Tasha Dhanraj is taking the healthy option

It is that time of year. The Edinburgh Festival has kicked off and like a moth drawn to a light bulb I am going back again. Last year I stayed awake every night until 4am, I drank so much cider I’m surprised I wasn’t given a certificate from the West Country, and I came home a broken and exhausted human being.

Edinburgh 2011 will be completely different because I have to look after myself. Still a recovering glandular feverite, one night on the town can leave me bed-bound for days. I physically, literally, absolutely cannot repeat last year and have a month’s worth of nights out on the town. This means, that I am not only planning to do the month teetotal, but I’m also going to eat disgustingly healthily.

I’m cutting out the meat and I’m piling on the muesli and mushrooms. If my immune system was a camel then I am making it take stock at a well of Brita-filtered water. I’m also trying to get plenty of sleep and generally be a nice and happy person in the hope that somehow that might magic me back into health.

“My big hope for Edinburgh this year is just to survive it”

My biggest hope for Edinburgh this year is just to survive it. I don’t want to get ill, I don’t want to wear myself out, I don’t want to hate myself so much by the end that I spend my whole time wearing a kilt whilst clawing at a cake with a picture of the Scottish flag.

It’s quite self-destructive that I’m even choosing to go back given how damaged I was on my return home last year. I didn’t even enjoy it last year. I most loved it two years ago; I was a bright-eyed 16 year old buzzing from the whole experience. I guess the thing that is drawing me back is the desperate desire to recapture that first feeling. That’s how the biggest arts and comedy festival in the world works.

If my Edinburgh experience this year has to be tame and paced, does that mean I have no chance of ever regaining the love of the festival I once had?

More optimistically, I hope that this year will be an opportunity to see loads of shows, explore the city and meet new people – but just on a far smaller scale.

I really hope that when people say ‘everything in moderation’ they aren’t intentionally leaving out ‘leads to boredom, no friends and an expensive yet pointless festival.’