Neverseconds-Gate: Argyll & Bute Ukraine football connection?

Neo-Nazis	Argyll & Bute Council

The news today has been full of Martha Payne's brilliant school dinners blog Never Seconds, in which she photographed her school dinners every day. A splendid blog that was raising money for charity and actually helping improve the food at her school suddenly found itself banned by Argyll & Bute council who've taken it upon themselves to censor a 9 year old schoolgirl and forbid her taking photographs in school. This seems unusually heavy handed, as does the statement they have issued on the subject. And it was seeing this statement online that caused me to spot an odd similarity. Doesn't that Celtic Cross look uncannily like the one used as a symbol by neo-Nazi football supporters in the Ukraine, as revealed by BBC 1's Panorama last month? Are they related? We should be told.

NB: This post is purely for satirical purposes and is not meant to cast aspersions against the perfectly innocent symbol of the Celtic Cross which has been used in Scotland, Ireland and Europe by non-Nazis for many hundreds of years.



The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre present not one but two new shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012: Boo Lingerie - A Socky Horror Show every night at 10.40pm and Chunky Woollen Nits - The Family-Friendly Hour at 11am. Tickets are now on sale, book now!

Bucket List - new from the Scottish Falsetto Socks

Brand new video from the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre. Here they have a look at the concept of the Bucket List. Click to play, enjoy...



The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre present not one but two new shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012: Boo Lingerie - A Socky Horror Show every night at 10.40pm and Chunky Woollen Nits - The Family-Friendly Hour at 11am. Tickets are now on sale, book now!

In praise of Ents24 - Edfringe ticket prices update

Good old Ents24. The online events listing service have upped their game in recent months and seem to offer a comprehensive joined-up gig listing which no-one else can compare with. Quite how they do it I don't know, but they're now the go-to guys for the Scottish Falsetto Socks Gig Guide, and by default have now turned up as the Socks' Facebook gig guide. And just last night I spotted that the times and prices for our Edinburgh Fringe shows were listed incorrectly (our £5 preview shows, for exaple, were listed as full price), so I emailed them and by this morning they'd put it right.

So, apropos of nothing, well done Ents 24, keep up the good work.



The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's Previews: Harrogate June 28/29 • Rondo Bath July 9 • Beverly Puppet Festival July 13 • Tring July 19 • Manchester July 20 • Nottingham + Guildford July 21 • Derby July 22 • Bedford July 27 • Edinburgh Fringe August 1-27. Spread the word.

"Superbly written, crafted and performed show" ★★★★½ The Punch, Adelaide 2012
“An absolute winner” ★★★★ Chortle
 "For sheer energy and laughs per hour, these comic stockings are the biz denier miss it." - ★★★★ The Scotsman
"I experienced streaming tears of laughter and almost fell off my chair clutching my aching sides" ★★★★★ 5 STARS Broadway Baby

Manchester Boo Lingerie Preview July 20

Attention Socks fans in or around Manchester, there's a chance to see a preview of the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's new show Boo Lingerie at the Lass O'Gowrie in Manchester on July 20th as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe. Book now.



The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre present not one but two new shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012: Boo Lingerie - A Socky Horror Show every night at 10.40pm and Chunky Woollen Nits - The Family-Friendly Hour at 11am. Tickets are now on sale, book now!

Edinburgh Fringe predictions revisited

Here's how the Socks appear on the Edinburgh Comedy Festival website. Sweet...


This year's Edinburgh Fringe programme came out over a week and a half earlier this year than back in 2010, meaning I've already had time to lose a copy (well, left it at my Mum's house where I just stayed). So I can't give it a thumb-through and review as I was about to. I can say, however, that I'm very pleased with it and am now on tenterhooks to see how the daring experiment of not booking a display ad will affect my advance sales. (I note that my fellow Adelaide acts Morgan & West and Ian D Montfort also appear to have decided against display ads, unless I missed them on my first few thumbs-through, sadly I can't check right this moment*). (*Actually I could if I look at the online version, which I may well do.)

