Rapt

9.30 - Traverse Theatre for a flat white and a pain au raisin before 'And No More Shall We Part' at 10. It was incredibly moving, at times searingly painful and beautifully acted. Bill Paterson is one of my favourite actors, Dearbhla Molloy was in GBH, years ago. The audience sniffled and cried, the staff stood with boxes of tissues as you left. Bill Paterson has just won The Stage's Edinburgh Award for best actor. It was also very topical but the ending may have been a bit of a cop out, maybe not.

A stroll through the Gardens to the Assembly Hall (eating the second half of the pain au raisin on the way) for, at midday,'Tam o'Shanter' by Communicado. Gerda Stevenson, whom I met at the start of the Fringe at the weekly wine tasting was in it - I can't say one of the stars as they were all stars. It was a great, joyous, rollicking, inventive piece that even the assistance dog sat down at the front seemed to enjoy. But whether he could understand the broad Scots is a moot point.

Then a quick jaunt up to the Pleasance Dome at Potterrow for 'Coalition' at 2 p.m., not too well received by the reviewers but I enjoyed it and Phill Jupitius was very good. I met him once. It was funny.

I came out of there, to the chill of an end of summer day, to search for a coffee but gave up and took the #41 to the Manor for tea with the folks before heading back to Greyfriars for the last show of the day, the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. They were stupendous, playing with, in the second half, Julian Lloyd Webber. There was a 5 minute standing ovation at the end. The church was packed but we got side pew seats which gave us a view. A fantastic end to an amazing day.

My mother managed to walk past the celebrity guests, Sandy McCall Smith and Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs and not to notice Sheena MacDonald but the young people were the stars.

That was going to be my Fringe finale - but I'm thinking of taking in 'Maurice's Jubilee' tomorrow. I do like Nichola McAuliffe.