Today is the eighth anniversary of the death by drowning of comedian Malcolm Hardee.

I thought it would be jolly to chat to Rubberbandits for this blog, because I thought there might be a chance they would pay me money in a belated, after-the-event bribe to win the increasingly prestigious Malcolm Hardee Comedy Award.

Every year, 100% of any money collected at the awards show goes to Copstick's Mama Biashara charity, which helps poor people in Kenya - mostly women - start up their own small businesses.

Last night saw the madcap Malcolm Hardee Awards Show give out its gongs for 2012, the awards which aim to "represent the true anarchic spirit of the E...

Richard Herring explained to me yesterday: "I was told I couldn't use the words 'dick' and 'fuckinghamshire' in the 40 words. I wasn't too surprised about the 'fuckinghamshire' ("honourable member for fuckinghamshire" was the line) even though that isn't a swear word and presumably means you have to censor 'Scunthorpe' too.

Now, make no mistake, I love the Edinburgh Fringe. One thing I like about it is its freewheeling, hands-off nature. Anyone can perform at the Fringe; ...

I will be spending a quiet time at home on Christmas Day. I asked 'Digger Dave', a friend of the late 'godfather of British comedy' Malcolm Hardee if he had any memories of spending Christmas with Malcolm. Perhaps this was a mistake.

Joan was 84. I met her over perhaps 25 years. She was feisty, redoubtable and with a mind so sharp you could cut cheese with it. She doted on Malcolm and, when he drowned in 2005, it - as you would expect - affected her greatly for the rest of her life. She died from pneumonia, peacefully, in a nursing home near Deal in Kent.

I organise the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards. I hate to be bitchy, but those other Edinburgh Fringe comedy awards - the ones that used to be called th...