KEVIN ELDON, SIMON MUNNERY & ANDREW BAILEY STAR IN THIS RADIO PLAY. SEE THE SHOP

Tickets on sale here for this years Edinburgh show www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/simon-munnery-self-employed Reviewed here: http://entertainment.stv.tv/edinburgh-festivals/shows-were-lovin/192062-simon-munnery-the-stand/ and here: http://fringe2010.dracos.co.uk/22/moments/

abaat it.. http://filmlondon.org.uk/best_of_boroughs/the_tunnel/

Why Bedford? You ask. Why not? As Arnold Brown used to say. It’s civilised, cosmopolitan, and romantic. Oh no, that’s Paris. It’s local, that’s it, it’s near where I live. So I sent off thirty letters, to every venue I could think of, and got two replies, and in the end managed to book four gigs; The Pad, Lurke Street; The Shed, Castle Road; The George and Dragon, Mill Street; Bedford Rugby Club, Goldington Road. I put an advert in The Times and Citizen - the local free paper, though not to advertise in sadly, made some flyers and placed them in pubs and cafes around the town. And the result? Well the gigs all went well, thanks for asking. But apart from the first, at The Pad, which was an established comedy/indie disco night and full, numbers were low, not enough to reach critical mass. I know this from experience; if there aren’t enough people in, then word of mouth is not sufficient. And no matter how well a gig goes, there is an awkwardness to being part of a small audience; you may laugh all the way through but you wouldn’t recommend a friend to go to the next one, and even if you did how many friends have you got and would they all come? It’s worth noting Eugene Cheese of London’s long-running Chuckle Club will cancel if there’s less than thirty.

So now I am mentally regrouping… I’ve realised my flyer was rubbish, and also that I am terrible at flyering. I walked round Bedford in the rain with a handful of flyers but couldn’t bring myself to stop anyone and flyer them. Likewise sticking them through letterboxes; I don’t like things being stuck through my letterbox so I couldn’t do it to someone else. But I haven’t given up. I’ve applied to the council to set up a market stall. I’m planning to do two pieces of street art in the town, and I shall book another gig and make a better flyer for it. Bedford has so far remained indifferent to me, but I am indifferent to Bedford’s indifference. Thus I win. More news later.

Also known by his stagenames of Alan Parker: Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium, Simon Munnery is a comedy writer and experimental standup comedian.The Observer newspaper called Simon, ‘One of the most original and talented comedians in the country’. He’s recently released two DVDs of his work and one of his songs, Grey Clouds – a take-off of The Orb’s Little Fluffy Clouds- was featured on Annie Nightengale’s CD Y4K.

Kevin Eldon will be recognised from comedy projects such as Brass Eye, Black Books, I’m Alan Partridge, Spaced, Big Train, Fist of Fun and Hyperdrive, and appeared as Sergeant Tony Fisher in Hot Fuzz alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. He also appeared in Simon’s surreal comedy series Attention Scum. Have a look.

Brian Cox invited them out to Geneva for a tour of CERN and they proved to be extremely informed and interested in physics and the work being done at CERN. And, it goes without saying, they were very funny, too.