The Pros and Cons of my visit, by Fred Wade

18 Nov 08, 1.37am
Fred Wade, CEO of our associate company Fireworks/FX in Canada, gives the lowdown on a wet week with Fantastic Fireworks helping on our Bonfire Night shows.
It can't be only a week since I came back to Canada from my stint in England, it seems like ages ago. We landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, last Tuesday, had to prepare as guest speaker for a Chamber of Commerce awards dinner for Thursday and had to fly to Ottawa on Sunday for 3 days of meetings, whew!
As with most things there were pros and cons with my visit this time, let's see if I can detail a few:
Guinness on tap PRO
the weather CON
staying at the Silver Cup in Harpenden PRO
the rain CON
driving to London with a sat nav phone on steriods CON
my crewmates PRO
drinking tea in the back of a lorry with the rain coming down PRO and CON
driving stakes CON
glancing around while setting up at Blenheim Palace PRO
pulling stakes CON
locking the keys in the truck CON
getting a cab home at 3:30 am CON
eating around town PRO
being in England PRO
learning the lingo PRO
tying on with wire CON
setting up in the rain CON
shooting in the rain CON
packing up in the rain CON
the scenery PRO
trying to guess what spotted dick was on the menu PRO
having a day off PRO
knowing that I wasn't in charge of anything at all PRO
knowing that I had to go home to be in charge of everything CON
did I mention the weather? CON
Seriously though I had a great time in spite of everything, and my hat is off to the entire Fantastic Fireworks team for such a magnificent effort. I shake my head in amazement in how many shows you pulled off under such yucky conditions.
Hope to make it over with a whole crew next year, we'll all wear red plaid shirts and suspenders so you can pick the Canadian lumberjacks out from all the rest.

Cheers,

Fred