Edinburgh Preview at The Ha Ha Club, The Sparrowhawk, Wheatley Lane Road, Fence

Any comedian who opens with a song is treading on dangerous ground. But I will guarantee no-one does songs quite like Danny Pensive.

In his tuneful, strong Mackem tones the opening melody was about goldfish and how they're too small to eat but make good pets for anyone with allergies. This had nothing to do with his Map of Britain show, but when was relevance ever relevant in comedy?

Pensive shepherded the audience around his hand drawn Great Britain map, coloured in by his own fair hand with England in pale green but Cornwall in dark green because 'he started with the wrong felt tip.'

In his child-like, unique and very clean manner, Pensive highlights the more obscure attractions of various places he's visited, like Lincoln having the tallest television mast in the country and during the 90s Norfolk having the most Strike it Lucky winners than anywhere else in the country, leading to an increase in boating accidents there. It's safe to say that not all his facts were wholly accurate.

First up in the double header was Damion Larkin; 'Cuddly Loser'. That's the name of his show, not a weak put-down. The self-deprecating Southport man let us in on his long list of ailments, questionable techniques trying to impress the ladies and his love of calling people 'pal' as much as possible.

Working from notes Larkin delivered a decent set, mixing up his running order in some places but it still delivering the goods in a professional manner.

Being among the first people in the country to see these acts was a privilege. Warm up gigs are great opportunities to see top quality comedy, albeit in a slightly raw format, but still very, very funny.

The next Edinburgh preview show at The Sparrowhawk is Monday July 11.