Amanda’s Story Hour on The Fourth Plinth
By David Bell
| Posted in Music Technology
I had an awesome time yesterday at the ‘One and Other’ event on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. I was so pleased to be a part in such a unique event and meet such a great crowd of people.
Amanda Blakeley, a French teacher from Hertfordshire, had plenty of support from a huge crowd of family and friends. Amanda’s three young children were being really supportive by reading along with the stories. Passers by, especially those with children, were pausing to listen to the extremely well narrated popular children’s stories; one story read in French went down particularly well with a group of tourists standing behind me.
The microphone and portable PA combination worked flawlessly. We made a last minute change to the Sennheiser EW 112-P G2 wireless microphone system, along with The ME 3 Headset, which was subject to a lot less interference and blocked out all the wind noise. The Roland Cube Street Busker’s Amplifier was the true hero; this highly portable dual channel amplifier ran independently on only 6 x AA batteries and most definitely held its own. I received countless amounts of positive comment from passers by about the amp’s power and clarity.
Thanks to Amanda’s Mum for taking that photograph. 
I received an e-mail from Amanda this morning summing up her entire experience…
“I just wanted to let you know how my 4th plinth experience went. In a word, AMAZING! I had such a great time. It was a real buzz being at such a height soaring above Trafalgar Square in the JCB and my kids and the visitors really enjoyed my story time hour. It was of course made possible thanks to the guys at Digital Village. From my initial call to Rob at the Barnet store who explained the kind of equipment I would need, to Jeremy at Head Office who was so positive about lending his support and helping me out so that my stories would be heard by all those watching live, to David Bell, my personal sound engineer, who somehow managed at the last minute to get me the hands free mic so that I could turn the pages. David was there to meet me on time as planned and did a quick run through with me. Being a technophobe I tend to panic at these sorts of things but all I had to do was put it on and press a button (even I could do that!) and he assured me he would do the rest. And he did. Your equipment meant that I could really interact with the visitors and that meant my stint was truly memorable. Thanks to all the team for making it such a great experience both for myself as performer and for the audience. It was a blast. Thanks again for getting behind such an innovative project”.
Here’s a Kodak moment of Amanda with her supportive family. If you missed the event, You can watch Amanda’s hour on the plinth HERE on the One and Other website.
About David Bell
It’s all about the Bass for me! I was given my first Bass on my 12th Birthday, since then I’ve spent every available penny on basses of all varieties, 4 string, 5 string, upright, you name it!…
I play a range of different styles of music, from Pop/ Rock to 50’s; I’ve even appeared on the main stage at the Country Musik Messe in Nürnberg, Germany. When I’m not playing live I spend a lot of time writing and recording in the studio.
I’ve worked in the Guitar industry since 2005, running one of London’s most foremost Bass guitar specialists. I’m currently enjoying working in DV’s Web/ Graphic Design team. I’m most exited to be able to share my interest, experience and knowledge about Bass gear here on the DV blog.
Tags: EW 112-P G2, ME 3 Headset, One and Other, PA, roland, Sennheiser, The Fourth Plinth, Wireless
Looks like a great time was had by all!
Nice one DV & Dave
MrG