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1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

Puts things into perspective:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/16/lawyer-repeatedly-punched-royal-opera-house-seat-dispute-court

 

Sounds like the couple both behaved rather badly!

 

I read about it earlier today...surely somebody else witnessed whether the coat was thrown on the floor or placed on the woman's lap not that either sounds very good, particularly if you then intend to sit next to the person for hours

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4 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

I read about it earlier today...surely somebody else witnessed whether the coat was thrown on the floor or placed on the woman's lap not that either sounds very good, particularly if you then intend to sit next to the person for hours

 

If it was put on her lap I don't see that she'd have any real cause for complaint. From other reports it sounds like the coat might have been deliberately placed on the spare seat to deter the designer from sitting there again: the lawyer thought it "bad form" for the designer to appropriate the seat - but not apparently for him and his wife to disturb other members of the audience by swaying to the music and fidgeting loudly.

 

I'm not sure where I stand on people granting themselves a free seat upgrade in an otherwise crowded theatre, and had the spare seat been paid for by them (it wasn't) I'd have had some sympathy, though not with the punching bit! On balance though - even setting aside the fracas - I'd judge them to be more in the wrong than him.

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I am puzzled as to why the fashion designer was the one who was subsequently arrested and then banned from the ROH.  

 

And I have no sympathy at all over the woman's coat.  There is a perfectly good, free cloakroom for coats.  If you take it in with you, you must be prepared to either have it on your lap or stuffed under your seat if someone wants to sit next to you, irrespective of whether the other person has, or hasn't, booked that particular seat.

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This afternoon, in the tight confines of the amphi,  the tall and broad man behind me had his very large and bulky coat on his lap- it bashed into me repeatedly as he settled down and I put up with it for a while then turned and smiled and indicated the problem- he seemed unconcerned but shifted it a bit. Then in Concerto it slid forward and settled heavily round my shoulders- I had to turn and try to indicate that he needed to move it..and he did eventually pull it back.

In Enigma, blow me but he did it again..the whole coat suddenly slid onto my head and almost over my face! This time I pushed it back rather sharply, as you would.

In the interval I said a quiet word and I thought he had got the message...

Imagine my amazement and annoyance when in Raymonda...the b. coat once again slowly descended onto my shoulders!  it would ALMOST have been funny but it really wasn't as I wanted to watch the ballet, not wrestle with some strange man's outerwear.

 

Some people don't seem to notice there is anyone else in the world around them....

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37 minutes ago, Mary said:

This afternoon, in the tight confines of the amphi,  the tall and broad man behind me had his very large and bulky coat on his lap- it bashed into me repeatedly as he settled down and I put up with it for a while then turned and smiled and indicated the problem- he seemed unconcerned but shifted it a bit. Then in Concerto it slid forward and settled heavily round my shoulders- I had to turn and try to indicate that he needed to move it..and he did eventually pull it back.

In Enigma, blow me but he did it again..the whole coat suddenly slid onto my head and almost over my face! This time I pushed it back rather sharply, as you would.

In the interval I said a quiet word and I thought he had got the message...

Imagine my amazement and annoyance when in Raymonda...the b. coat once again slowly descended onto my shoulders!  it would ALMOST have been funny but it really wasn't as I wanted to watch the ballet, not wrestle with some strange man's outerwear.

 

Some people don't seem to notice there is anyone else in the world around them....

 

Now if you'd been an opera-goer you would have turned round and punched him... :D

 

Seriously though that sounds awful! Poor you and what a selfish man.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a classic this afternoon.

 

I was sitting in Lower Slips Left, on an aisle. During act 2, just as 'the doll' comes to life, a bloke came and stood in the gap, which is against health and safety guidelines etc. I whispered 'Oh, that's not a standing place' in a calm way. Off he went. Fine. About a minute before act 3 started, his companion appeared. I put my hand on the rail, as she appeared in a very intimidating way. She then was virtually yelling at me about how rude I was, so I repeated, 'that's not a standing spot.' She then started yelling at me about my bags, but off she went. The bloke then reappeared, and started having a go in a loud voice, saying I was rude, I against health and safety, and making personal remarks about my weight (I am on the large side). It's not like he was exactly a pixie himself!!!' Other people along the row form me were gobsmacked at how rude the couple were too.

