Tomfoolery with Fred MacAulay

Scottish comedian and formally BBC Radio Scotland presenter, of 18 years', Fred MacAulay is a long standing and valued Stewart Christie customer. We spent the afternoon asking him a few questions about the comedy circuit and his lesser known passion for outdoor pursuits.

Q Name?
A Fred MacAulay

Q Title & Profession?
A Comedian, stand-up variety.

Q After completing a degree in accountancy, what spurred you to follow a path into stand up comedy in the early 90's?
A I’d known I wanted to be in entertainment from an early age, but hadn’t a clue how to go about it. Accountancy was a temporary diversion! I was spurred into taking action around the time of my 30th birthday. It was the first time I’d marked out a decade of my life and it seemed to have passed by very quickly.

Q With so many comedy festivals running in locations all over the globe, do you still favour the Scottish comedy scene in it’s style and humour?
A The Comedy Festivals are great fun, but generally it's where you go when you’ve got a fully fledged show. Anyone in stand-up comedy will tell you that there’s no greater feeling than trying out a new ‘bit’ or making something up onstage while performing. You don’t get to do the former at Festivals. The Scottish Comedy ‘Scene’ didn’t exist 30 years ago. I’m delighted to have seen the progression to where we are now and to have been part of the growth.

Q We have enjoyed working with you, over the years, to customise many of the Stewart Christie garments you have chosen for your much loved outdoor pursuits. If we were to create an outfit for yourself, for stand up, what would fabric or style would you chose?
A That’s a great question. I suspect that many people watching stand-up don’t think too much about ‘styling’ Yet if you look at the successful stand-ups, they all have a defined style. I’m not just talking about the wonderful Kathryn Ryan here...Jason Manford (check shirts) Michael McIntyre (dark suits purple shirts) Jimmy Carr (Dark suits, white shirt). John Bishop will probably have a waistcoat on...Even Bill Bailey has a stage ‘look. I’ve often wondered about seeking help in this respect but my main consideration is always the material (comedic, not tailoring) but I think it’d be down to the stylist to pick something….it’s what they are experts in.

Q It seems you were very much ‘the man about town’ however it seems, today, you much more of a 'country gent'. Was this transition a natural progression and has it always been a passion of yours?
A They run very much and in hand. But I wouldn’t turn up at a gig in country tweeds.

Q We have heard you are to be one of the Fringe acts performing the Stand Comedy Club for this years EdFringe. It all sounds very exciting, who else will be taking the stage there this year? Do you have a personal favourite whom you are looking forward to seeing?
A Yes I’ll be at Stand One almost every night during August and am really looking forward to performing at another Fringe. Daniel Kitson, Paul Sinha, Silky, Nick Revell and many others will be there and I’m a Fern Brady fan too and delighted that she’ll be there too.

Q Out of your three children, have any decided to take up comedy? or join you in your country pursuits?
A The kids have all got great senses of humour…which they largely inherited from their mum! But they all have their (very different) careers. Maybe they are getting to that age where they might consider a career switch? I’ve never really pushed them It has to be the individuals decision to get on stage….I couldn’t imagine anything worse than watching an offspring have a bad gig! Not only do they join me in outdoor pursuits, but they are all better shots than me!

Q Being Glasgow based, what are your favourite places in Edinburgh to relax and socialise?
A Fringe time is pretty much spent entirely in Edinburgh. The Contini’s have been great to us over the year, finding tables on busy nights. A family favourite was Chez Jules where the fries are unbeatable and the bill never hurt dad’s wallet too much. There’s an annual get-together with some old friends at Outsider too, but for a late night sway, I’m never too far from the Gilded Balloon’s Loft Bar.

Q And finally, (as you are a comedian, we’ll let you have two) What are your favourite Scottish words?
A Jings that’s a toughie. (See what I did there?)

I found my way into Stewart Christie about ten years ago. As a skier, I knew how good Schoffel was as a brand, so I reckoned their tweeds would be equally good and I searched online for stockists and up popped Stewart Christie. The staff will know how often I pop in.
Sometimes for a browse. Sometimes for the 'full monty’ . Or sometimes for a tie or a pair of garter flashes, but the service is always the same.
If you had a Nespresso machine I’d never leave.

— Fred Macaulay