Getting recreation and leisure up and running again.

I rang my bank (Halifax) with a similar query today, since I paid by debit card for two tickets for a show at Southport Theatre, another venue which has recently gone into liquidation.

All I needed to log the claim over the phone was the date of the original payment, the date when the show was due to take place, the name of the venue, and the payment amount.

With the claim opened, I was then asked to email evidence, attaching confirmation of the original booking, proof of the liquidation, and any evidence the performance didn't take place (e.g. email from the venue, statement on website etc).

All seems pretty painless so far and I got straight through within seconds on the phone - couldn't believe it! 

Barnard Castle has never had so much publicity...

What a twonk! 

Imagine being an arts editor and writing the actual sentence "English theatre bores me"

Disastrous though that looks from a financial perspective, my short self can't help but think "Hey! No heads in front of me! I'd be able to see - and from the stalls!"

That's if I could get a ticket...

And they've catered for solo theatregoers which makes a nice change!

Perhaps for a different thread but seeing as social distancing is likely to be enforced for the rest of the year and possibly beyond until there is a vaccine/other solution according to our CMO, I was wondering how seating plans will operate? What if I'm attending with my hypothetically large household of 7? Would we be allocated as we arrive or would there be some sort of algorithm to sort this?

That would be very interesting as I was reading about the test and trace strategy which says close contact requiring tracing is defined as 'within 2m for 15mins or more, or 1m for any length of time'. Sort of makes it seem like if you're going to be 1m away you may as well lick them as far as that strategy is concerned and you could be sitting in the 'normal' theatre configuration without additional risk. It doesn't really indicate that when sitting in a theatre for two or more hours a one or two metre distance makes much of a difference and it does make me question the impact of this kind of social distancing, beyond the psychological one. I suppose face coverings would help. At this point I think I would be willing to sit in basically normal configuration, maybe with seats pulled slightly apart so you can avoid touching the person next to you accidentally.

I don't understand. The virus hasn't gone away. We have the highest death rate in the world. How can anyone be comfortable with this

Well the former informs the latter, so both.

Just the idea that if people aren't wearing masks outside and don't wash their hands as much as they should droplets from coughing/sneezing/ have been shown to spray all over themselves as well as hands. Wouldn't want to share an armrest with that person. I'm more thinking that I will be stuck in my seat for a while and not able to wash my own hands. I'm not particularly pre-occupied by this, I just think that as being a couple of metres away will probably not really have much impact, I would think not directly touching that person or their arm rest would be more useful.