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Thread: New Equiry - Social distancing

  1. #1

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    Default New Equiry - Social distancing

    Odd enquiry received last night from a client who asked me to do a 15th birthday party in his back garden for four 15 year olds with social distancing next weekend.

    Too many alarm bells for me to even consider doing it so I declined.

    Anyone receiving these type of enquiries?

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by East Anglian Discos View Post
    Odd enquiry received last night from a client who asked me to do a 15th birthday party in his back garden for four 15 year olds with social distancing next weekend.

    Too many alarm bells for me to even consider doing it so I declined.

    Anyone receiving these type of enquiries?
    Their are a few of these type of enquiries going about and strictly speaking nothing wrong in doing so.

    HOWEVER, I am wary incase things get out of hand and you are stuck in the middle of it, with people taking pics to post on social media and sending to papers etc. Plus, I wouldn't advertise this sort of thing as my usual customers wouldn't agree I imagine.

    There are a lot of DJs trying to find loopholes - especially for when pubs open up - for me though I think it is safer to just sit tight until we are told we can go back. One party that goes wrong could finish you off, so I think you made the correct choice.
    Semi-Retired Multi Award Winning DJ

    www.ultimateweddingdj.co.uk

  3. #3

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    I've never been one for back garden parties, unless it's a wedding or birthday in a proper marquee, on decent sized land.

    Private parties in back gardens without any third party support worry me, and I wouldn't want to do them at the best of times.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by East Anglian Discos View Post
    Too many alarm bells for me to even consider doing it so I declined.
    Anyone receiving these type of enquiries?
    Yes, over the last few weeks I've quite a few enquirers for equipment hire, all of which I declined, and will continue to do so until the present lockdown is lifted, and the situation we find ourselves in at the moment has normalized. In fact then, I'm not sure if I'll restart it at all, I'll certainly reduce the equipment stocked and bookings I take on if I do decide to continue. I've been in 'practice' retirement mode for the last 4 months and apart from a few periods of boredom I have actually quite liked it.
    Inside every old person, is a young person wondering 'What The Hell Happened'. Tempus Fugit

    Disco 4 Hire

  5. #5
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Yes, I've had a couple of enquiries. There are even a couple of local operators advertising such parties.

    As has already been mentioned, the possibility of it getting out of hand, gatecrashers, trouble and even bad publicity is going to be a big problem even though the concept isn't actually illegal. I'm not even contemplating going there, as much as I'm now starting to REALLY miss being out.

    I've still got three couples to suddenly cocoa that they aren't getting their wedding in the way they imagined this year (they'll realise at some point - probably a couple of weeks beforehand when their venues tell them that actually, they were wrong and should have let them postpone in the first place), and then that's me officially off the road until at least next March (if we're even allowed to go out then!).

    Until then, I've passed all my driving tests with a large supermarket that helps me to eat well on less and am now happily providing "click and collect" groceries from the back of a chilled van whilst topping up my suntan in the carpark. Not the career path I envisaged 12 months ago, but hey....it's a job which is more than a LOT of people are going to have once things settle down

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by East Anglian Discos View Post
    Odd enquiry received last night from a client who asked me to do a 15th birthday party in his back garden for four 15 year olds with social distancing next weekend.

    Too many alarm bells for me to even consider doing it so I declined.
    I've had a few requests like this, plus a bunch of hire inquiries, but I'm declining them.

    I give the hire requests a few reasons for refusing. The big one for me at the moment is that if I hire kit out and it doesn't come back for some reason, then what do I do? I can't turn up on someone's doorstep to collect equipment without putting me and my family at risk. The other side of this is that if my neighbours decided to do this, it'd me right off and there'd be very little I could do about it so I'd rather not put other people in the same position!

    As for the garden parties.... I can't think of anything duller than playing to 4 people in someone's back garden. I've seen a few socially distanced street parties go live on FB around VE day that look like they were fun, but most of them were skirting around the edges of the restrictions and the ones that got into the press were spun in both a negative and positive light.

    It's just too risky at the moment. People are starting to push the boundaries of the rules and, as part of that risk taking, they seem to be pushing the boundaries of other rules and social conventions (look at the reports of beach use over the weekend - the usual restrictions, like no dogs, no BBQ's, no in gardens, etc - are being totally ignored). I hate to think what a drunken garden party could end up like - and you'd have no back up or support if it went wrong.

    I technically have a party in the diary for the 4th of July (the day that restrictions may be lifted for the hospitality industry) and the customer isn't replying to emails/sms's at the moment. I talked to the venue yesterday and they currently have no plans to re-open as the venue doesn't lend itself to social distancing for either guests or staff (smallish venue with a single width, 5 flight staircase for going in/out and a separate single width staircase at the back to go to/from kitchens for staff) so it's not going to happen. I'm waiting for the school situation to settle down to see what happens with leavers discos (can't see them happening and, if I'm honest, I don't want them to) and then the next thing in my diary is August. Most of August and September have moved to next year and I can see the rest following.

    Julian
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

  7. #7

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    Agree with what's been said here.

    I can imagine people shouting requests, ignoring social distancing. Wouldn't surprise me to see the back garden full of people well in excess of 6. Then what about access to the garden, supply of power etc. Fraught will issues and risk.

    Not an illegal event in principle but unwise.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Not the career path I envisaged 12 months ago, but hey....it's a job which is more than a LOT of people are going to have once things settle down
    I sent my wife a job ad for Royal Mail yesterday as they're hiring posties near us at the moment. It pays more than her mid-level position in the NHS that she's had to study for 3 years to get. I still find it staggering that, as a graduate with a 1st class degree (and 3 years experience prior to her studies) she's only getting just above what is considered a living wage (and there are four pay grades below her who are getting less).

    Go clap for that on Thursday.

    Julian
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Until then, I've passed all my driving tests with a large supermarket that helps me to eat well on less and am now happily providing "click and collect" groceries from the back of a chilled van whilst topping up my suntan in the carpark. Not the career path I envisaged 12 months ago, but hey....it's a job which is more than a LOT of people are going to have once things settle down
    Yeah, my career route has gone off course a little and now onto my 3rd job since all this started haha.

    It is amazing how many 'Full Time DJs' realised they actually have a normal job and/or that they didn't really bring any income in - their wives/partners did lol.
    Semi-Retired Multi Award Winning DJ

    www.ultimateweddingdj.co.uk

  10. #10
    Jim - Scotland's Party DJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ppentertainments View Post

    It is amazing how many 'Full Time DJs' realised they actually have a normal job and/or that they didn't really bring any income in - their wives/partners did lol.
    I can't remember the amount of times people have asked me why I don't do it full time.

    Answer 1 is - it's not a "job" and I've no intention of turning it into one.

    Answer 2 is even though I do it part time and have a nice gross - "WHAT, JUST FROM DJING?" was the response when I was speaking to a mortgage advisor not too long ago, I'd need to do around 80 high end bookings a year to have a decent liveable net income off of it, probably closer and that's before considering what the tax would be like so probably more like 90-100.

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