TimR

I didn't say Xenophic either. 😆 It's covered under racial discrimination as a nationality. Maybe read the link?

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/race-discrimination

Indeed a slightly racist thread title on a public facing area of the Forum. Nice. Obviously it doesn't represent most of the views of the members.

Often the way isn't it. Wonder if the fat ginger kid ever said he was offended.

People have always been fragile and delicate. Just nowadays we don't expect them to have to endure years of name calling, bullying and repression...

It's usually how the law defines protected characteristic. Being American isn't one of them but discriminating against someone based on their nationality is.

It's about 80% if you subscribe to the Pareto Principle, which I'm finding increasingly accurate as I grow older.

He claimed it was child sex abuse and akin to child pornography and suffered for years because of it. Thrown out on two counts: 1. Statue of limitations had expired. 2. Claims of psychological damage were spurious. The judge also ruled that since practically everyone in the world had viewed the image and no one else has ever raised an issue, it couldn't possibly be now ruled as a pornographic image.

What it means is that you have demonstrated that you are taking your obligations towards H&S seriously. Particularly the requirements to have electrical systems periodically inspected. All you need to do is go to that person and ask if they inspected that piece of equipment and can they prove it. No doubt there would then be a bun fight over what had happened to the gear for it to cause a problem, and no doubt someone would start asking awkward questions as to why you're only inspecting it once a year. The point is, it's statistics. The liklihood is, and it's been shown to be true, that regular inspection reduces incidents. So if you've had it inspected you know it's not a piece of equipment that's gradually got worse over years and finally failed.

Surely there's no ambiguity. If someone competent has put their name down as having inspected it, then they're the person who inspected it. No one needs to agree anything.

This is the relevant part. Often we consider we are not running a business as far as HMRC are concerned. But as far as HSE are concerned if you are being paid, you're doing work and are covered by HSE laws whether you're turning a viable profit or not even covering expenses.

This very much depends on whether you are the average man in the street or whether you are an employee or an employer. If you are operating your band as a work activity then you are bound by the Electricity at Work Act 1989. And regular testing of electrical equipment is required within the act. The HSE at work act is the only time that taking 'reasonable precautions' is not good enough under law, you must do everything that is reasonably practicable to prevent danger. The added requirement is if you have more than 5 employees you must keep written records. How this affects us will obviously depend greatly on our situation. If you're being paid to perform then it's a work activity. If we're playing in a venue then that venue has a legal duty to check your equipment has been regularly inspected and is safe. The fact no one asks is more of a failure of the venues than the band.

Kevin Bacon, while not being strictly vegetarian, eats a mainly plant based diet.

Theatre and band adverts aren't covered. Otherwise you'd end up with 50 year old women playing the lead in Charlie and the chocolate factory, with 16 year old boys playing the part of Grandpa Joe. The Spice Girls would have been a completely different group...

Flea...

Apart from the ones who want to form a band and go on a vegan campaign... 😄

I think there are recommendations on testing intervals based on usage and type of installation in the regs. So while not set in stone, you'd have to explain why you have decided to test regularly every 10 years.

Yes. I know that. Maybe write to the IEE, IET and BSI and get them to change the wording in the regs then.

Oh believe me, lots of people I know will tell you they've run a marathon without being asked...

I didn't 'feel the need' someone asked why it was funny. 🤷‍♂️

If you can get all the band to drop their gear to your house. A PAT guy should guy should able to do everything in a couple of hours. Worst case it'll cost you £100 a year. But it depends on your electrical competence. If you are competent to visually check leads and plugs, do it and watch the condition of your band mate's equipment. All it takes is someone to trip over an extension cord to dislodge the terminals. So take the tops off the pugs and check for security. The electronic tester does this by checking resistance. But don't whatever you do, lie to someone who asks if it's tested, or just get a load of stickers from your local wholesalers and stick them on. If it goes to court and they find out you lied, then your credibility as being trustworthy is gone. Guilty your honour.

Well, yes and no. There is also a guide that says equipment under 700w should be fused by a 3A fuse and over 13A. And additional guide that says use a fuse as recommended by the manufacturer. So my amp is fused by a 10amp fuse. Check your TV, it'll probably have a 5amp fuse. In practice it's not black and white.

I also had a PAT guy who didn't understand transformer inrush and wanted to take my 13amp fuse out and replace it with a 5 amp because it was 'only' a 500w amplifier. So watch out for electricians downgrading fuses on amps.

You do understand the concept of a joke. You take one person's behaviour and you stretch it to extremes to lampoon it. That's the current problem with cancel culture that Maureen Lipman is trying to get through. People are too sensitive and will take offense before they've even examined why something is funny. Til Death do us Part. Money Python Life of Brian, Fawlty Towers, all extremely funny. The only people offended are the people who don't understand the way humour was applied.

As the amplifier is electronic there are tests they can't do as it'll risk damaging it. They should check earth continuity between chasis and ground though. Most damage is done to plug tops and leads so that should be spotted by a visual. And people did used to remove earths but not a problem for moulded plugs. Also our drummer has a fan and some people use mains powered lights. One gig I played we had a new keys player. His keys kept cutting out. After checking all my PA and leads I decided to look at his keys. The screws in the terminals of the plug top were loose and the wires kept pulling out as he was tapping his foot on the ground. His reply was "I'll just keep my foot on top of it while I'm playing to stop it moving." 1 minute to rewire it. I binned the drummer's extension cable that he'd 'repaired' after his rabbit had chewed through it. Not everyone has the same understanding or standards. PAT means someone who knows what they're looking at, has looked at it, and you have a record of who it was and when it was.