podcast

My Cat’s Tale – Cuarta

Season 1

Episode 30

00:31:34

From a chance encounter at one week old, Cuarta has found her forever home with Tom and his family… along with their two dogs. A cat was never planned for in the house, in fact, a cat was never considered given the two dogs already living with them. Bringing up Cuarta was and is a learning experience.

Tom talks to me about those first nights with Cuarta, where her name comes from, and why she likes the house’s internet router so much.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archives – Lady Carol (Lost and Found, 2014)

January 5, 2023

Season 18

Episode 18

00:16:36

Lady Carol, a Fringe stalwart then and now, back on the touring circuit of cabaret and festivals and the like, returned to the Fringe in 2014 with a mandolin and ukulele in tow,

Billed as a show with songs of spirited spite and tales of melancholic mischief, Lost and Found, has 30 songs, and 30 stories, and of course, you can’t get all of that into a single hour. The random nature guaranteed something different for every audience, kept the show fresh for the whole month, but perhaps made it difficult to review as presented…

…but this is a show where the performer, rightly, comes first and comes highly recommended.

In the days before he got a bus, Bob Slayer had a bookshop. That bookshop was a Fringe venue. And in that venue was Lady Carol, so let’s head back to 2014 to be lost and found.

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My Cat’s Tale – Crits For Cats

January 4, 2023

Season 1

Episode 29

00:25:02

Bash may have five cats in their home, but many more cats and kittens pass through this very connected foster home. Thanks to its online communities, the Crits For Cats project can also support cat rescues and shelter cats in the local area.

Ewan listens to Bash to learn more about living with so many foster kittens coming through a home, how the rescue adventure started, and how streaming on Twitch has built up a supportive community of cat lovers.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archives – Jess Robinson (Impressive, 2016)

December 29, 2022

Season 18

Episode 17

00:14:27

Performing regularly since 2004’s appearance on Dead Ringers, various roles in the audio adventures of Doctor Who from Big Finish, and one of the “we need a voice” actors called on by the Horrible Histories troupe, Jess Robinson has been in the business for well over a decade before making it to the Fringe.

2016 saw impressionist Jess Robinson’s third show at the Edinburgh Fringe. I,pressive opens with a promise of 99 voices in the first 5 minutes before a gentler pace kicked in and a storytelling hour took over… with a bit of help from both a live band and many of those aforementioned 99 voices.

Since then there are more accomplishments, and Robinson has picked up a Gold Medal for ‘Best Entertainment Podcast’ in 2021 with Stars in Your Ears.

But now, back to 2016, back to Impressive, and always remember: The show is finished, don’t try and get tickets.

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My Cat’s Tale – Malcolm The Cat’s Christmas Tale

December 28, 2022

Season 1

Episode 28

00:22:23

Caroline told us Malcolm’s tale of his injuries and treatment earlier this year. After he was hit by a car, his community rallied round to help fund his extensive medical treatment. There were many happy fans of Malcolm when he made it back home, and his ever-present companion Baby Dog took care of him.

I caught up with Caroline just before Christmas to find out how Malcolm is getting on, how his life has changed, and the new cat coming round to visit him.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archives – Carey Marx (Intensive Carey, 2013)

December 22, 2022

Season 18

Episode 16

00:16:23

Carey Marx’ Fringe in 2013 is the sort of one-line elevator pitch that Hollywood loves – ‘I had to cancel my show in 2012 because I had a heart attack… let’s talk about that in 2013’.

Marx was already an accomplished storyteller who had that delightful ability to keep the story on the straight and narrow but twist everything else just a little, under the surface, and capture the audience. Intensive Carey – which is still a fabulous pun nearly ten years later – did just that.

The Fringe is also family, and knowing that Carey was absent in 2012 meant that so many people – including myself – were delighted just to have him back. This show, just as many others, started in an incredibly relatable place. So let’s go back to 2013, go back to welcome Carey back to the Gilded Balloon, and experience some Intensive Carey.

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My Cat’s Tale – Sigrid Rides

December 21, 2022

Season 1

Episode 27

00:24:47

Sigrid is a familiar sight on the streets of London, as she explores the capital city in her cat basket on the front of Travis Nelson’s bike. Emigrating with Travis from California, the adventures of this deaf cat are being told in print with her book ‘Sigrid Rides’ set for publication in 2023.

Ewan listens to Travis as he explains how he introduced Sigrid to biking, why he can’t sneak up on her, and the fun of writing a book about their cycling…

…all white a massive cat-sized hamster wheel rumbles along in the background.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archives – Mike Bubbins (Retrosexual Male, 2017)

December 15, 2022

Season 18

Episode 15

00:12:10

It’s Mike Bubbins’ turn to escape the archive. He’s a Welsh comic who has carved out a great little space in the scene as “the comic who does the seventies”. His fringe show forom 2017 is quintessential Bubbins, as he looks back at the seventies, what made it great, and what we can learn from it intoday’s world.

He’s continued that mix of cultural time travel in his 2021 TV series Mamoth, where he plays “Tony Mammoth, a Welsh PE teacher, missing presumed dead in an avalanche in the Alps in 1979 whose body is found and miraculously bought back to life in the modern day.”

But now, we always say we return to the Fringe, and here it’s a return to the Fringe of 2017, to return to the 70s, via The Assembly Rooms, and Mike Bubbins’ Retrosexual Male.

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My Cat’s Tale – Oliver James Big Paws

December 14, 2022

Season 1

Episode 26

00:21:24

Oliver is a strong-willed Norwegian Forest Cat who loves to roam his neighbourhood. When Annette’s previous cat passed away, Oliver paid a visit. And over the months and years made it clear that he had moved in with Annette and her husband.

Ewan listens to Annette as she talks about Oliver’s mystery walks outside the house, when she knows it is the right time for snuggles, and how he helped comfort Annette during lockdown.

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My Cat’s Tale – Cedric the Cat

December 7, 2022

Season 1

Episode 25

00:25:52

Cedric is one chill cat. From a very early age, he just sat back and enjoyed the world… unless he hears the hoover. Chelsea was introduced to him when he was a one-week-old kitten, and there was never any doubt that he would be joining Chelsea and her partner as they all started a new life in a new home.

Ewan talks with Chelsea about moving house (twice) with Cedric and how he has adapted to moving house, matching the new sofa styles to Cedric’s cat tree, and the two other cats in his life who could be his Uncles.

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