Talk of the town: Five-star hope for four-letter show

AS children, we’re told that it doesn’t make us big or clever.

But comedy fans in the Capital will have the chance to test that theory this summer – by attending a swearing school.

Simon Donald, co-creator of cult comic Viz, is preparing a show that will turn the Edinburgh air blue at the Fringe Festival.

And Simon, who has left his cartoonist career behind in favour of stand-up comedy, claims that the profanity-laden performance will also educate his audience.

He said: “I’m referring to it as a journey to the four corners of the four-letter word. Some of it is a look at how words become swear words, so on one level it’s a serious investigation.

“I’m going to try to teach people some wonderful things.”

As with every show, we’ll be looking for your Twitter reviews – this time in four characters.

Fickle Fry flitting between views of the Capital

STEPHEN Fry is in town as he shoots Doors Open, a TV adaptation of the Ian Rankin novel about an art heist.

The prolific tweeter, however, has given the Capital mixed reviews. Yesterday afternoon, he hailed the city’s “sunny afternoon”, but by evening he was left bemoaning it as “the capital of mobile phone blackspots”.

Outstanding thinking

PARENTHOOD, they say, comes naturally.

And that seems especially so for cash-strapped mums and dads in the Capital. As they struggle to fork out for expensive leisure activities with which to keep their little ones amused, they are turning to the great outdoors.

Researcher Tim Gill said: “Times are hard, so parents have to make savings. But the good news is that families in Edinburgh are realising that fresh air costs nothing.

“Getting under the open sky – whether in a local park or the great British countryside - is the perfect way for kids to explore, have adventures and feed their curiosity and imagination.”

Now all they need is a summer.

Remedies to be sniffed at

WE’RE now halfway through National Stop Snoring Week and to mark the occasion the British Snoring Sleep Apnoea Association put some “remedies” to the test.

But it seems a tennis ball sewn into the back of pyjamas, sucking a dummy and rubbing toothpaste in the nostrils are all old wives’ tales.

So if your other half comes to bed one night this week honking of garlic – another mythical cure – don’t worry, it might not be a new take on the old headache excuse.