Just come back from a few days at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which we try to get to every other year. It was the usual blend of fun, wonderful shows and the simply baffling as usual, with small rooms in the backs of all sorts of buildings being pressed into service as temporary venues. One of the highlights for me this year was Naked Splendour, presented by the life model and Julian Clary's straight man, Philip Herbert. Philip gives us (an audience of about twenty people on the day I went) a funny and at times moving account of his experiences as a life model . As we went in we were given paper drawing boards and pencils and we drew him in a variety of poses as he talked, naked except for when he draped himself in a scarf to do a wickedly accurate impersonation of a lady life drawing tutor talking to a new class of adult learners. His warm presence made us all relax and afterwards we were encouraged to look at each others drawings and talk about them. It was a wonderful hour of relaxation in the hurly burly madness that is the Festival and I would urge you to seek him out if you intend going. Drawings above.

Other highlights were the Impressionist Gardens exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland, Joan Mitchell at Inverleigh House and Martin Creed's exhibition and ballet.