Just having something to laugh at in these grim times is enough. As Rich Hall said on 4 at The Fringe, "When people are happy comedians suffer." True enough, but Radio 4 listeners have sat through enough dire comedians to know some depths of suffering for themselves.

This show, the first of two, served up four acts from this year's Edinburgh fringe, all of them established and familiar. In fact, Fred MacAulay is so familiar we're almost related. Yet his style of observational comedy is really funny (budget airlines, dogs taking over from children as sofa occupants) and his timing is flawless. That, I suppose, comes with experience.