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Post by clair on Nov 5, 2020 16:45:25 GMT
The weird thing is I can plan months or years ahead when it comes to things like theatre and holidays! it's only things like winter and haircuts that fox me. That's because theatre is essential - winter coats and haircuts we can survive without if necessary!
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Post by clair on Nov 2, 2020 14:26:26 GMT
If tv and film are allowed to continue then I don't understand why theatre rehearsals should be stopped - the same rules should apply to both surely?!
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Post by clair on Nov 2, 2020 11:12:54 GMT
Thank you for making me laugh with that comment! It's a tough time, facing redundancy and now my workplace is closed again so I might not even get a final shift there but that really made my day - so many friends will relate to that idea
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Post by clair on Oct 31, 2020 17:40:50 GMT
I wish he would say just that! Maybe a simple admittance of getting it wrong and a plea to everyone to do their bit would get through - at least it would be understandable rather than all the mixed messaging rhetoric to date.
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Post by clair on Oct 30, 2020 8:36:05 GMT
Fingers crossed this goes in and makes them some much needed income so that they can then put on more diverse programming using that income. Most places will probably need the crowd pleasers or big well known names to tempt the average/occasional theatregoer back to start with before they are financially able to take risks on new writing again
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Post by clair on Oct 23, 2020 9:52:06 GMT
They've added a show on the 3rd - tables of 2, 3 and 4 available at the moment
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Post by clair on Oct 6, 2020 11:30:46 GMT
I've saved nothing, in fact I now have less money - previously my salary just about covered the bills and the overtime paid for theatre, concerts etc. Now there's no overtime and a 20% paycut so am struggling with the bills let alone anything else!
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Post by clair on Sept 24, 2020 8:17:20 GMT
Yesterday was the first day I felt uncomfortable on public transport, partly due to so many people not wearing masks but mainly because the bus driver was terrible. The bus was full - all seats taken upstairs and downstairs, five people standing and he was still stopping and letting people on. At no time did he stop or use the bus full sign and neither did he use the tannoy speech about facemasks. I use 4 buses a day to get to and from work and this is the worst it's been so far.
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Post by clair on Sept 23, 2020 7:36:44 GMT
Perhaps I’m missing something but with all the new pub restrictions shouldn’t shops, especially supermarkets, also be banned from the cheap alcohol deals?! No cheap alcohol would surely lead to fewer house parties. I’d love to think that the supermarkets would put this in place themselves but somehow doubt it, profit before lives in this world sadly
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Post by clair on Sept 19, 2020 14:29:27 GMT
My flatmate asked me this morning if I could lend him my MACbook charger, because his had stopped working for no apparent reason. Now mine isn't working either. (The new one I got less than a year ago, because my old one died.) I think that basically sums up my day. Well, that and the fact that it is my 12th day indoors. (Only two more days though!) (The only silver lining I can think of is that it's my personal MAC charger, rather than my work one. Not too much of a consolation, though.) So that means you get to swap them making the work one a personal one and then work provide the new one!
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Post by clair on Sept 18, 2020 9:48:13 GMT
I'm not sure how they can say that 'most workplaces will remain open' within that - do they not know that theatres, concert halls, pubs, restaurants, museums and so on and so on are also workplaces? I wish they would say 'offices' which is what they mean as those not working in office jobs are clearly just doing it for fun in their minds
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Post by clair on Sept 14, 2020 11:32:08 GMT
Over the past few weeks I've managed to see several friends, some of whom I've not seen in over a year, which has been wonderful. Yesterday I met with one friend who I first met May 2019 and haven't seen since in order to see another friend, who I've known over 40 years and who met the other friend at the same time as me last year, in the outdoors theatre production she was in. What a wonderful day, the play was in the glorious setting of Miserden Gardens and was funny and really well done, the friend in the play had no idea we were going and the look of surprise afterwards when she saw us was priceless. We then all went to the local pub for a drink and dinner before driving home.
