Christmas time, and as often happens in our little industry (supplying sound related equipment) we find several shows and events are on at the same time. You then have a quiet period before all hell breaks loose again. However close to Christmas is of cause understandably, one of the busiest times of the year, and so a heavy workload can potentially lead to the odd little hitch...

It was a lovely sunny (if a little cold) day in early December back in the late 90's. I was engineering the sound for "Annie" at Harrogate theatre that week, as the house engineer Stuart was on his hols.

Annie was going well, though the stage manager was spitting feathers as she had spent a couple of days marking all the radio microphones down to call over the comms to me (not that I like to work that way as the sound can't be mixed correctly with one ear covered) little did she know, but over the weekend, plans had changed...

She had allowed for 6 radio mic systems (which meant quite a bit of swapping). I was asked by someone else in the society at the dress rehearsal to provide an extra 2 radio mic systems, a last minute decision so to speak to make it easier for those swapping. It seemed no one dare tell the stage manager about this decision and that all her efforts planning who had which mic and when, had been wasted, as people now had different microphones to that marked in her script - ooopppsss!!!.

Anyway...Monday... the start of a new week, and another 14 radio mic systems along with a complete sound reinforcement system was to be installed for the week in Whitby, which meant another early start to build the system, followed by a journey to the lovely North Yorkshire coast... what could be better?

The trouble sound systems is that they can be completely defeated by missing out something as simple as a cable, connecting one part of the system to another. This means certain safeguards need to be employed to hopefully prevent such disasters happening... well in theory anyway! We all have our own ways of achieving this of course. Some more successful than others... (I'm working up to some sort of pathetic excuse here!).

Every last detail has to be thought out very carefully. Theatre sound systems (unlike the world of "Rock and Roll") are very individual as each venue requires a different sound design and set up, due in no small part to the acoustics of a particular building coming into play far more than they do in a "Rock" concert situation (they just blast you senseless with excessive sound levels to get round acoustic problems - did I say that???).

So, the complete system for Whitby was planned to the finest detail, and all components and cabling were put ready for delivery (safeguards in place... or so I thought!). Load the vehicle, check the time (about an hours drive to Whitby) and off we go at around lunchtime. This meant I could install and test the system with plenty of time to spare, leave it for them to operate themselves, and then travel directly from that venue to Harrogate for 6pm to do "Annie". Well, that was the plan anyway.

As I said it was a lovely day. I arrived in Whitby by around 2pm and started to unload and set up the system, when suddenly that sickening feeling came over me (the "at the airport" - where's my passport feeling!). You see everything had been put ready for both jobs. There were two transmitter pack carry cases for the two shows, but I had a firm picture in my mind of the second case being left behind the door, back at base. I went back to check the vehicle, but I knew that the case wasn't going to be there, I had the 14 receivers with me... just not the blasted transmitters!!! Ground open up, or if this is a bad dream, please let me wake up now!

I knew I had the transmitters for Harrogate with me. The safeguard check I was on about, had gone completely pear shaped, as I had concentrated only on the job in Whitby, and accounted for the Harrogate transmitters being those for the Whitby job. I just didn't think about the second job at all when I went through the mental check list, so as far as I was concerned, everything was loaded.

Panic, panic now!!! Both sets of radio mic systems for the two shows were on different frequencies, and in any case I needed 14 transmitters and only had 8 so no help there then...

I thought to save some time I'd call my other half and get her to meet me somewhere about half way with the missing case of transmitters... Could I get hold of her??? No chance!!! Needless to say words were exchanged at a later time about why "Mobile Phones" are called "Mobiles".

So I set up everything in Whitby at warp speed (well if I'd have gone and left anything else out, it would have been a lot more than the sky that would have been blue... and that's a promise!!!). Fortunately nothing else was missing (good job as I would have found it a challenge to sack myself). By now it was around 3.30pm and I could have done with Scotty and the enterprise to beam me back 60 miles in land in a hurry.

If any police officers happen to be reading this, then I wish to inform you that I am fully aware of all UK speed limits, however in an increasingly smaller world I wish to form a further alliance with our friends across the pond and take the 5th amendment on any questions relating to weather or not on this particular day I gave the matter of speed my full and undivided attention... ok?

Remember it's an hour each way at best, from the office to Whitby, and then I had to be in Harrogate at around 6pm which is more than an hour from Whitby (why is North Yorkshire such a big county???). Then there was the small matter of getting parked - anywhere in or within 5 miles of Harrogate!

Well, as with all the good things in life, this story has a happy ending, as I made it to Harrogate for around 6.30pm (and on the same day - which was a bonus!) to be met by a stage manager (still foaming at the mouth from her own microphone saga) looking at her watch, and saying something along the lines of "where have you been???".

A little twist in the tail, as I was parking up in Harrogate, I got a call from yet another venue up in the dales asking what time the "sound man" was turning up? for a flower demonstration they were doing... he did turn up just later than expected... I just really didn't need to hear that, on that day...

Oh what fun we have...

Submitted by Joe Mitchell from Soundhire. Soundhire is a small theatrical sound and special effects company. They supply equipment for hire and sales to amateur and professional theatre users.