As I spend a lot of my time teaching in schools, I naturally plot my other activities (shows, mostly) around the school holidays. A normal teacher, after a frantically busy term, would treat themselves to a bit of time off, a nice holiday, perhaps? But I think as we’ve established, I don’t work ‘normally.’
These six weeks have probably been the most exhausting of my life, but also the best. The summer started back on the film set, for the pick-ups for the Harvey Greenfield movie. With a chunk of the recording done last year, this time around we were merely filling in the gaps. A lot of gaps, it turns out, and a lot of tweaks to bits that were already filmed but didn’t quite work. Let’s call them ‘adjustments’ rather than ‘re-takes’, for the sake of my ego. Despite the fact that we were largely filming outside on the hottest days of the year (the day when Cambridge broke it’s own record, I was there, in a full suit, running up and down, mostly confusing tourists), it was a brilliant week and a bit. We’ve all settled into this, the team were really sharp…we worked mega long hours, 12, 13, 14 hours a day to get this over the line, but spirits were high and we forced ourselves over the line. Absolutely wonderful to work with legends such as Annette Badley, Michael Fenton-Stevens and Mr Motivator, as well as our regular team. It’s done now, it’s finished, we’re a very happy bunch. It should emerge sometime next year.
After that, I went straight into a couple of my corporate ‘team building with drums’ sessions - tried out a new format, basically a gameshow called ‘the drumming sports day’ and it works well. If anyone wants me to bring a fun variation on team building to your workplace, let me know - I basically get everyone drumming and we have a lovely time.
A few days later it was my ‘wedding not wedding.’ I got married to my amazing wife, Aggie, on Christmas Eve 2020, slap bang in the middle of the Covid pandemic. Only 9 people could attend, we couldn’t have a reception and I wrote a whole play out of it (Harvey Greenfield is Getting Married…). Two years later, we finally had a chance to have the party we’d always dreamed of, this summer. It was amazing, if quite intense in places, basically getting married again, to the same lady. A few speeches, some overly soppy bits, but mostly just a huge party in a swanky Cambridge hotel. Easily my favourite night of the last two years.
From there we went on holiday to the Highlands, and then Aggie dropped me off in Edinburgh before making her way back home. I then stayed in Edinburgh for three and a bit weeks, performing 90 shows over a period of 24 days.
It was my 15th Edinburgh Fringe run as a performer yet I still didn’t quite know what to expect this year, having had two years off due to the aforementioned pandemic. Numbers were low this year, the main EdFringe organisers decided not to have an app (despite the fact we paid for it), train strikes aplenty, bin strikes so Edinburgh looked and smelt horrible, the cost of living crisis…yet my shows still, somehow, happened every day. The reviews were nice (in particular from The Scotsman, who really get what I’m about). I’ll politely let the new Harvey Greenfield show (the ‘getting married’ one) go, despite it earning me quite a bit of money - it’s just a bit of it’s time, it does have a Covid-heavy plot and I fear people won’t want to hear about that soon, as much as they did this year. Choir - a comedy show with Rachel Creeger, was wonderful, we’ve been working together since 2017 on this and it’s always a treat and I get to drum all show. The first Harvey G show worked well again and I’ll tour that next year when the film comes out, and my very late night show, My Function Band Hell, did surprisingly well despite the occasional drunken fights in the audience…
I’ve learnt so much this Edinburgh. Mostly how to stop fights in the middle of my spoken word/musical comedy show. I’m an awkward, gangly man from Cambridge, I was very much out of my comfort zone with that. I’ve learnt that 4 shows a day for 3 weeks is probably too much for a 41-year-old chap who eats too many burgers.
I’ve been home for two days and I can’t wait to back next year. I see it as my second home…
Now back to rehearsing with the band and, as of Saturday, teaching again, privately and across my many schools. Big plans for this term, including a scheme where NHS workers shouldn’t have to pay for their/their children’s drum lessons (more on that soon) and some big charity concerts. Drummers to the rescue, and all that.
First though, sleep. I hope your summer was as fun as mine!