 

Needless to say, I reported both of them after the show to both the usher on the door, and the supervisor in the Amphi. Sad really. It's a shame, as it was a terrific show.

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2 minutes ago, Rachel H said:

I had a classic this afternoon.

 

I was sitting in Lower Slips Left, on an aisle. During act 2, just as 'the doll' comes to life, a bloke came and stood in the gap, which is against health and safety guidelines etc. I whispered 'Oh, that's not a standing place' in a calm way. Off he went. Fine. About a minute before act 3 started, his companion appeared. I put my hand on the rail, as she appeared in a very intimidating way. She then was virtually yelling at me about how rude I was, so I repeated, 'that's not a standing spot.' She then started yelling at me about my bags, but off she went. The bloke then reappeared, and started having a go in a loud voice, saying I was rude, I against health and safety, and making personal remarks about my weight (I am on the large side). It's not like he was exactly a pixie himself!!!' Other people along the row form me were gobsmacked at how rude the couple were too.

 

Needless to say, I reported both of them after the show to both the usher on the door, and the supervisor in the Amphi. Sad really. It's a shame, as it was a terrific show.

 

How horrid for you 

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5 hours ago, Rachel H said:

I had a classic this afternoon.

 

I was sitting in Lower Slips Left, on an aisle. During act 2, just as 'the doll' comes to life, a bloke came and stood in the gap, which is against health and safety guidelines etc. I whispered 'Oh, that's not a standing place' in a calm way. Off he went. Fine. About a minute before act 3 started, his companion appeared. I put my hand on the rail, as she appeared in a very intimidating way. She then was virtually yelling at me about how rude I was, so I repeated, 'that's not a standing spot.' She then started yelling at me about my bags, but off she went. The bloke then reappeared, and started having a go in a loud voice, saying I was rude, I against health and safety, and making personal remarks about my weight (I am on the large side). It's not like he was exactly a pixie himself!!!' Other people along the row form me were gobsmacked at how rude the couple were too.

 

Needless to say, I reported both of them after the show to both the usher on the door, and the supervisor in the Amphi. Sad really. It's a shame, as it was a terrific show.

 

what a nightmare! Were they on drugs or something?

Shame you couldn't have reported them during the interval rather than the end of the show, and got them slung out!

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That must have been a horrible experience for you. I  had people standing, or attempting to stand, next to the aisle seat in the upper slips for opera, and got an earful from one young man who thought it was very unfair that I didn't appreciate his company. Thankfully that was before the performance and my friend was having none of it, telling him exactly where to go (his seat - we are polite). In terms of health and safety, the one who sat on the bannister, feet dangling over the edge still boggles my mind. If he'd slipped, he would have flattened a few patrons in amphi row E, or worse. I only noticed what he'd done when he was climbing down, at least saving me the dilemma of whether to wreste him back to safety during the performance or not.

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Is it me or is people’s behaviour in public getting even worse than it was? It seems that some of them go out of their way to be as rude and hurtful as possible. I’m so sorry for those who have experienced it. It leaves a sour taste to what should be a great experience.

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35 minutes ago, Fiz said:

Is it me or is people’s behaviour in public getting even worse than it was? It seems that some of them go out of their way to be as rude and hurtful as possible. I’m so sorry for those who have experienced it. It leaves a sour taste to what should be a great experience.

 

Maybe some people can no longer tell the difference between real life and social media.

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Fiz you are correct - people have no manners these days and it's all about Me ME ME.

