Behind every successful event you'll find a team of highly skilled people, working round the clock to ensure everything goes to plan, and - for the most part - the work of those people goes relatively un-noticed.
The Royal Wedding at Windsor may now be over, but for many of those involved in the big day and all of the planning that went into its smooth running, those skills will continue to play a vital part in the daily lives of thousands of people living and working in and around Windsor.
There are many Royal Wedding facts and figures listed in the media; the 29 million people who tuned in to watch the live coverage, the 2,640 members of the public invited to witness the wedding, the 53 flowers of the Commonwealth stitched into the Countess of Suffolk's veil and the estimated 100,000 well-wishers lining the streets of Windsor itself.
And Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) can now add to those facts and figures. Since the announcement of the wedding date, we've been working closely with numerous partners agencies and organisations to ensure the security of the supply that powered the Royal Wedding and keep the lights on for all of the residents, businesses and visitors to Windsor over the weekend.
So, here's a glimpse of some of our Royal Wedding preparation stats:
- Planning with external partners and agencies - 10 weeks
- Planning meetings held at the Network Management Centre - 20 hours
- Electricity cable checked - 5,000 metres
- Switchgear operated and tested - 38 units
- Automation tested - 19 systems
- Substations inspected - 17 locations
- Link boxes checked and secured - 24 units
- Colleagues stationed at strategic points on the network - 7 engineers
- Colleagues stationed inside Windsor Castle - 3 engineers
- Purchases made by above mentioned engineers - 3 suits
Non-disclosure doesn't allow me to go into detail regarding the hours of panic had by some of the engineers in planning their attire for the day (PPE is rarely listed in wedding dress code) or the sleepless nights in fear of something going wrong with our network on the big day!
It's been a huge honour - and an even bigger responsibility - to be part of the team that powered such an historic event, but for myself and all of those involved, that work continues 24 hours a day, seven days a week for all of our customers in and around Windsor and the surrounding Thames Valley area.