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Increased security at the Royal Opera House


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8 hours ago, alison said:

And the Barbican have had something equally drastic in place for some months.  So much so that I wondered how any City business types would ever be likely to be able to attend events.

 

Well, I manage the Barbican alright without having to use the cloakroom, but I've downsized my man-bag to a just bigger than A4 sized delivery bag so it's less of an inconvenience in concert halls, theatres etc.

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I must say that travelling "hand luggage only" on budget airlines certainly concentrates the mind as to what is necessary.

 

Going to even a long day in the theatre I put my makeup on before I go and hope for the best!  I buy eye shadows that don't crease and mascara that hopefully doesn't bleed on to my skin.  The most I would have in my bag is a small mirror, lip balm and lipstick.  As for shoes, I go to Hotter where they (as well as my favoured Gortex walking shoes) have shoes that are both practical and elegant.  I bought my first Kindle 6 years ago to facilitate going to Hong Kong for a week with just hand luggage.  

 

On Monday morning when I heard the news about the Manchester bomb I had a moment of serious panic wondering if one of my nieces who often goes to Manchester for gigs had been there.  Fortunately not but my other niece's young sister-in-law was there.  Fortunately she was OK but has been off school since as she is still in such a state of shock and anxiety.

 

I personally would rather be thankful for and work with the restrictions than moan about them.

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Will obviously have to get a bigger hand bag then!! 

 

Of of course wherever we can we want to co operate bit everybody has a different need and timetable when in London.

Sometimes I have two lots of ballet clothes ....my Russian text books( am learning at the City Lit) exercise books, a change of underwear, clean T shirt etc etc.

Now if I can get to where I'm staying first....great....only going to the theatre with a handbag ....just what I like....and at least in the summer no big heavy coat....BUT if I cannot get to where I'm going first for practical timetable needs then I do need at least a small back pack and if I'm staying more than one night I need my wheelie as I just cannot cope with the extra weight any more.....and this is doctors orders...( a very recent thing) 

I don't consider myself a moaner but am just being practical.

In the final analysis just on certain occasions I would just have to forgo  a visit to the ROH so would be responding to the current situation in that way.

I will probably only be able to make certain sat matinees on some occasions because of my timetable if I could not leave bags when I needed to in the week.

 

 

Edited by LinMM
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I have just spoken to Customer Services at ROH.  They have had many calls on this subject and are of the view that the original announcement was unclear.  It is now being amended.  

 

Apparently, what they meant to say is that they are asking people not to bring large bags with them on their visit to ROH.  The very courteous gentleman I spoke to defined bags as being brief-cased size but then qualified it by saying nothing bigger than what you could take as cabin luggage on an aircraft.  (he obviously hasn't been on Easyjet lately!)

 

He was also aware that during reconstruction work, a feeling had grown up that people shouldn't deposit stuff in the cloakroom and he wished to dispel this idea.  Front of house have been instructed that the cloakrooms, limited though they may be at present, are there to be used.

 

We had a good discussion and I was left in no doubt that ROH do realise that people come from far afield to visit.

 

Hope that helps.

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2 hours ago, Mary said:

As people are still unaccounted for after the Manchester bomb and we contemplate the horror endured by the emergency services, -perhaps we do all have to accept some adjustments to life,  some inconvenience and some curtailment of our pleasures while places like ROH do need to review security - and I am sure they will.

 

 

 

 

Mary, I don't want to argue on such a sensitive subject and I certainly mean no offence, but I do not see that my desire to continue going to the ballet and the opera is in any way connected to the current situation in Manchester.  We are all being urged to continue living our lives as normal, albeit with a weather eye for security concerns, and that is what I am striving to do.  With proper security measures put in place at venues and patience and common sense exercised by patrons, we can demonstrate that we will not let life be disrupted.  This should not be interpreted as any lack of concern for those involved in recent atrocities, the details of which I read last night with tears streaming down my face.

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1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

I must say that travelling "hand luggage only" on budget airlines certainly concentrates the mind as to what is necessary.

 

Going to even a long day in the theatre I put my makeup on before I go and hope for the best!  I buy eye shadows that don't crease and mascara that hopefully doesn't bleed on to my skin.  The most I would have in my bag is a small mirror, lip balm and lipstick.  As for shoes, I go to Hotter where they (as well as my favoured Gortex walking shoes) have shoes that are both practical and elegant.  I bought my first Kindle 6 years ago to facilitate going to Hong Kong for a week with just hand luggage.  

