Cover Me! I'm (not) Going In!

My back problems got worse, before they got better. I am currently on strong pain killers and anti-inflammatories, but I do feel much better.

At the worst point though, the weekend before last, I came home from a gig up north, performing wedding magic, and a kids magic and puppet show, and after sitting for ten minutes while eating my dinner, I couldn't move.

When I did eventually manage to stand, I couldn't hold that position workout pain, so I crouched. Nope, that didn't work either. Sitting again? Lying flat on my back? In the foetal position? None of it worked. I eventually called NHS 24 and at 3am, they called me back.

Anyway, the point is, I had to cancel the next days gigs. I felt terrible letting people down, and of course, I lost a lot of money, but I did the right thing.

I got cover!

Too often I hear ‘We've been let down,’ ‘Our entertainer has just cancelled on us at the last minute,’ and it's not great.

Lol, I understand that sometimes you do have to cancel a gig/job/shift and it's unavoidable. But don't leave people in a panic. If you have to cancel (and I know sometimes it's because you've been offered a ‘better’ gig), then at least protect your reputation. Let the client think well of you by at least offering to try to help them find a suitable replacement.

I'm grateful to the performers who stood in for me on that Sunday, both great children's entertainers in central Scotland, and I'm glad I took the step to contact them. It wasn't a difficult thing for me to do, and it gave them an extra gig, but mainly, it saved the clients any further stress or last minute worry.

So if you have to be off sick (or whatever) don't just shrug your shoulders 🤷🏻‍♂️ Try to help out. It'll go a long way.