BUT... THERE'S GOING TO BE PEOPLE THERE...
Some readers will be aware that, pre covid, going to live entertainments played a big part in my life. Music and comedy gigs, plays, sports events. And that Barbara and I have been enthusiastic audience members at the Fringe for a few years now. Then 2020 came and did it's thing. My last experience of live music was on the eleventh of March last year. I won't be able to say that for much longer. Hopefully. Maybe.
There have been sports events with crowds recently. There have been gatherings of one sort or another in streets and squares. But there have also been lots of vaccinations, and the covid infection rate, after a surge upwards, appears to be in decline again. Yet, despite regular trips to the shops, the idea of sitting down in a building with strangers feels ever so slightly weird. This may be because I have been a fan of social distancing long before it became popular. Because people.
My calendar tells me there are nine events booked for the rest of this year. Four of those are carryovers, dates rearranged from one or more postponements last year. Five I have booked recently. Four in August, one next month in the Jazz and Blues Festival. It feels like there should be more, and also that that's too many. But there are Fringe tickets being made available next week, decisions to be made. Book now, while there's availability, or wait until we see how we feel after our first gig?
I already know the answer. Unable to resist seeing what's on sale, my brain will say that we need to see her, we need to see him, that there are plenty of free days in August to fill. That this is what we missed last year.
And that gig in less than three weeks from now will confirm I was right. There will be people. But there will also be guitar. It's the music that counts. Bring on the blues.
