Clive James returns to Edinburgh with two daily shows, a lunchtime chat show for those who want to see him in one-to-one conversation with guests and an evening one-man show in which he talks about his life, career and ambitions and also briefly about some of the stars hes interviewed. Following a question and answer session he finishes by reading one of his poems.He no longer makes regular television appearances; instead hes doing what he enjoys most, appearing live on stage in front of real audiences. When hes not doing that hes writing books and poetry. Hes already had three books published this year and a fourth, the latest volume of his Unreliable Memoirs series, is due to be published in October. He clearly has no intention of ever retiring.As ever, James is consistently entertaining. His love of language is evident, both in the meaning of words and of their sounds, which is why poetry is so important to him. He is obviously extremely cultured and well-educated but doesnt feel the need to be condescending to his audience. He says that hes not a comedian and there are no jokes in his show, then goes on to tell several.He is now seventy years old and a grandfather and his hearing is not as good as it used to be. He has also lost the athletic Australian figure which he claimed, despite photographic evidence to the contrary, to have in his youth. However, his mind is still as sharp as ever and he is expecting to write at least another ten books. An evening with Clive James is always a delight.
