Herb's diary so far

Phew. What a year. No sooner do I step onto the TESS bus then someone releases the handbrake, slams it into first and we’re off.

First off… straight into the crowd dynamics workshops. Dull? Not a bit of it. This confirms and reinforces how much we really need to think about how large groups of people behave and how to influence them.

Next…across the pond to check out the Walking With Dinosaurs US tour and help it translate over in europe. A monster rig of over 130 points before we get to the monsters themselves. Animatronics on a grand scale with 30 foot tall T-Rex looking and behaving just like the real thing !!!

Back for a couple of weeks getting some clients paperwork into shape before a weekend at Crick boatshow…the event for narrowboat folk and all the associated gadgets. Glorious weather. Could this be a trend for the year?

From there to the Pet Shop Boys, and the challenging issue of assessing the fire risk of a touring set consisting of 200 carboard boxes.It turns out that fire is very much the issue of the year and there is a huge amount of disparity across the globe in how it is approached and managed. Things generally don’t just spontaniously combust but you do have to manage everything properly to make sure.

Onto Glastonbury…spending a few days looking at how contractors are going to work near a buried high pressure gas main when all they seem to want to do is bash a big spike through it before the hordes descend.

And descend they do…its somewhat traditional that the mass arrival somewhat spoils the festival for everyone who has been spending weeks putting it all up.  Then cider flows and everyone gets the annual mud-daubing opportunity and grins insanely while dancing through the puddles - while in the background TESS staff are negotiating sensible ways of moving thousands of people round narrow alleyways,  through a plane fuselage and onto a giant pinball machine.... no, really.

Hand back the keys to the caravan and head up to the Hop Farm festival in Kent. More good weather! Whats going on? 

And then it just gets busy.

Planning for a major fashion show heralding the return of Burberry to the London stage and working with colleagues on other fashion week events.

Eddie Izzard running 40 marathons in 48 days  required a bit of careful negotiation with just about every local authority in the country

Coldplay setting off on a european stadium tour with a complex stage barrier arrangement

Bradford city council hosting a festival of dance

Putting together plans and paperwork for a number of other clients in the UK, US and EU….safety goes global

All leading up to Rammstein. Legendary german band with a penchant for fire and pyro and in this case with a specially designed stage and set with a very special lighting rig. Oh… and setting fire to their crew.

Well, I did say fire was the issue of the year….never a dull day at the office.

If we do it right, no one knows we were there, gently steering a path between sense and regulation, and keeping people out of either prison or hospital.  Nice one.