Electricity..

Well it had to occur eventually, luckily for me it took almost 20 years to happen.

A power cut mid function.

Had a party for a lovely lady called Kim last week who's party included a country & western theme, people dressed up as cowboys ( & Indians) and I played lots of country songs in the beginning as they arrived, the buffet was opened a bit late which delayed the dance floor a bit but after the guests had time to eat it was dance floor time.. Then just as they were getting going we were plunged into silence and darkness apart from the fire exit signs.....The power had gone.

I always use 2 sockets, I run my lighting off one and the sound off another, as soon as it happened a cheer went up.. The disco was in Aylesford, Maidstone right next to a children's lit playing area which I noticed now was also in complete darkness.

Kim came up and asked what had happened (Only a few seconds had passed by then), I said I suspected a power cut then a gent came up that had just been outside for a cigarette and said the whole area had gone.

I felt so sorry for Kim, who had decorated the hall so well, with cardboard cacti around the room and also a "Kim's Saloon" sign outside the bar area, but without power we were helpless.

Kim asked if I would be staying.. I replied of course.. I'm here until we get to a time where the party would of ended anyway. A gent made a phone call to some hotline for the electric people and they estimated a few hours before it was restored.

A lot of people stayed, but a few decided to go home which was a shame, the power ended up being off for just under an hour, then about 10:55 pm we were back in action when power was restored and it was back to the music.

I was so glad we got the electric back - I hope it's another 20 years before I get my next power cut but would of rather it didn't happen at all.

SouthSound DJ's Blog..

Speeches

I must say that it's been so much fun the past 20 years and I've seen lots of funny things which of course include many thousands of people getting drunk and acting daft over the years but still to this day 1 thing I like to see more than anything is drunk people with helium balloons.

However one thing I always get asked about on the night are tips about making a speeches, especially best man speeches.

I'm sure you have taken part in the helium thing, however making a good speech is a lot tougher than people think, I've seen tough looking men reduced to tears through fear / nerves because they have to speak to a room full of people.

Usually people turn to me for advice before they have to stand up and try and make people laugh, which is half the battle... being expected to make a room full of strangers laugh.

My advice to anyone is when you have your material and have written your speech then practise, practise, practise until you hardly need the speech in front of you anymore but make sure you take it with you to refer to.. Chin up!! - Don't read from it like you are in a school assembly but stick to what you have written or you will start to ramble on.

Gather some funny & embarrassing stories about the groom and don't be afraid to use them as people are expecting you to do so - I've seen the best man use flip charts / projectors to use during their speeches. If you get the speech right then people will be talking about you for years.

Take your time reading and if you make people laugh then pause for a second or two before carrying on.

Also, don't let the nerves make you freeze up, remember that most of the people listening to you would not want to be in your shoes and have a think about if you get heckled what to say back, but usually people at weddings have lots of respect and keep quiet.

Oh and don't get all emotional.. That's the father of the brides job.

Jas (@southsounddisco)