Writing Comedy

Melting Pot at The Stand Comedy Club, Edinburgh

As well as being a vintage loving, pinup adoring wife, mother and cake enthusiast I am a comedy writer.

I have been writing short stories, long stories, poems, diaries, songs and scripts for many years. Some horrendously cringe-worthy, others not too bad...and some...well....quite good.

I should probably point out that I am also a published poet - I won a doll and had a heartfelt poem about my Uncle's puppy published in Twinkle comic circa 1987. Since then, I've written down everything from lists of who I hated at school (with illustrations) to horrible teenage poetry about why I was such an outsider and how no one understood me. 

Then, a few years later I decided to take it more seriously. 

I had two short plays performed at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre and when I heard the audience laugh along with my character's mishaps something fell into place. In 2012 I realised that comedy was what I enjoyed writing most. The more OTT, the more crazy and ridiculous the better. Which brought me to my monthly night stand at Edinburgh's top comedy club.

Melting Pot has been running at The Stand Comedy Club for years. It's a monthly sketch night where new (and established) writers submit sketches of around five minutes long on any subject (and I mean ANY) and a troupe of actors perform each sketch.

There are ten sketches performed during Melting Pot and at the end, the audience votes for their favourite. An extended version of the winning sketch is then performed the following month.

There are four actors each month, and around eight in total so there is a good chance that if you submit a sketch you will see it being performed by a few different people which brings a new perspective, changes the characters slightly and keeps things interesting.

Melting Pot is run by John MacIsaac who is also one of the actors, and the compere Susan Morrison whips the audience up into a frenzy with her madcap crude banter before the show even begins. 

My first submission to Melting Pot was in 2012. It was a sketch called Cut Price about a robbery in a hairdressers and the police intervewing the suspects and witnesses. The characters didn't speak English - they spoke broad Scottish - so one of my characters was an interpreter who translated the Scottish slang for the benefit of the police and the audience. 

Cut Price won Best Sketch of the month and then later went on to win Best Sketch of 2013. 

You can see Cut Price here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To3c2a6icOo

I have submitted seven sketches in total and I've won three times and also come runner up which is really encouraging for me since I did become very lazy about my writing and went through dry periods where pen just didn't touch paper at all.

My sketch The Trailer was a tongue-in-cheek film trailer also written in broad Scots, I also wrote Talent which focused on young Pinky Palmer, a talent show wannabe. Buddies for Old Biddies was about a patronising volunteer in a residential home who was scared off by a feisty old woman and Film Buffs featured a competition winner who won the chance to review films on TV - despite not having seen any of the films.

Name Dropping was my runner up and one of my favourites that I've written. This was shown twice at Melting Pot and received raucous cheers because it's rather crude! Two seemingly posh ladies having afternoon tea and trying to outdo each other by name dropping all the celebrities that they are friends with/have slept with. 'Noel Edmonds is my f*** buddy', anyone?

My other winning sketch is Babies. This sketch probably got the best response of all of them, the audience laughing and wincing in equal measures as one of the characters goes into labour on stage and her friend regales her with horror stories of death - and worse - in the delivery room.

You can see Babies here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OxP0Cmx7Zw

Melting Pot is such a gem of a show and has been invaluable to me for getting my work seen, performed and reviewed. 

That's why I am so sad that the January Melting Pot will be the last one.

It really will be a sad loss to new comedy writers like myself as well as the audiences who pack out the venue each month. 

But with the energy of Susan the compere, the genuine comedy talent of the actors and of course the weird and wonderful hilarious sketches, Melting Pot will definitely go out with a bang.

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

Car Boot Sales, Flea Markets and Charity Shops - My Thrifty Wardrobe

A wee post about some of my favourite secondhand gems

I love clothes. And accessories. Handbags make me happy. Hair flowers make me smile. Summer dresses, winter woolies, sun hats or fluffy gloves - I love shopping and every season throws up endless possibilities to mix and match - tights, skirts, warm cardigans, cosy knits, little floral dresses and an ever-changing rainbow of hair flowers and head scarves.

