Journey into stand-up comedy may have taken 40 years but it’s been worth the wait

The best feeling in the world, once you get over the nerves, is making people laugh, says Alan Muir

Ever heard the one about the frustrated writer who volunteered to stand in front of strangers and make them laugh?

It’s not a joke – but it is a funny tale which stretches all the way from a skinny Billy Connolly fan with a big head to the fabulous Edinburgh Fringe.

My journey into the world of stand-up comedy was more than 40 years in the making. Ego, ambition, midlife crisis – the reasons why someone would willingly put themselves in the stand-up spotlight are myriad. But I guess there’s only one that matters – it’s fun. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also very much like a 15-rated movie – contains scenes of an adult nature, mild peril and frequent swearing. But it’s still fun.

I’m going to be in Edinburgh as part of ‘Laugh Begins at Forty’ – a showcase of older stand-ups who are uniting to show that good comedy is timeless – and I can’t wait.

It’s the idea of my fellow 40-somethings Sam Potter, Phil Erswell and John Gibson. The show – on at The Southsider until 26 August – sees experienced professionals alongside newer acts who may only have been going a year or two.

Every day is different – with acts from around the world – including Gavin Webster, Jojo Sutherland, Vladimir Mctavish, Obie and me.

I still hesitate to call myself a stand-up comedian – it seems somewhat presumptuous – but I do regularly stand up and attempt to make people grin, so I suppose I can get away with it.