“How many drummers have we had, now, Nige?”
Derick Smalls put down the high hat next to the bass drum and let the roadies finish setting up.
Nigel Tufnell put down his guitar and scratched his head.
“This one is our 20th,” he shouted back.
Derick laughed and looked at the camera.
“Unlucky lot, they were,” he said. “Though the last eleven just left, rather than…well…you know…”
The director snorted.
“Yeah, we remember, Derick…”
The arena door flew open, and David St Hubbins strode in, followed closely by his latest girlfriend.
“Lola, love, I’ve just got to do this sound check then we can get out and do some shopping in Oxford Street. Just sit down there, darling, and keep yourself busy on your phone with your little game, just for half an hour.”
He jumped up onto the stage.
“Alright, Nige? Alright, Derick?”
Derick gave him the thumbs up.
“Yeah, good Dave, good.”
Nigel nodded.
“Yeah. You OK?”
David smiled: “Thinking about the pension fund, Nige…Looks like we’ve got a sell-out in the arena tonight.”
Nigel replied: “Yeah, should be a good pay day for us.”
David pulled his mobile phone from his pocket and handed it to Nigel.
“Take a look at that. Did you know about this Martyn’s Law stuff? All these new rules to keep the public safe just came into force – you know, the ones the families of the Manchester Arena terror attack victims campaigned for. There are strict new rules about how many trained door supervisors there must be, we need to have a disaster plan in place, and we need to ensure everyone knows their roles and can communicate effectively.”
Nigel read the article online.
“Yeah, we’re on top of it, Dave. Because our own company is promoting our tour, me and Derick have been heavily involved in the planning. We’ve been having meetings for months now,” Nigel said.
“We got a specialist compliance form called Penarth Management to help us draw up our plans. Their consultants turned us onto Mango…”
David put his head in his hands.
“That’s all we need, Nige, you two falling off the wagon just before a big tour…”
Nigel laughed.
“No, Dave, Mango is online compliance software. It helps us plan, communicate with everyone, and ensure we have all the certifications and documentation we need to keep people safe. If someone sees something suspicious, they can report it from where they are immediately with the app. No need to worry about leaving their post and trying to find someone to tell.”
David put his mic on his stand.
“Sounds good, Nige. Why didn’t you ask me to come to those meetings?”
Nigel shook his head.
“We did, Dave. Check your email and WhatsApp messages!”
David looked embarrassed.
“Yeah, sorry, I just ignore all the notifications. There’s just too many of them…”
Nigel sighed and strummed a loud chord.
“OK, let’s start this soundcheck with Smell My Glove…”
Is your events venue or arena ready for the implementation of Martyn’s Law? The new rules following the Manchester Arena terror attack public inquiry, named after victim Martyn Hett, are set to come into effect in the coming months. Find out more here.
How could online compliance software Mango help your arena or events business stay on the right side of Martyn’s Law? Book a free demonstration which will be delivered via Zoom. We can help you achieve the ISOs your event business needs, too, in areas like health and safety, data protection, safeguarding, and business continuity. Call Penarth Management on 029 2070 3328 or email info@penarth.co.uk