 

On Monday morning when I heard the news about the Manchester bomb I had a moment of serious panic wondering if one of my nieces who often goes to Manchester for gigs had been there.  Fortunately not but my other niece's young sister-in-law was there.  Fortunately she was OK but has been off school since as she is still in such a state of shock and anxiety.

 

I personally would rather be thankful for and work with the restrictions than moan about them.

Not 'moaning', Janet.  I was working to get a practical solution to a problem, rather than apply emotion.  Hopefully, the clarification by ROH achieves that.  

 

So glad about your friends.

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So, pretty much no change? Up to hand luggage size was the guideline I got from the ROH a month ago when I was worried that flying and going direct for the backstage tour would be a problem. Which seems sensible enough: you can't hand search a big rucksack efficiently/effectively without dumping the contents, and scanning gates would't really help much with things that are in bags. 

 

In any case, targeting inside the security perimeter is, as we've sadly seen, not necessary.

Edited by Colman
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14 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Thinking logically such measures may be introduced and the cost probably covered by increased ticket prices.

 

When these measures were introduced in Paris, presumably it took some time to procure the equipment and put it in place.  I am sure that this will also be considered as sadly these threats are unlikely to go away any time soon.

 

You only mention the Bastille, are there similar measures at the Garnier?

 

I have no recent first hand experience, but the FAQ on the POB site at: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/practical-informations/faq says:

  • Is there a cloakroom?
    Free cloakrooms are available on various floors of both theatres. Travel bags and suitcase are not allowed. 

When I called a few weeks ago, they advised arriving early for performances to accommodate the extra security checks. They said that their cloakroom won't accept bags, but that if people have bags which can easily be carried into the theatre (they wouldn't commit to a specific size), that's ok - but that otherwise, folks should use the baggage storage facilities in Gare du Nord etc.

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2 hours ago, alison said:

I thought larger bags had been banned anyway, either as a previous security measure or because of the building works?

 

It's all been rather hit and miss, alison.  My cross-body handbag is quite large as out of necessity I have to carry so many medications that I could open my own branch of Boots.  Also bottles of water and sometimes a cushion.  Likewise, at Saturday matinées, my dd comes straight from ballet class and meets me at the ROH.  She has her ballet gear in a backpack and there is no left luggage nearby so she brings it with her.

 

Not only has neither one of us been asked not to bring our respective bags in - which would cause real problems - but the "searches" are lip-service at best; looking in at the top of the bags then waving us through.  I would have cause to "moan" about not bringing anything except a "small handbag" but I certainly wouldn't complain about a more thorough search - in fact I'd welcome it. 

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The security staff seemed competent, so I suspect the bag search is more about doing behaviour profiling than really searching the bags - an excuse to interact with people as they come in and check for people behaving strangely. Though our bags were reasonably well searched, it wasn't for a show and they had the luxury of more time - creating large queues isn't good security practice either. 

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I was at the Garnier last Saturday, and they now have big pictures of luggage which they can't accept (suitcases etc) at the entry points. These are new, they weren't there at the end of last month (but they were there before the Manchester tragedy).

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9 hours ago, Yaffa said:

 

I have no recent first hand experience, but the FAQ on the POB site at: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/practical-informations/faq says:

  • Is there a cloakroom?
    Free cloakrooms are available on various floors of both theatres. Travel bags and suitcase are not allowed. 

When I called a few weeks ago, they advised arriving early for performances to accommodate the extra security checks. They said that their cloakroom won't accept bags, but that if people have bags which can easily be carried into the theatre (they wouldn't commit to a specific size), that's ok - but that otherwise, folks should use the baggage storage facilities in Gare du Nord etc.

 

Backpacks are allowed into Palais Garnier and Bastille, I always carry one, sometimes quite heavy, never had a problem (this information is up to date), you just open the backpack and show its contents. You have to perform this at the entrances to so many places in Paris, it became just a routine, low-stress ritual.

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We had a lot of this in the 80s and we all coped.  I remember the House being cleared after the first act of a Joan Sutherland performance of Esclarmonde.  The Opera House cannot please everyone but if, God forbid, there is a serious incident there would be huge criticism if such basic precautions hadn't been taken.

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Wimbledon has had bag restrictions of 40 x 30 x 30 cm for a while. Don't remember it causing such a discussion. I seem to remember it was accepted for both the security and comfort of everyone attending. 

