My second appearance this week was Bowled Over at the Balham Bowls Club, so you might call it a local gig. Not only that, but it was my first 10 minute spot in a while, exciting!

First off, I have to say a huge thanks and congratulations to Johnny and Dave for setting up such a great night. The room was packed with a really receptive audience and the acts were a pleasure to watch. Its a night I'd heartily recommend checking out, and at £3 for 3 hours' entertainment, an absolute bargain. There are even prizes!

I was on first, for which the compere apologised profusely. An apology wasn't necessary, someone has to go first, its good practice, and more importantly, it meant I could have a drink after.

I opened with my current set, leading into my older "phrasebook" material. In general, it went pretty well, I got laughs in the right places, and had one or two people doubled up laughing in a few places. I noticed about halfway through that I wasn't directing my eyes at the back of the room enough, I guess I'm so used to small crowds that I naturally only focus on the first few rows. I should try aiming to the back a bit more at all gigs, try and open up my performance to make it seem more like I'm talking to everyone at once. On the plus side, I managed to get in some quick lines directed at things that were going on, it seems I can only ad-lib when I'm not really thinking about it. All in all, I came off buzzing.

There was just enough space free to grab a seat for the rest of the night, and I'm glad I did. Pretty much every act went down better than the one before, and a couple of acts I haven't seen in a while seemed infinitely better than before (they've been practising). I've still got a lot of room for improvement.