 

Mary - As for coats there is a coat deposit WHY do people not use the facility it IS free after all?  I can't wait to dump my coats and free myself from it.  Coats in the auditorium drive me nuts - as well as people who rustle plastic:-

Friday 20 Dec Triple matinee - persistent rustling of plastic at the start of both Enigma Variation and Raymonda from Amphi Right for at least 10 minutes when people have just had 30 minutes interval beggars belief.  I was seated Balcony Centre and could hear it so what the neighbours of the perpetrator thought I don't know.  I would certainly have been telling them to stop it.  

 

 

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15 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

what a nightmare! Were they on drugs or something?

Shame you couldn't have reported them during the interval rather than the end of the show, and got them slung out!

 

I did wonder if they were on something! At least there was a wonderful performance going on to try and take my mind off it, but still.........

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2 hours ago, Fiz said:

Is it me or is people’s behaviour in public getting even worse than it was? It seems that some of them go out of their way to be as rude and hurtful as possible. I’m so sorry for those who have experienced it. It leaves a sour taste to what should be a great experience.

 

You're right - I've often felt the same recently. Some people are in their own little bubble, and only concerned with what THEY'RE doing, and their own needs. They are then furious when politely challenged.

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I was sitting on the benches at the side in the stalls circle last night - not only were I and the 2 people to the left of me squashed because someone was taking more room than they should, but the couple to the right of me kept leaning forward therefore blocking my view. I couldn't lean forward otherwise I'd of blocked my neighbour's view. In the end I just had to ask them to sit back. And they didn't like that, especially the female - if looks could kill.  Hated the seat and will definitely avoid in future. The ache between my shoulders isn't worth it - neither was being squashed for an expensive ticket!

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6 hours ago, Don Q Fan said:

Fiz you are correct - people have no manners these days and it's all about Me ME ME.

 

Mary - As for coats there is a coat deposit WHY do people not use the facility it IS free after all?  I can't wait to dump my coats and free myself from it.  Coats in the auditorium drive me nuts - as well as people who rustle plastic:-

Friday 20 Dec Triple matinee - persistent rustling of plastic at the start of both Enigma Variation and Raymonda from Amphi Right for at least 10 minutes when people have just had 30 minutes interval beggars belief.  I was seated Balcony Centre and could hear it so what the neighbours of the perpetrator thought I don't know.  I would certainly have been telling them to stop it.  

 

 

This is a bugbear of mine.  Coats, hats,scarfs, rucksacks, briefcases, shopping bags have no place in the auditorium and the ushers should take action.,  As I predicted, Open Up made the situation worse with its constant emphasis on limited cloakroom facilities when the truth was that there was plenty of storage space but problems with queues.

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5 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

This is a bugbear of mine.  Coats, hats,scarfs, rucksacks, briefcases, shopping bags have no place in the auditorium and the ushers should take action.,  As I predicted, Open Up made the situation worse with its constant emphasis on limited cloakroom facilities when the truth was that there was plenty of storage space but problems with queues.

 

Idk how it is in the UK but in the U.S. coat check is usually priced.

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14 minutes ago, Ivy Lin said:

 

Idk how it is in the UK but in the U.S. coat check is usually priced.


it’s free at the Opera House but practically everywhere else charges per item in my experience. 
I don’t see any problem with taking items in if they fit under your seat or on your own seat. I expect people avoid the cloakrooms because they want to make a quick exit. During the building work I waited about half an hour, I hope things have improved now!

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Been to watch Cinderella in Leeds this afternoon ... 2 very small children climbing on and off noisy seats at the back of dress circle, grandmother and youngish granddaughter eating sweets noisily out of a noisy bag ( and then in the 2nd half grandmother seemed  spend most of it on her phone!!!! ) and the family behind complaining that they didn't quite understand the story and why weren't the stepsisters ugly!  

 

 

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30 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

This is a bugbear of mine.  Coats, hats,scarfs, rucksacks, briefcases, shopping bags have no place in the auditorium and the ushers should take action.,  As I predicted, Open Up made the situation worse with its constant emphasis on limited cloakroom facilities when the truth was that there was plenty of storage space but problems with queues.


