Capacity: A big room, not entirely full, but still a bustling, lively, overwhelmingly Scottish crowd of 100-plus.
The theme: It's all supposed to be about desires, the desire we have inside of us and those we choose to pursue. It's also got the word Des in it, geddit?
High point: The pre-amble to the routine proper. Des could well be the first man to have a joke for every town in Scotland and thanks to the make up of the audience he gets a chance to use them. Glaswegians have problems with wheelie bins (the green ones are Celtic ones you see) while Dundee is known for three things: "Jam, jute and junkies". Sure it's all tucked away in his memory banks, but it feels spontaneous and sharp, and does a great job of luring the audience into the palm of his hand. I would happily have watched an hour of this.
Weak spot : Unfortunately, it's the actual routine. He's got stuff about getting his shoulders waxed, having favourite pairs of pants and a long rambling story about his "first time" (that's sex, not telling this particular set of jokes). None of the material is particularly original and, worse, it's just not that funny.
Audience participation: As outlined above, it's among the best I've seen at the festival. One hilarious exchange comes when he asks whether any audience members have written to Jim'll Fix It. Sounds mundane, but the confessions – "I asked to drive around the streets of London with Dempsey and Makepeace", "I wanted my sister to meet Paul Daniels – reveal it as inspired.
Comic equation: Lynam (the charm) + O'Connor (the cheese) x Bob Monkhouse (the gags)
Mark out of 10: 6.85
Put that on your poster: He'll have a joke about your hometown or your money back!