At Vintage Nation - Sourpuss bag, Collectif shorts, T.U.K shoes and Gypsy top 50p from car boot sale

What I don't have, however is a huge budget. Not even a big budget. Nope, I don't even have a medium-sized budget for clothes shopping. 

Most of my money is spent on my fabulously fun toddler and family activities - which is exactly how I like it. But I still manage to refresh my wardrobe and dress in my rockabilly/pinup/vintage style, with something 'new' almost every month.

Because although I love shopping, I generally avoid the high street and instead, I find some cracking pieces by hitting Edinburgh's fantastic array of secondhand treasure troves.

Lovely vintage dress. £3 from the Edinburgh Flea Market. It was half-altered when I bought it & held together with pins!

I'm not going to lie - I have ALWAYS shopped at vintage fairs and charity shops. Even when I was earning a great wage, I mixed expensive brands with thrifted £2 tops and cute secondhand dresses. Nothing beats a good rummage at a vintage event or car boot sale for me and knowing that I've stumbled upon a little gem - a pretty belt or a sweet bracelet that's not available on the high street makes picking a pair of earrings off the shelf in Claire's seem boring in comparison.

Handbags - £1 each from a charity shop £1 Outlet

Now - my wardrobe isn't filled with only vintage items - I have a lovely collection of Hell Bunny dresses, Collectif skirts, Banned cardigans and gorgeous pieces from my other favourite brands, Miss Fortune and Lindy Bop. My favourie brand of shoes is T.U.K and I do like a bit of H&M and Primark for basics. 

But rifle through my wardrobe and you're guaranteed to pull out something adorable and I'll gleefully tell you "That cost me 50 pence at a car boot sale!"

Cherry print ribbon 10p, Faux pearl earrings 50p for 2 pairs & vintage faux pearl bracelet 10p. 10p!!!!

Cute gypsy top £1 from a car boot sale

Edinburgh has hundreds of fabulous vintage, preloved, thrifty places to shop - I've been visiting Armstrong's in the Grassmarket for many years and there are three branches in Edinburgh. Greenside Omni Centre's Sunday car boot sale is a hustling bustling car park with hundreds of stalls, so busy with people that at some points you're shoulder-to-shoulder with bargain hunters. 

Certain areas in Edinburgh are known for their streets filled with charity shops - Stockbridge has some excellent ones, all a couple of doors apart.

The leopard print top and vintage waist cincher belt were £1 each from a charity shop

There are also regular vintage events throughout the year in Edinburgh and I can usually be found there - Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair, Lou Lou's Vintage Fair and The Vintage Clothing Kilo Sale as well as the fantastic monthly Flea Market at Out of the Blue Drill hall (which I wrote about in a previous blog).

My favourite bargain outfit - pink sweater £1 from a charity shop and the skirt was 50p at a car boot sale!

So... if I was magically given £1000 to spend on clothes right now would I hit the high street where I could browse at my leasure and come home with a few carefully selected seasonal items OR would I rather pull my sleeves up and get down to a good rummage, up to my elbows in belts and bags, summer dresses mingling with novelty Christmas cardis, tatty old boots hiding pretty heels and - wow! - a vintage dress perfect for that special night out. 

I'll see you at the charity shop.

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxxx

Anteaques, Edinburgh - a Review

Antiques, fine teas and delicious cakes in this little gem of a place!

I like to eat cakes, that's no secret. But I especially like to eat cakes in unusual, unique and quirky places. I prefer 'one of a kind' places over large chains - especially if they have a vintage twist. 

Edinburgh is quite the treasure trove when it comes to fun, cute, interesting and unique cafes - if you know where to look! I'm enjoying seeking out new places to indulge in my cake eating and so last Saturday, Mr Dolly Cupcake and I went in search of a tea shop I'd heard about called 'Anteaques'.

