Park Bench Life

Thought I'd mix things up this week for my non-existent readership and do a Monday blog instead (basically I forgot over the weekend).
It's been a busy weekend though, travelling to South Wales with my family. It was partly for my granddad to reminisce about his time in the Rhondda Valley when he was a child, growing up, and we in turn learnt a lot about the area, and our family history. It was quite lovely really, and a nice time away, however, the main purpose of the visit was business. I was set to perform in the inaugural Merthyr Tydfil comedy festival!
The opening night was amazing, and I got to see the absolutely amazing Mike Wilmot headline the showcase. It was a true masterclass, and my stomach genuinely ached from laughter.
The next day of comedy, however, not so ideal.
I didn't really get to see any other shows*, unfortunately,  and when it came to my own show, no one got to see that either! As it ticked over to 5pm for my show to start, not a soul, bar my family was there. Eventually, a few people sat down in the park benches at the back and I thought, "fuck it, let's do this". So, ten minutes late, I moved the mic and stand to the back of the audience, and performed to three park benches, two of which, actually had audience in them! 
I announced at the start, that I'd do an abridged 30 mins, but we soon got chatting and joking, and before I knew it, over an hour had passed. It had gone so well between the five of us, that we finished the show having enticed a total of ten audience members, and two bar staff who stood and watched. Hardly any planned material was performed, but I just went off script and improvised with them for the hour. It was quite invigorating actually, and probably more fun than doing my actual show! We finished with a sing-a-long to Tom Jones' Delilah and I shook hands/hugged each individual audience member goodbye. 
They were a lovely people in Merthyr, and Drew Taylor's comedy festival was great (it's just unfortunate my show was in a bar that was showing the Grand National during my time slot I think). Hopefully it'll be back in 2019, and I look forward to returning to South Wales.

*I did see one show, with Dorian Wainwright, Richard Jay, David Hoare, and Maggy Whitehouse - a great show with top South West comedians.

PS I know this entry is a bit awkwardly written in places, but it's 2am, and I refuse to go back and edit.