Fancy a Few Laughs?

Fans of comedy in the region are no doubt already well acquainted with Newcastle's comedy scene, but last night was my first visit to The Stand and those of you who follow me on Twitter will already know that we were treated to a surprise visit from fellow geordie Sarah Millican.

Being the thriving comedy hub it is, The Stand host stand up sessions throughout the week, but Wednesday nights are only £2 so for that price (and of course the chance to see Sarah Millican about three feet away) we snapped seats up.

What we didn't quite expect was the Biblical-esque storm we'd have to compete with just to get there...

All dressed up and wondering if I really did want to risk leaving the house...

With the roads near flooded, the dog cowering under the kitchen table scared of the thunder and the rain lashing down, it seemed the weather was having a joke on us (weeey, see what I did there?) 

Even my guinea pigs were suitably snuggled up for the night

Eventually I decided to brave it, so brolly in hand off I headed to High Bridge Street in search of a few laughs. The club is quite small compared to some venues, but I liked its intimacy. Upstairs is a light and bright restaurant and downstairs is the (teeny weeny) stage and another well-stocked bar.

I wanted to grab the seats right at the front in the hope of being picked on but this lot weren't having any of it.

Our compere for the evening was a Michael McIntyre-inspired comic named Tom Tuck who did a brilliant job introducing us to our acts for the evening. I'm afraid I didn't get everyone's names, but I can definitely report that the region has some funny homegrown talent.

Sneaky Sarah Millican photo stolen from this lovely lady

At around half ten our star guest arrived ready to share with us some new material which was really good. I loved the stories about her parents going on their first cruise and a few good hotel anecdotes (I won't spoil the surprise!)

Thank you to The Stand for my first local comedy experience, I've been telling everyone I know about how good (and cheap) you are - see you again soon no doubt!