I agree that large bags and coats have no place in the auditorium, but I confess to not using the cloakrooms myself, largely because it takes so long at the end to retrieve things. Having said that, I always try to wear a non-bulky coat or jacket and drape it carefully over the back of my seat making sure it isn’t getting in anyone’s way. If if looks as if it might, I’ll hold it in my lap. Any (small) bags I may have are stowed under my seat. It doesn’t take much effort to ensure that fellow audience members aren’t inconvenienced by one’s possessions.

 

However, at the Raymonda triple bill, I was seated in row B of the Stalls Circle on the bench seats, and the man behind kept putting his foot on the back of the bench and poking me in the back with it! Ostentatious fidgeting from me didn’t make him take the hint, but eventually turning right round and giving him a hard stare and a pointed glance at his foot did the trick.

 

Sharon, I have also had the problem in these seats of people leaning forward and blocking the view. I know that in these seats you can miss a lot of stuff going on at the same side of the stage but some people seem to take the view that as long as they lean forward and can see, it doesn’t matter that they are completely obliterating the view for someone else! Fortunately when I have politely asked if they could lean back they have done so, but obviously the idea that they were spoiling things for someone else never even occurred to them in the first place. I think it’s a problem nowadays that people seem so self-obsessed and lacking in any self-awareness that they just don’t give anyone else a thought. My parents brought me up to consider others, especially in public places, and it always strikes me as amazing that most people just don’t do so. And it’s not always younger people either.

 

I’ve just realised as well that I sound about a hundred years old in those last sentences....!

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48 minutes ago, Peony said:


it’s free at the Opera House but practically everywhere else charges per item in my experience. 
I don’t see any problem with taking items in if they fit under your seat or on your own seat. I expect people avoid the cloakrooms because they want to make a quick exit. During the building work I waited about half an hour, I hope things have improved now!

 

One of the two reasons I never leave my coat in the cloakroom is that I often have under half an hour to get to Kings Cross after a performance for a train, which certainly doesn't give me time to queue for ages afterwards. The other reason is having OCD. I therefore sit in my coat with just my arms slipped out of the sleeves & off my shoulders so I'm not too hot. I do my best to keep my coat as close to be as possible & no-one has yet complained...

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I sometimes keep my coat in with me too if I have little time for the train- and sit on it or stash it under the seat or  sometimes roll it up as a cushion for my back.

I don't think anyone could mind - but -  I would never allow it to be touching anyone else.

 

It really was a bit much having one dumped over my head during the performance! I can laugh about it now.

It wasn't as bad as the woman with jangly bracelets who shook them in my ear throughout  one performance of Giselle- , the woman in the Grand Tier who took her shoes off and put her feet up on the back of the seat in front..or the man who was humming along at intervals in Figaro...then suddenly took his false teeth out  (I'm sure Mozart would have had a giggle at that one)

But I wish they would go and sit next to someone else...

 

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1 hour ago, Peony said:


it’s free at the Opera House but practically everywhere else charges per item in my experience. 
I don’t see any problem with taking items in if they fit under your seat or on your own seat. I expect people avoid the cloakrooms because they want to make a quick exit. During the building work I waited about half an hour, I hope things have improved now!

 

In the U.S. also I often have a late train to catch. In this case I always have my coat with me. I also am a teacher and go straight from work to the theater, in which case I might have that "teacher bag" of ... well, stuff. Like pencils, papers to grade, etc. I put my bag under my seat so I don't know why it's a problem.

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Somewhat baffled to see what looked like a flash go off both during the overture & at the start of Act 2 tonight. What's the point of taking an illicit photo when there's nothing happening on stage? Unless the perpetrator is a massive fan of the conductor?! (I also wish people would realise that using a flash when you're at least 50 feet away is pointless anyway.)

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