Life as a stand-up: I may have been on the scene for just six years, but that means I've been in the business for about a quarter of the time it has existed in the UK

Life as a stand-up: Comics don't pretend to be other people - we're too busy pretending to be ourselves

Life as a stand-up: Mixing comedy and music is tricky, especially when you need to fine-tune jokes that fall flat

Life as a stand-up: I have to convince the punters that what they are seeing is spontaneous

Life as a stand-up: People who come up to you after a gig always think they are saying something nice ...

Life as a stand-up: Adding another festival to your tally brings fresh problems for a comedian, not least planning your route without satnav

Life as a stand-up: sometimes it's more a case of sitting down. Ready to break into chirpy tunes at those difficult moments.

Life as a stand-up: Can a week in the sun help you break away from the old routine and write yourself a new one?

Life as a stand-up: There are some jokes that simply couldn't happen outside a song.

Life as a stand-up: In the 10 months since my next gig was booked, all the other acts have found better-paid work. They must be gutted.

Life as a stand-up: When you're doing a gig for first-year undergraduates, you've got to study the crowd carefully.

Life as a stand-up: I'm no virtuoso, but the instrument helps my jokes hit the right notes tonight. Mind you, it's a bit unwieldy on stage.

Life as a stand-up: My material about recent military campaigns doesn't amuse everyone at tonight's gig.

Life as a stand-up: When you've only got 12 punters in the audience, it's a right pain when one of them starts chatting.

Life as a stand-up: The most difficult part of being a comedian is trying to amuse yourself between shows. Luckily Hartlepool provides Name That Fish.

Life as a stand-up: Once you've written the jokes and booked the venue, you just need to drum up an audience. Easier said than done.

Full houses, a misinterpreted Abba lyric and a self-healing keyboard ... it's just an average day in the life of a Fringe comedian.

Life as a stand-up: Small audiences are no problem as long as they pull their weight when it comes to laughter.

Life as a stand-up: Seven days in to the Edinburgh experience, it feels like my material and I are finally on speaking terms. Only another 15 gigs to go.