The answer to that, according to Bob, is yes. Bob is one of my all time favourite audience members having come because one of my lovely flyerers thrust one of my lovely flyers into his hand just when he had an hour to kill and wanted a show to see. He came, he saw, he laughed, he told me about an awkward situation he’d had while camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains. To be honest, it just sounded scary, but his interpretation of it as awkward was wonderfully British.

Here’s the story in Bob’s own words:

‘The bears happened last June on my year off. I was camping along Shenandoah National Park which is better known as the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.

I had set up in a remote site with no other occupants in some woods above Bedford. I walked back to my tent in the evening. It had been raining so there was no-one else around. Anyway in the dimness about a hundred feet away were two black bears. The just sat looking at me in the trees. Sometimes one would stand up and then sit down again.

At the previous camp site at Big Meadows, it had been busy. But that didn’t stop a mother bear and her cub killing a fawn in the middles of the camping area and eating it.

Anyway, for whatever reason I decided I did not want the bears to think I was afraid of them and this developed in my mind to bloody well showing them I wasn’t afraid. But as the light dropped and I put on my head torch, all I could see was their eyes reflecting back at me. Sometimes they would rise as the bear stood. But most times they just stared. I thought they were trying to psych me out.

I wanted the bears to know I wasn’t going to take nonsense from them and I found myself actually getting ready to run at the bears shouting. It really mattered to me what the bears thought although in reality they probably were just sizing me up as food.

I did manage to see sense, but at the same time I didn’t want to admit defeat to the animals by not sleeping in the tent. But eventually the adrenaline subsided and I bottled it and slept in the car.

The Rangers have a newsletter that tells you what to do, in order of ignoring bears, throwing food away from yourself, making yourself bigger. It ends with “…if this is not working the bear probably regards you as prey and you will have to fight it…” But no useful anti-bear moves were included.’

I’m glad Bob survived the ordeal and the awkwardness to tell the tale, but unfortunately ended up having another awkward situation (no bears involved): Here’s an email from Bob.

‘Thank you for an entertaining show on Friday. It deserved much more than six people (MT – I think there were seven actually, but you’re right it did). But at least you know your flyer girl was working since I was free for an hour and decided that I would go to any show that started in the next ten minutes.

Anyway, if you recall you set off an alarm at the end of your show. It was still going outside the venue, and followed me up the street. It was my alarm clock in my bag.

But it was too awkward to own up at the time.’

Thanks for the belated admission of guilt, brilliant.

Meantime, an update. The free show has been enjoyable every day – different levels of enjoyment, but consistently fun and relaxed. Spilt a pint of water yesterday and a kind audience member, Jo, mopped up. Doesn’t sound funny, but it was. Had to be there. An American fella, Gerry, inadvertently started goose stepping. That sounds funnyand weird. It was both.

Awkward Situation started a little up and down, but I feel in a groove with it now and I’m very happy with the show. Took a wee while to get used to the space and had some tricky shows when it’s been busy annoyingly. I’ve been surprised how many people don’t get it, but even during the tougher shows some people still love it and laugh all the way through. Other shows it really flies with most people really getting into it. But I’m very much enjoying the shows and the variety of audiences and other gigs have been going well too, so all in all I feel like I’m doing a good job. Bob enjoyed it anyhow.