Twenty years of Al Rayan bank, and like I said to the client I’m on brand, being another Al.
A gala dinner and award ceremony at Banking Hall on Cornhill, just opposite the old lady of Threadneedle Street – aka The Bank of England. The Banking Hall is where they shot the bank scenes in Harry Potter and Mary Poppins.
My job this evening was MC. My first award ceremony was about ten years ago for The Steel Industry, and the client caught me just beforehand and took me by the hand. “The last guy was really slow,” he said. “They’re here for the party and there are a lot of awards. Give them weight but do them as quickly as you can, overlap when possible, push through.” I got a bottle of water and rattled through them. He was thrilled and got me back the next year. An early learn.
I wanted the script in advance on this one so I could get the names sorted and work out where the accelerator could be gently applied. “There’s an autocue,” said the Event Runner on the night. “You don’t need a script.” “Can you send it anyway please?” An eyeroll, but they do.
Halfway through the event the podium got taken out. No podium, no autocue. I had to introduce the band in detail. Half a page of build up. No autocue. I don’t like the autocue much anyway but it does make for a lighter workload. But nobody building the script had realised it would affect me if it was taken away.
It’s nice when you notice you’re good at something. I braved the eye roll and had the script at the start of the night because experience taught me that I might need it. I caught on just in time that I was gonna introduce the band from memory, and crammed it into my head through a hole in my ear, as is somehow possible still despite all the rubbish I keep stored up there. It took me ten minutes and I splurged it all back out in the right order and now I’ve forgotten it again. I don’t think many people noticed my heroics but for the autocue lady who looked surprised. But… I left the event happy to have added value.
Next time I’m gonna try to get into the script conversation earlier, as there were a few points of timing and follow-on that weren’t clearly thought through, and people structuring these things might benefit from an eye on practicality.
A good company though, Al Rayan, and both the chairman and the CEO were very pleasant people. I think they have a right to feel the event went well.
The Electro-Swing Project brought the thunder in terms of entertainment, and they put on a tight and fast show after the awards, really stepping into some beautifully thought through material. Excellent musicians and dancers combined. Sexy entertainment. But, you know … not TOO sexy.
A sharia bank tonight. I’ve never done one of these evenings where everyone in the audience is sober. Non alcoholic cocktails on arrival, or a lead free prosecco. A sober crowd at the end of the night, although a crowd determined to get selfies on the staircase. I got some chicken, but barely had time to eat it. When I was done I grabbed my bag and walked to Cannon Street. Then I got changed on the empty tube, out of my DJ and back into my comfy clothes for this balmy summer evening. Another nice event, and it’s really time I built a website cos I’m very good at this MC business now. A place where my natural overexcited nature fits right in.
AlBarclay 