Mark Thomas riding his bike in Edinburgh
Mark Thomas is a busy man this August. Not only is he performing his Extreme Rambling show at the Edinburgh Fringe, and thinking about Get Up, Stand Up! (the Edinburgh comedy gala which mixes comedy and politics), he is also out on his bike every day too...
In the early hours of the Edinburgh morning, while most performers are wending their weary way to bed, Mark Thomas is rising from his, grabbing a bicycle and heading for the hills that surround the city. Why? Well, the political comedian is currently training for the London to Paris bike ride, which he will be undertaking in September to raise money for the Palestinian medical charity IMET 2000.
We asked Mark how his training is going: "The Edinburgh hills mean that an Edinburgh mile is worth at least two London ones, so it is a great place to train. It might be hard and sweaty but the cycle rides are free of street performers, no one hands me a leaflet and student drama groups don't re-enact scenes from their adaptation of War and Peace."
He added: "On my day off I am planning a big ride and then some kip before heading to the Get Up, Stand Up! benefit, which incidentally is a brilliant bill."
As Mark mentions, Get Up, Stand Up! is back at the festival for its 6th year on Tuesday 16th August. It's at the EICC (Venue 150) from 10pm to midnight, and features a rather juicy line-up indeed.
Joining Thomas on stage will be Josie Long, Robin Ince, Isy Suttie, Gordon Southern, Phil Nichol, Patrick Monahan, Paul Sinha, Craig Campbell, Shazia Mirza, Markus Birdman, Andrew Bird, Imran Yusuf and sketch group The Noise Next Door. Plus there's some short satirical films starring the likes of Alistair McGowan too. Not to be missed we'd suggest.
Oh, and if you can, do please try and help Mark raise £3000 for IMET 2000 and make all his early morning pedaling worthwhile by visiting his Just Giving page
Extreme Rambling (pictured), his show about walking the entire length of the Israeli Separation Barrier is at The Bongo Club till the 20th, then continues to tour nationwide. For more details see Mark's website. www.markthomasinfo.co.uk