Will we return in 2021?

[ppentertainments]

We also need to see what stance people have with the facemask - how many will carry on wearing one.

After a trip to London and a journey on the Tube, the state of some peoples masks make me question what st is coming out of their mouths when they exhale so I may carry on wearing one haha

[Vectis]

where is the logic of being allowed to go to a marquee in a pub, with 50% capacity, 2 open sides - then the next night hold your wedding in the same marquee with only 15 people and 3 open sides ?

Presumably something to do with the increased likelihood of a wedding crowd all hugging and slobbering over each other, whereas the general public are unlikely to be quite so liberal.

[Imagine]

Presumably something to do with the increased likelihood of a wedding crowd all hugging and slobbering over each other, whereas the general public are unlikely to be quite so liberal.

That was my thinking originally.
However, having driven past a fair few busy boozers over the past 10 days since they opened, the crowd control at the majority of them leaves a lot to be desired. The gardens are crowded, people standing and shouting at each other to be heard, standing close together....it's just like the average wedding from what I've seen.

Oh, and the number of pubs where the marquee has all sides closed once the chilly night air starts to take hold is unbelievable!

[Nakatomi]

Presumably something to do with the increased likelihood of a wedding crowd all hugging and slobbering over each other, whereas the general public are unlikely to be quite so liberal.

Ah yes but the big difference with weddings is, they generally come with a ready-made track & trace list. Come to think about it.. that being the case then why are weddings so sidelined compared to pubs? Hmmm.

Without dragging the dreaded politics topic into this too much hopefully - it's not hard to spot a correlation between industries that the government are supporting vs those getting nothing. Hospitality and entertainment.. zip all... but if you're an airline with a history of making party donations etc, here's a nice handout..

[Imagine]

WOW! What a day. Three enquires in one day

First one, a kids party who's convinced that since soft play is allowed on 15th May that I can do a full on 7 year old party at the end of May with 30 guests and parents (no, sorry....not happening - even if it IS outside). She's optimistically (after a lot of explaining of rules and laws) booked for the end of June.

Second, a wedding in November.... that date's already booked and we'll be back in restrictions by then because this Covid thing loves the winter and being indoors.

Third, wedding for a family I've done plenty of stuff for over the years (birthdays, engagements etc) and looking at next July....much more sensible

And yes Justin - I agree with the ready-made test and trace information and have had that thought for a very long time and indeed mentioned it to my MP several months ago...it fell on deaf ears as always

It's just a shame the various DJ associations aren't fighting our corner on this sort of thing and helping us to re-open rather than promoting how to live-stream (and we ALL know there's no money in that!)

<rant mode on>My biggest frustration at the moment is that the Government don't seem to be able to differentiate between a wedding breakfast (i.e. guests seated and eating) and a wedding RECEPTION (rammed dance floor, late night drinking etc.). They keep saying "receptions" of up-to XYZ number of people when they really mean the meal after the legal bits </rant mode nearly off>

Not going political myself but two takeouts from Boris's proclamation this evening (been working late and only just watched the catch up)

* What we do WILL need some sort of "passport" (although they're desperately trying to avoid the use of that word in favour of "certification") - amounts to the same thing and how in the name of all that's Holy will that be policed with marquee weddings in back gardens?
* We're now apparently looking for a Lemsip/Beechams solution to relieve the symptoms....have we REALLY been closed down for 15 months for something which can be treated with a cold/flu type remedy or am I totally misunderstanding everything at the moment?

Sorry - bad shift at "work" and desperately need to see 100+ bodies with arms held aloft but can't for the life of me see an end in sight at the moment or a way back to what we used to call normal

[ppentertainments]

Presumably something to do with the increased likelihood of a wedding crowd all hugging and slobbering over each other, whereas the general public are unlikely to be quite so liberal.

I do agree totally and have always said weddings are a danger, however 11pm in a pub marquee (with closed sides as it is so cold) you see people dancing along to the loud music being played, mixing outside of their tables of 6 and, yes, hugging and kissing. You only need to drive by a few places to see this.

The warning shots were fired again during last nights press conference - another wave is expected. How this will pan out for us remains to be seen. If I was a little more sceptical I would say weddings will be relaxed, just in time for Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds to tie the knot, then restrictions put back in place for fear of a new wave.

We also have pilot events going ahead. The reopening of the Wedding Industry is dependent on those events - yet there is NO wedding within the pilot events.

I don't know how much more the wedding industry can sustain - I am fully booked this year and almost there next year with even summer 2023 filling up quick, if more weddings have to be postponed I think the industry could be overwhelmed.

[ppentertainments]

It's just a shame the various DJ associations aren't fighting our corner on this sort of thing and helping us to re-open rather than promoting how to live-stream (and we ALL know there's no money in that!)

To me, that has been the biggest shock this past year. This was the time for associations to stand up and be counted, the rewards would have been unbelievable but the radio silence has been really strange.

They will not know any more than we know, but surely a bit advice, business advice, financial advice, future trend predictions as well as being a HUGE voice would have been the basics.

[Vectis]

To me, that has been the biggest shock this past year. This was the time for associations to stand up and be counted, the rewards would have been unbelievable but the radio silence has been really strange.

They will not know any more than we know, but surely a bit advice, business advice, financial advice, future trend predictions as well as being a HUGE voice would have been the basics.

I suspect the main part of the problem is the comparatively TINY memberships and miniscule fees of said associations which I feel barely cover the cost of the activities they DO undertake. They're not really industry associations in the true sense relying mainly on the voluntary services of others with full time jobs or careers of their own.

From the most accurate estimates I have, the current membership tally of the largest of the associations is less than 1% of the total "mobile DJs" as we know them in the country (excludes club DJs, radio DJs etc.) Once you take out of the membership fee the cost of providing PLI and magazine subs, putting on a few show nights etc. that doesn't leave an awful lot to fund other things. It's difficult to charge more because DJs won't pay it, and being an unregulated "industry" there's no obligation (or perceived benefit in many cases) to join. So until something happens and the associations have the funding to employ specialists, don't expect anything to change.

[DJWilson]

The warning shots were fired again during last nights press conference - another wave is expected. How this will pan out for us remains to be seen. If I was a little more sceptical I would say weddings will be relaxed, just in time for Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds to tie the knot, then restrictions put back in place for fear of a new wave.

BoJo tried spreading fear of another wave weeks ago when France and Germany started flaring up again. A lot of what's said/published at this point is scaremongering and not necessary.

He also said there's no reason to amend the roadmap...

Take everything with a pinch of salt.

[ppentertainments]

BoJo tried spreading fear of another wave weeks ago when France and Germany started flaring up again. A lot of what's said/published at this point is scaremongering and not necessary.

He also said there's no reason to amend the roadmap...

Take everything with a pinch of salt.

Yep and even if there is another wave, if enough are vaccinated we 'should' be able to carry on