Theatre, friends and a beautiful setting - perfect
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Post by clair on Sept 12, 2020 8:59:57 GMT
I said ages ago put six in the palladium and sell 800 seats. They even have multiple casts so could have 3 bubbles worth! I know it’s not that simple in real life but especially for theatres that are dark I feel something could be put in! The problem is that while it might be possible whatever they do has to at least cover all costs and it's not cheap to open a theatre! I know where I work we have to have a minimum number of people per day to make it viable, if we dip below that number it's cheaper to have the place closed and us on furlough. This is why there will be so many redundancies, not because there aren't jobs for people when the cases drop and we find either a vaccine or treatment that means we can pick up some form of 'normal' life but because once the furlough ends it won't be affordable to keep those people. I just hope there will be enough people still with jobs and the money to go to the theatres when they do finally open
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Post by clair on Sept 3, 2020 11:02:30 GMT
But a negative test doesn't last a week in reality - a friend works in the testing units and said that you can test negative one day and positive the next depending on how long the virus has been in the body so being negative Monday doesn't mean you are when you enter the theatre on Friday!
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Post by clair on Sept 3, 2020 10:29:14 GMT
Surely having to have a test before going would make theatre even more elitist than people already claim it is - I imagine it would have to be paid for so that plus the ticket prices will put it out of reach of even more. Full plaudits to ALW for all he's doing to try to get theatres up and running in a viable way.
It's bittersweet seeing all the things being announced that ARE going ahead - wonderful to see theatre back in some form of course but for me it's slightly depressing as I'm on a paycut with redundancies looming so can't spend money on anything extra at the moment. Still good to know that if things work out there will be theatre to see at the end of it.
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Post by clair on Aug 3, 2020 16:03:08 GMT
I'm sure I read 2 stories in the Mail about the Yeomen Warders being at risk of losing their jobs. No, they're not! The Tower is opening again and I'm going when I'm in London later this month. I maybe over 50, and suffer with asthma, but I'm not going without my much needed and anticipated break (1st. since Feb). Call me bloody-minded, but I will be taking plenty of precautions when on my travels. The Tower is open but yes some of them will be made redundant sadly - not enough visitors or income for the next few years for the charity to keep going on current staff levels. Just like every company in the sector. be it heritage, theatre or music, the sad fact is that very few if any will be able to avoid mass redundancies. Many jobs will be lost across all the sites HRP looks after, the Yeoman Warders are well known so make the headlines but all heritage sites are facing the same problem, National Trust have announced around 1200 jobs will go too.
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Post by clair on Jul 28, 2020 19:59:09 GMT
So today I've received a letter from a good friend, arranged to have lunch with a couple of wonderful friends for the first time in way too long and have just put together my lunch for work tomorrow. This last has a very special place in this thread as it's the first time I've done it since March - I finally get back to work tomorrow and cannot wait!
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Post by clair on Jul 28, 2020 9:58:55 GMT
Also there's the fact that many people go to the theatre with friends who may well not be part of their social bubble so they either go together and pretend they're a bubble or require two singles to be at the same show - which they're not likely to get with so few on sale!
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Post by clair on Jul 25, 2020 20:05:19 GMT
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Post by clair on Jul 25, 2020 12:53:49 GMT
Phantom of London The main long-term risk from covid to this country seems to be that we are turning into a nation of curtain-twitching Stasi informants. On this point, they should be allowed to put people at a much heightened risk without so much as a request? Other areas might be a lot better but not so much here, so it’s a postcode lottery. Is being asked if there is a reason that you are putting people at risk politely such an imposition? It depends how personal the reason - not everyone is prepared to talk about their health issues ( a pleasant change from those who do so incessantly!) and as I've posted before those who either have been or still are subject to abuse may well not be in a mental state where they can cope with those questions. The same as I am obese due to a medical condition yet have to go through the judgemental eyes of those who think I just eat junk food all the time without knowing my personal story thus I do my best to reserve passing judgement on others
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Post by clair on Jul 24, 2020 17:30:02 GMT
It's difficult really, one lady got on the bus I was on yesterday and immediately said very loudly that she had asthma and was unable to wear a mask, when she sat down another lady asked why she had said it so loudly and we discovered that she had already been shouted at and had something thrown at her for not wearing a mask. She was on her way to a friend's house who was going to print out an exemption thing for her to wear as she'd been so frightened. For every person with a genuine problem there are many who are either selfish/arrogant or who don't believe the masks make a difference but this is why I refuse to judge - and why many people I know have said they wouldn't be enforcing it if they worked in retail.
