like Dara O' Briain but he had a style of his own which proved hugely popular. I can highly recommend seeking him out if you missed the evening.

So there we have it. In my humble opinion the standard of entertainment was the most consistently high that I can remember at the Foxsake night. Believe me, you won't want to miss any night from now on. Get there early to get a good spot. Special thanks to the bar staff for their work in keeping us supplied with drinks and acting as unofficial security when the talking got too loud! Thanks once again to Sharon, the landlady, for supporting the evening.

See you all soon.









The Fox