On busy Clerk Street in the centre of Edinburgh, among various shops selling fabrics and knick-knacks and lots of restaurants, and a stone's throw from The Meadows, we found Anteaques. 

When we stepped inside, we were taken not only into a warm and cosy tea shop, but a treasure trove filled with antiques for sale, hundreds of teas in every flavour you can think of, locally made Edinburgh chocolate truffles and friendly welcoming staff. Opera music filled our ears and the scents of the bakes, jams and teas made our mouths water. I immediately began to lust over the gorgeous bone china tea sets displayed in the front of the shop. You can never have too many china teacups.

So many beautiful teacups!

There are only four tables in Anteaques (yes - four!) two large tables in the back, two smaller in the front. We decided to wait until a table in the back became available, as I really wanted to sit in the back room which looks like this:

Pretty trinkets everywhere

The lovely lady took my name and booked us a table for half an hour later. Mr Dolly Cupcake and I waited in the pub across the road (a cheeky glass of vino to pass the time) although there are plenty of shops on Clerk Street to look in, or a wander around The Meadows is lovely on a nice day. Otherwise I'd advise booking a table, as chances are you'll have to wait - there was a steady stream of visitors while we were there. 

Half an hour later, we were shown to our table and honestly, I have never been anywhere like this before. On every surface something caught my eye, from a pink teapot, to crystal dressing table items, a bowl full of walnuts, silver tankards. 

The menu listed hundreds and hundreds of teas in every flavour I could imagine and then some. There were black teas, green teas, seasonal teas, scented teas, Scottish tea and infusions. 

I chose the Violet Petal tea which smelled just like Parma Violets and tasted incredible. Mr Dolly Cupcake chose Cherry Almond tea and we shared them - both teas were delicious but as a big fan of anything violet, I did prefer mine!

Served on perfect china - we even got gold spoons!

We ordered a slice of Green Tea Cake each and we got a generous portion:

Green Tea Cake

Delicious cake, I'd never had tea cake before (apart from my own disastrous attempt at baking one) and it was such a unique flavour - very rich and filling. Although we did have room left for scones!

Fresh, soft, delicate scones with clotted cream and the option of various jams. Mr Dolly Cupcake chose strawberry jam and I chose Rose. Mmmmm - this was the nicest jam I've ever eaten. It tasted just like Turkish Delight. It was the perfect accompaniment to my scone and the very generous portion of clotted cream.

Delicious cakes, beautiful teas

We made sure that we took plenty of photos, and of course I had to look at everything a few more times before we left. 

Back in the front of the shop, we paid our bill - great value for money, with two pots of tea, two scones with clotted cream and jam and two slices of tea cake costing around £15. 

There are teas, crystallized violets and rose petals and pots of jam for sale, including (yay!) my new favourite rose jam. 

I am already looking forward to going back to Anteaques, as there are about 100 more teas that I want to try (Chocolate Cherry next, I think) plus some Edinburgh Chocolate Truffles and scones with violet jam with my name on them. Oh, and a few pots of rose jam to take home.

http://anteaques.co.uk/

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

Lipstick Lashes and Locks

A vintage inspired boutique salon in the heart of Edinburgh - I guarantee you will leave here feeling amazing!

Looking at my straggly over-bleached, under-loved tresses in the mirror, I counted back the weeks...and months since my last haircut. April! Oh dear, no wonder my hair was in such a sorry state. 

As a busy Mum, I'd usually head (no pun intended) to my local hairdressers for a quick wet cut, but not this time! I decided that I deserved a wee treat - and I knew the perfect salon that would transform my hair into something close to pin-up perfection: Lipstick Lashes and Locks.

I'd had huge victory rolls done by  the stylists from Lipstick Lashes and Locks at a pop-up event last year. Since then, stylist Tina had opened up her own salon in the Causewayside area of Edinburgh and I was excited to see it.

