I was not looking forward to the last one though. It was a Christmas light switch on on a roof, and I had worked the same show the year before so I knew what to expect:
Having to get all of the pyro and kit into a tiny lift to get it up five floors.
Carrying and man-handling everything up a ladder into the roof space, past pipes and onto the actual roof.
The surface being very, very wet and covered in manky slime.
Exposed position (6 floors up) resulting in colder, windier and wetter (in my opinion) weather.
A really fun de-rig involving getting all of the kit (which is now wet and slimy) back off the roof (in the dark, of course), through the roof space, down the ladder, into the lift, etc...
Oddly enough, it wasn't half as bad as I was anticipating. This was due to:
Preparing for the wet, windy conditions and rigging in a more sheltered spot on the roof.
Ensuring we only took the kit we needed to the roof.
Finishing rigging in plenty time so that we could get hot food and plenty of hot drinks (I really enjoyed my hot chocolate!).
Fun and games waiting for firing time to arrive.
A super-efficient crew that made the derig very quick and remarkably pain free!
To be honest, days like that are much improved by having good friends to work alongside. And hot food!