On Sunday June 5^th, the first Great Amwell Comedy Shindig drew a crowd of several thousand people who laughed uproariously at numerous points. Ed Byrne had his spot during the afternoon in a programme that included Milton Jones, Angela Barnes, Jason Manford, Reginald D Hunter, Phil Nicoll, Ivan Brackenbury and Lloyd Griffith. Many of these stand-ups would be familiar to TV viewers and they clearly lived up to expectations. 

The dead pan Milton Jones kept his audience on the alert for punchlines as his anecdotes about dozens of relations – especially grandads – included surprising and imaginative word-play as they reached their conclusions. Angela Barnes comically shared her experiences as a woman who doesn’t conform to the expectations of the norms in the more general population. In fact it was of course the recognition of her differences being very many people’s differences that made her so warmly received. 

The event was well-organised, with food and drink available on site, loads of parking space and no queueing on the road. Thanks go to Just the Tonic/Church End Comedy team for their hard work organising such a fun event.

Julia Davies