In 1985 Maggie and I decided to give up our day jobs as resident actors with M6 Theatre in Rochdale. We had been doing stand up gigs in our spare time and offers of work were coming in consistently. We went on Margaret Thatcher’s Enterprise Allowance scheme, an initiative which offered anyone who could produce a business plan on the back of a fag packet £40 per week in addition to any earnings. In reality this was designed to massage the soaring unemployment figures, but every stand up, poet, writer, artist used it to launch their careers. Jeremy Shine, the legendary Manchester promoter booked us our first tour, starting at the Edinburgh Fringe. Our show coincided every night with the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The sound of drums and pipes and the final firework display completely drowned us out. It rained every day of that festival and we stood dripping on the Royal Mile handing out soggy leaflets and wondering if we’d made the right decision. The most famous sketch in our show was one where Maggie played Sue’s period, dressed in a red cloth and called Mavis. We still meet women today who affectionately call their periods Mavis!…..”