The whole situation is horrible, I just hope they can find a vaccine or at least some treatment that would mean a course of antibiotics would do the trick sooner rather than later
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Post by clair on Jul 24, 2020 12:35:31 GMT
Maybe a date has something to do with insurance along the lines of 'if we do xyz to maintain safety and do not open until the date set by govt' they'll be able to get some form of reasonable cover in case they get locked down again. Having a timeframe to work with gives them a chance to make those decisions.
I agree no-one has a date but pretty much every other industry has been given one and there will always be the caveat that things can, and probably will, change. With furlough ending completely at the end of October many places need to know whether any form of Christmas show might be possible or not to make staffing decisions.
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Post by clair on Jul 24, 2020 8:30:11 GMT
talkingheads I felt the same way until being at the Palladium on Thursday when I realised that it was easier to wear sitting in a theatre than walking around - I imagine due to breathing differently. The only times it became a little more uncomfortable was when up dancing so I would be happier at a show than a concert (depending on the artist of course, an all seated throughout would be different). I now think that if it came to a choice of social distancing without masks or no social distancing with them I'd go for the latter although, of course, I'll be over the moon when we get back to neither.
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Post by clair on Jul 23, 2020 20:22:34 GMT
Yet the numbers wearing them only reaches that % on trains and not on buses or in shops. Four buses today, all long journeys and in total only 5 people not wearing masks - fairly even split as 3 male/2 female and 3 mid to late 20's/2 mid to late 40's. As I was upstairs coming back I was also being nosy as other buses went by and the vast majority were wearing masks, certainly in such numbers that the ones who weren't really stood out
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Post by clair on Jul 22, 2020 8:24:30 GMT
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Post by clair on Jul 22, 2020 7:22:02 GMT
Btw, can folk stop whining about wearing masks? If you don't like it, don't go. Simple! It's the world we live in right now. I'd happily wear a mask to theatres for eternity if it got them all open again. I've said it before and I'll say it again - people are allowed to have a grumble. No one is living their best life at the moment. Also discussing the effects of mandatory mask wearing on attendance levels seems extremely on topic for this thread. You are free to ignore or disagree, just as they are free to express how they feel. I struggle wearing a mask and am extremely glad I managed to get a ticket for Beverley Knight tomorrow - so much happier to find out if I can cope with it for the length of a performance or not if it's free! I'm hoping that my usual complete immersion will take over and help overcome the panic that the claustrophobia brings. If it does great, if not then theatre will be really difficult for me for quite some time unless wearing a visor would work in a theatre space without causing a problem for other audience members. It's totally fair for people to ask and decide they won't go - better that than go and then cause a problem at the performance - the only thing that would annoy me would be someone asking and then saying they'll go and just take the ask off once the performance starts!
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Post by clair on Jul 17, 2020 13:24:42 GMT
Travelzoo have a voucher offer for the Lands End hotel at the moment - been looking at it myself but just can't afford it right now
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Post by clair on Jul 16, 2020 16:42:27 GMT
Hmm, the thing I hate most about panto is the audience participation element of it - this could be quite an improvement!
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Post by clair on Jul 16, 2020 16:40:53 GMT
My workplace closed on the 20th - was still 'suggested' at that point, think it wasn't fully implemented until after the weekend which would be the 23rd
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Post by clair on Jul 15, 2020 8:49:03 GMT
I have always had my own crockery and cutlery at work! I would say that right now nothing's too weird if it makes you feel more comfortable, take it with you - if it feels too much when you're there who else would know it's in your pocket anyway? Enjoy that first meal out your way
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