Looking back at my blog I see that, in 2010 (the last time the Socks took a show up), I reviewed the programme and, in the process, tried to predict who would be nominated for awards. Just how right was I? My predictions were:

Comedy Award Nominees
Sarah Millican
Alex Horne
Shappi Khorsandi
Jeremy Lion
Jason Byrne

Best newcomer
Gary Delaney
Nat Luurtsema
Andi Osho
Greg Davies

Scottish Act Likely to get a nomination
Susan Calman

And the results?

Comedy Award Winner was Russell Kane (not on my list)
Nominees were Greg Davies (correct), Sarah Millican (correct), Bo Burnham, and Josie Long (who I should have guessed as she was nominated the year before and will, I think, get nominated every year until she wins, as happened with Russell Kane and Al Murray before her)

Best Newcomer was Roisin Conaty (not on my list, nor were any of the nominees:)
Asher Treleaven, Imran Yusuf, The Boy with Tape on His Face, Gareth Richards, and Late Night Gimp Fight. And as for Scottish acts nominated in any category? I don't think there were any were they?

What would I predict for this year? Well Josie Long to win, obviously. As for the rest? When I have a moment, I'll get back on the case. Now, if you'll excuse me, the new show still needs some more work (he says euphemistically, it's currently a big jumble of stuff, with some nifty new songs, looking a bit like Frankenstein's monster, but made of scripts stuck together with sellotape and post-it pads. Getting there.)

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre present not one but two new shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012: Boo Lingerie - A Socky Horror Show every night at 10.40pm and Chunky Woollen Nits - The Family-Friendly Hour at 11am. Tickets are now on sale, book now!

Socks Edinburgh Fringe Previews - only £5

Word to the wise: when the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's brand new show, Boo Lingerie, opens at the Edinburgh Fringe this August, the first three nights are previews, with tickets at only £5. You might care to book now, these will (if the past 4 years are anything to go by) sellout first and sellout fast. Facebook listing, please Retweet



Aug 1, 2, 3 Previews: ONLY £5
Aug 4,5, 8,9, 13-16, 20 - 23: £9 (£8)
Aug 6 & 7 - 2 for 1
Aug 10-12, 17-19, 24-26: £10 (£9)






See all other Socks tour dates in the Scottish Falsetto Socks Gig Guide.

Brand new Socks BOO LINGERIE & CLASSIC t-shirts now available

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre are producing not one but two BRAND NEW T-SHIRTs for 2012's Edinburgh Fringe. One for Boo Lingerie - A Socky Horror Show, and one Classic design which is also the promo photo for the family-friendly show Chunky Woollen Nits. These are both limited edition shirts which are ready to go to print, order them now to be sure of getting the size and design you want

Here's the Boo Lingerie design...



And here's the Classic design...



Each shirt costs just £18 inc postage / $28US inc postage.
To order, simply pay by Paypal to sockpuppets@sitcomtrials.co.uk including in your order the design you want (either BOO or CLASSIC) plus the size you want and your full address.

Once the orders are in we'll be printing them to the sizes requested. Shirts will also be on sale at the Socks summer shows and at Edinburgh, but to be sure of getting a shirt in your size, it's best to order now.

Sizes are:
(Male) S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL
(Female) S, M, L Skinnyfit
Kids Age 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-11, 12-13, 14-15

All orders will be collated over next weekend and despatched during the following week. Any queries, email sockpuppets@sitcomtrials.co.uk . Anyone wanting to bulk buy, ask about a discount for orders of more than 10 shirts (mixed sizes are easy).


The Boo Lingerie design, simply ask for BOO in your order


The Classic design, simply ask for CLASSIC in your order

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre present not one but two new shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012: Boo Lingerie - A Socky Horror Show every night at 10.40pm and Chunky Woollen Nits - The Family-Friendly Hour at 11am. Tickets are now on sale, book now!





See all other Socks tour dates in the Scottish Falsetto Socks Gig Guide.