It didn't disappoint. In a street lined with vintage furniture stores and antique shops, a chalkboard stands boldly outside Lipstick Lashes and Locks not only displaying their price list - oh no! But also a quote from a Hollywood glamourpuss, from Marilyn Monroe to Elizabeth Taylor, changing daily. On my visit, the board read:

A friendly welcome and a much needed coffee served in a china teacup and saucer greeted me as I stepped into Lipstick Lashes and Locks - and also back in time (kind of).

Stylists Tina and Loretta as usual were lovely and friendly, putting me at ease and sweeping me off to have my hair washed in the beautiful back room of the salon, which looks like this:

My eyes were constantly wandering and lighting up at the sight of something adorably kitsch, pretty or retro. Tina told me that some of the items and furniture had been made for her or upcycled by friends and all the beautiful curios makes the salon so unique.

So, my hair was washed and both Tina and Loretta had a job combing through it! Next it was time for the chop, as I enjoyed coffee and biscuits.

For the amazing price of only £30 (my local...how do I say this nicely....err...boring (sorry) salons charge this much for a basic cut & blow dry) I'd had my hair washed, dried and cut in glamorous surroundings- and now it was time for it to be styled!

Tina asked me what I fancied having done - and I just couldn't decide! I eventually settled on a wet set, as I'm getting pretty good at doing my own victory rolls and beehives but I'm still not great at curls - especially the brushing-out process. I wanted to learn from the master :-)

Tina used a curling tong and pins with setting spray - then I headed under the dryer (my first time under one of these retro dryers!)

I listened to the music and gazed at the amazing trinkets and gadgets in this part of the salon - including the retro pink telephone and hairdryer. This was my view as my curls set:

When the curls were set, Tina got to work brushing out and styling my hair, as I took mental notes and learned a few techniques. 

The results? Amazing!

To say I was pleased with my new look is an understatement - my hair was totally transformed and I felt amazing! Bouncy, soft curls which lasted the rest of the day and still had some bounce in the morning (despite the Edinburgh wind!)

I would recommend this salon to any retro/rockabilly and vintage-loving girls and guys in Edinburgh - and those willing to travel. It's not just a hair cut, it's an experience - and I left feeling wonderful.

Lipstick Lashes and Locks style men and women, offer party packages, photo shoots and a wedding day service (mobile or salon-based) and they also have the amazing-sounding Beehive and Bun Bar which offers a range of services from a 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' pre-work wash and blow-dry (£15) to a Marilyn Makeover - a hair set, lips and flicks and a file and polish (£55), Betty Bangs (£8) and Lips and Flicks by their lovely make-up artist Loretta (£10).

I will not be leaving it so long to have my hair cut again, not when I know that there is a comfy seat, a china teacup of coffee and the oh so talented Tina and Loretta at Lipstick Lashes and Locks.

http://www.lipsticklashesandlocks.co.uk/

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

The Edinburgh Flea Market

A perfect start to the weekend!

On the last Saturday of every month, Out of the Blue Drill Hall (a B-listed building due to its architectural heritage, built in 1901) in Dalmeny Street, Leith hosts the Edinburgh Flea Market.

Entry is free, there is a cafe serving cakes, sandwiches, coffee, tea etc and music plays as people browse, buy and chill out on the big red sofas excitedly pouring over their purchases while sipping a cuppa.

This is a perfect Flea Market - a huge variety of items on sale, from clothes, jewellery, homeware and children's toys to paper dolls and scraps, coins, stamps and sewing machines. It really is a treasure trove and I couldn't wait to dig in and hunt for treasure!

The stall holders that I spoke to were lovely and friendly. One lady took a look at me and reached for some 1950's items to show me! Another called me '1940's Lady' and showed me her saucy vintage underwear (on her stall - not her body!) A lovely lady selling vintage scraps and paper dolls showed me her beautiful collection including a Judy Garland paper doll and I ended up taking a few dolls home with me. Everyone was happy to let me photograph their stalls. The atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming.