 

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1 hour ago, Jane said:

Wimbledon has had bag restrictions of 40 x 30 x 30 cm for a while. Don't remember it causing such a discussion. I seem to remember it was accepted for both the security and comfort of everyone attending. 

 

 

Ah, but Wimbledon has excellent left luggage facilities just outside the grounds (and not everyone leaves at the same time).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Call me paranoid but I don't think we should mention specifics we have noticed about security (or lack of) in the current circumstances.

 

I've hidden the last few posts that mention what people have experienced.  I hope you all understand.

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Just now, Jan McNulty said:

Call me paranoid but I don't think we should mention specifics we have noticed about security (or lack of) in the current circumstances.

 

I've hidden the last few posts that mention what people have experienced.  I hope you all understand.

 

Thank you Jan. I did wonder (a bit late in the day) if it was really a good idea to mention what I experienced. But keeping quiet didn't seem a good option either. Perhaps I should contact the venue direct with my concerns.

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6 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Thank you Jan. I did wonder (a bit late in the day) if it was really a good idea to mention what I experienced. But keeping quiet didn't seem a good option either. Perhaps I should contact the venue direct with my concerns.

 

Which I have now done.

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The theaters at Lincoln Center (Met Opera House, State Theatre/Koch) have been checking bags for many years. They also "wand" every person entering. New this year at the ABT spring season at the Met: a bomb-sniffing dog stationed at the entrance. The museums also have been checking bags for many years. Some (e.g., the Neue Galerie, home of Adele) have you walk through a metal detector, too.

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Personally I consider the ROH to be an extremely unlikely terrorist target, what I fear is a repeat of the bomb hoaxes that ruined performances during the IRA bombing campaign.

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I expect 24 hours ago you'd have said that Borough Market was an unlikely target - as would I.  The trouble is, we just don't know, and it makes sense to take reasonable precautions.

 

I wouldn't have thought that hoaxes were likely in this case, either - I hope I'm not proved wrong there.

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I don't think that any of us is able to identify with any degree of accuracy what is, or is not, an "obvious target" and I suspect that is the point as far as the terrorists are concerned. All that can be said with some certainty is that a significant number of the people who have been involved in committing terrorist attacks  both here and abroad seem to be men who have  been involved in petty crime and have now found religion. The form of the religion which they have embraced is an extremely illiberal form of Islam which means that there are a lot of practices and activities of which they disapprove strongly such as holding events at which the sexes are not strictly segregated, drinking alcohol,  music making and the theatre. 

 

The one thing that is noticeable about the last two incidents in London is that they have both included places to which the public has easy, scarcely controlled access  namely Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.The fact that part of both incidents took place at sites which virtually everyone who has heard of London knows of, is, I feel sure, intended to ensure that the incidents remain in the collective memory for a very long time. On Saturday evening Borough Market with its pubs and restaurants was almost certainly the main target with the incident on the Bridge the hook on which to hang the memory. There are plenty of such soft inviting targets in Central London.I think we need to remember the man who was caught walking up Whitehall with a bag and knives a few days after the Westminster incident.The press suggested that he was going to try to enter government offices  but there are plenty of far softer targets thereabout. 

 

 

 

Edited by FLOSS
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23 hours ago, MAB said:

Personally I consider the ROH to be an extremely unlikely terrorist target, what I fear is a repeat of the bomb hoaxes that ruined performances during the IRA bombing campaign.

 

I agree about the ROH, but I always fear for the Covent Garden Piazza area.

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What struck me at the Royal Opera House last night was how few women were wearing "taxi shoes". Admittedly it was raining, whichdetermined my own choice of sensible shoes, along with the memory of Saturday's news coverage, but nearly half the women I saw were literally in running shoes, most others in flats. Touring the House, I eventually I spotted a pair of high heels, then a few more, but not many. The Royal Box was extremely low key too, dimly lit and unoccupied until lights-down: I don't think I've seen that happen before.

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Luckily for me this Thursday will be travelling to London and then the ROH with just a handbag!! Practically unheard of for me but will be a very pleasant experience!!

i managed to get my change of clothes and other stuff I need for Friday and my wheelie etc up to London last week( I stay in a friends flat when in London overnight......lucky me I know) so will be travelling light on Thursday. 

Its taken a bit of fore planning but this time has worked out at least.

My shoes are always the type you can run in these days!! As you get older you do tend to wear more comfortable shoes .....the only problem is that can't run!! Or not for long anyway! 

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