Character comic and 2011 Funny's Funny finalist Alison Thea-Skot is going heavy on the jelly this year. Jelly and Edith Piaf

Jelly, mainly. Packets of the stuff. Strawberry, raspberry, all the berries. Sugar-free, obviously, otherwise I’ll be adding diabetes to the usual end-of-Edinburgh cocktail of exhaustion, alcohol poisoning and frantic regret. I don’t suppose Hartley’s Jelly fancy sponsoring me? No? Never mind.

After spending most of last year’s festival stood on my head (no, really) bursting capillaries left, right and centre, I promised myself a nice, gentle, injury-free August this year. But then came the jelly. Oh the jelly.

So what else have I packed? Well, after a prop-heavy 2011 I also promised myself a nice, gentle, prop-fee 2012. So naturally I have packed a decapitated bear, popular TV mind-melter Derren Brown, seven gallons of fake blood and a giant, telescopic acupuncture needle. If I get past customs at Berwick-Upon-Tweed it’ll be a minor miracle.

If there’s any room left then I might indulge myself in a 4CD pack of Edith Piaf’s Greatest Hits, in preparation for her cameo in my show. Basically my suitcase contains the shaky, fragile egos of eight different characters all of whom will be prostrating themselves for your pleasure (in a cave) but only one of which is me. I just hope by the end of August I can still remember which one I am ...

And as an "in", here's a promo for her show last year

• Thea-Skot’s Miss Adventures is on at 3.40pm, at Just the Tonic at The Caves