Vladimir McTavish: Time to pack up the tent, the Fringe circus is leaving town

Simon Munnery says "My show this year is called Simon Munnery, a title loosely based on my own name"

To me, the past three-and-a-half weeks have flown past. To others, it will seem as if this month has dragged on for ever, with July a distant memory.

And while the buzz and the excitement of the festival brings life to the city in August, the daily grind of getting from A to B on packed buses in clogged-up streets loses its appeal very quickly.

A journey which normally takes 15 to 20 minutes can stretch to 45 minutes at this time of year. The Sunday before last, it took me an hour to get from Goldenacre to Chambers Street. I would have been quicker walking.

However, when you do try walking you are inevitably met with a sea of very slow-moving tourists coming in the opposite direction. Or worse still, you collide with the Silent Disco.

It always astonishes me that there are not more incidents of pavement rage in Edinburgh in August.

Yet while I was staring out of the top deck of the number eight as it sat on North Bridge for an eternity, a friend of mine was having a much longer journey to get to her first show.

Amy Hetherington from Darwin in Australia’s North Territory, is making her debut at the Fringe, and arrived in town last weekend to start her nine-day run at The Three Sisters.

Travelling here with her three-year-old daughter, it took her 60 hours to get to Edinburgh, after two cancelled flights and an endless layover in Singapore. She finally touched down on the tarmac three hours before her first show was due to start. Remarkably, she made it in time.

Another Fringe first-timer, Elaine Robertson had a much shorter journey up to Edinburgh, as she is based in Newcastle.

However, she has decided that the only way she can afford accommodation at festival prices is to camp at Silverknowes.

Wednesday night’s high winds and torrential rain must have washed away what little showbiz glamour remained after three weeks in a field. On her first night in town, the tent next to hers caught fire.

She’s not the only performer staying under canvas this year. Fringe veteran Simon Munnery is camping out at Mortonhall this year. And he’s brought a very large dog with him.

Canadian stand-up Matt Watson is doing a show about living in a van for a year when he first came to Scotland.

He travelled to his gigs around the country until the van failed its MOT and he had to park it off road and commute to his shows.

During one Fringe several years ago, I performed at a benefit gig at The Holyrood Tavern, which was raising funds for legendary comedy duo Brian Damage and Krystal.

Half-way through the Fringe, their car was stolen from outside their venue. This would have been enough of an inconvenience, as they had driven up from London and were planning to drive home again at the end of August.

What made matters worse was they were also sleeping in the car for the entire month!