I worked on the London Marathon again this year.
First things first, this is not my client and never has been – but I’ve worked on this event enough times to blog about it.
So I first did it when Mars took over in 1984 (34 years ago). It’s a long time ago and it’s difficult to remember but this would make me 16 and that works as I was Saturday boy at The Kite & Balloon Company who originally won the contract.
At the time Kite & Balloon was big enough to do the whole thing in house. The job requires 20 to 25 crew and K&B employed over 30 full time staff. Back in 1984 nobody knew (or had ever seen) a balloon arch with colours that spiral. So back then we just tied 24” balloons to kite line in a random order and built messy arches – but as we didn’t know any different we thought they were spectacular.
On the very first install we had a cherry picker (for the 1st and last time). The idea was there were 4 arch building teams and starting at mile marker 1 we’d overtake each other until we hit the finish line. The cherry picker would follow and put each arch up. It was a good idea but it didn’t work in practice. We didn’t have the patience to wait so we just climbed the scaffolding and put the balloons up before the picker arrived (we were young and keen back then).
The other problem with building the mile markers in number order was that at pub kicking out time many of the arches were sitting ducks to be cut down after a few beers with your mates. It was my spotty self aged 17 who suggested to Colin the boss that we do them in a different order and he agreed. After that shrimping was easy.
I think I then worked on the event for 20 consecutive years (it might have been 24 but I’m not sure). From Saturday boy to full time printing boy, to a freelancer owner of Balloon Attack, to supplying half the crew, equipment and vehicles as Balloons’n’Things. Over this time the Marathon sponsors changed from Mars to ADT to NutraSweet to Flora and now Virgin.
In the end it became unviable for me to do it. The Kite & Balloon Co began to struggle and needed every penny of profit to boost it’s bottom line. I was running my own Ltd company and my fellow directors were giving me a hard time for not charging enough for me and giving away our vehicles and crew for the night. It was also taking a bit too long to get paid which was a cash flow nightmare as my crew were paid on payday at the end of the month.
So I knocked it on the head for at least 10 years until this year Pippa approached me to come out of marathon retirement and do it again. At first (and second) the answer was no but she was in a real pickle as Alex Beard and James (from Non Stop) who run Team 1 were both out of action. So after twisting my arm I agreed to do it if I could pick my own crew and get a prompt payment.
In the end I really enjoyed it. The job has evolved over the years and the organisers have got it down to a fine art.
I was thinking I might be the only person still alive from the original crew of 1984 – but this is wrong as I worked the 1st night with Andrew Yeates (who now owns the Balloon & Kite Shop – that’s B&K not K&B…. it’s a long story). I know this for sure because we were driving the cherry picker back to base and took a corner too fast and all the ‘L’ size helium cylinders flew across Dulwich high street.
Put me down for next year.