The prices were fantastically cheap - many items for 50p and £1.00 - I even got a faux pearl bracelet for 10p!!!

I spent £10.10 and I left with a bag full of goodies. I got:

A gorgeous striped dress - £3.00 (it needs a bit of work doing to it but what a bargain!)

Faux pearl necklace - £1.00
Lilac faux pearl bracelet - 10p (10p!!!)
A beautiful china tea cup with 'Mother' written on it - £1.00
A wooden hammer and peg toy for my little boy - £1.00
A selection of paper dolls - £4.00

What a wonderful way to start the weekend. 

I'm off to look at my bargains again!

**Note - The next Flea Market is on Saturday 1st November**
http://edinburghfleamarket.blogspot.co.uk/

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

Original Edinburgh Cheesecake Company Review

First I have to say that I come here more than my waistband is happy with. Secondly - it's worth it!

On the corner of a row of shops (including some charity shops - yay!) in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland is the pink and glorious Original Edinburgh Cheesecake Company.

You can't miss it - it is a beacon of pink prettiness - windows hung with bunting and bows displaying all manner of cake-related kitchness (candles set in tea cups, cute little milk jugs, floral Scottie dogs...)

I was smitten before I'd even entered the place!

Set out tea-room style with floral table-cloths, the whole cafe is swathed in pink fabrics, cushions scattered and comfy chairs inviting you to sit and relax as you take in the vintage cabinets with their variety of china teacups and saucers.  You cannot fail to feel warm and cosy when you enter.

Gimme!!!! Parma Violet cheesecake & Luxury hot chocolate

Only once have I had to wait for a table (at the weekend) and this is no hardship as you can browse the knick-knacks on sale while you wait (hand-knitted baby items, cake-making bits, vintage inspired cake stands and a lot more). 

As for the cheesecakes. Wow. Just.....wow. It's no surprise that the Original Edinburgh Cheesecake Company have won awards for their cheesecakes. They are by far the best I have ever tasted.

There is a scrummy selection named after areas of Edinburgh, including 'The Royal Mile' (raspberries and white chocolate), 'Scott's Monument' (Seven types of chocolate. Yes - SEVEN!) and 'The George Street' (Bailey's and Amaretto).

Lattes and cheesecakes - Raspberry & White Chocolate and Turkish Delight

The displays are also filled with an ever-changing assortment of other fantastic flavours - each time I've visited (and I've been many, many times) I have tried something new.

Some of my favourite flavours so far have been: Orange Matchmaker, Turkish Delight, Pecan, Mint Matchmaker, Chocolate Buttons, Rocky Road and the one I tried most recently - Death by Chocolate.

My absolute favourite is Parma Violet, the scent and flavour of the little lilac sweeties takes me straight back to my childhood and in a cheesecake, it is out of this world.

Orange Matchmakers & Rocky Road

The slices are VERY generous and the cheesecake is light and fluffy (meaning that I can often manage two slices in one sitting - oops!) The cheescakes are served on an array of china plates, beautifully elegant.

With my slice (or two) I'll either have a latte or a luxury hot chocolate which is served with cream and marshmallows and always in beautiful floral mugs.

A slice costs only £2.50 and you can also buy a whole mini cheesecake (3 inches) for £3.95 or even a large (10 inches) which is 12 portions (prices vary). 

The Original Edinburgh Cheesecake Company also offers lunches such as toasted sandwiches and paninis plus a take-away option (I have been known to take a slice or two home with me...)

I would recommend that everyone give this place a visit, whether you are local to Edinburgh or on holiday (they are changing locations in the near future, so check their website for details of the new premises).

Maybe I'll see you in there - I'll be the one with the slice of Parma Violet, deliberating over which flavour to try next....

http://www.theoriginaledinburghcheesecakecompany.co.uk/

Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx

UPDATE!!! - The Original Edinburgh Cheesecake Company has sadly closed down. It is so missed :-(