Logistics

Another day, another Marching Boys rehearsal. Things are shaping up with the dances: there are now two, which is good, although the second one isn't finished, which -- with only a week to go -- is not so good. We also had first sight of one of the outfits, and they look very promising. There's still an awful lot to do, and it's all feeling a bit panicky and last minute, but that's to be expected at this stage.

The main thing on my plate is sorting the music -- not the dance tracks themselves, which are obviously set in stone by now, but the actual provision of them, along with filler tracks and such. For the last couple of years we've used an iPod to run the playlist, which makes things somewhat easier, but there always have to be at least two other backups in case things go wrong, and stuff has to be edited for length and such. Fun, fun, fun.

Something else which isn't my department but needs to be sorted out pretty urgently is the transport, which is always a bit of a nightmare: getting the equipment from the various suppliers to wherever it's to spend the night, then to the start of the march, then from the end to wherever it's to spend the next night or two, then back to the suppliers. There are various people who may do some bits of this, but it tends to be one of the stress points of the whole event. Not that it has ever actually failed to happen, but it always looks like it will.

So, this is an appeal for volunteers: if anyone reading this is in the London area, has a valid driving licence and might be able to help with one or more of these logistical problems between next Friday (2 July) and Monday, please please please let me know. Most likely we won't even need you, but will love you forever just for offering :)

Trolley-pullers and general hangers-on on the day are also welcome, and even if you don't want to do anything, do come up and say hello if you're on or around the parade -- just not when we're actually dancing, preferably!
Posted by matt at June 24, 2004 12:35 AM