How early to Prom?

[french frank]

Perhaps a convenient thread for an interjection on promming. The global fame of some of our members is breathtaking!

Regarding the photo (question from an ignoramus) - is that the gallery at the top, and does it go ... all the way round?

[PhilipT]

Perhaps a convenient thread for an interjection on promming. The global fame of some of our members is breathtaking!

Regarding the photo (question from an ignoramus) - is that the gallery at the top, and does it go ... all the way round?

Shame they couldn't spell Shelagh Cohen's name properly.

Yes, that's the Gallery (with the arches) at the top, but you can't go all the way round - some of those arches close to the organ pipes are projected not real.

[french frank]

Yes, that's the Gallery (with the arches) at the top, but you can't go all the way round - some of those arches close to the organ pipes are projected not real.

Thank you - that's good enough. I wasn't planning a complete circumambulation, but I'd always imagined - with no evidence to go on at all - that the promming area was confined to the back of the hall. It's therefore more extensive than I'd thought.

[PhilipT]

It's quite large. I've long recommended that parents bringing very young children to their first Prom should go to the Gallery (five-year-olds can do steps!) and go round to one side, where they can look down on the orchestra through the gaps in the railings and see what's going on, but still have room to fidget or move away if they get bored. One unsubstantiated rumour is that the Gallery can hold over 1000 people standing, but that numbers are limited to 505 by fire regulations. Another has it that, before the refurbishment of the organ, if a particularly rare note/stop combination was used, Gallery dwellers close to the pipes were showered with years of accumulated dust.

And while I'm at it, the next time you're in the Gallery Day queue stairwell at Door 10, take a look vertically upwards. Notice anything about the size and shape of the stairwell? They are coffin stairs - if someone dies up in the Gallery there's just enough room to lower the coffin down the stairwell instead of having to hump it down the stairs. The RAH was designed by a Victorian engineer, and it shows.

[cavatina]

They are coffin stairs - if someone dies up in the Gallery there's just enough room to lower the coffin down the stairwell instead of having to hump it down the stairs.

Wait, what? You mean at the RAH, they'll bring your coffin up to you instead of bringing you down on a stretcher?

Well, I suppose if I faint on the stairs again and break my neck at the bottom of the Grand Tier, at least now I know what's going to happen. Thanks Mr. T, thanks a lot.

FF: for the full Promming experience, I highly recommend queuing for the Arena early and trying to get center rail next to the season prommers. I'm sure it would be fascinating to see how you adapt to the environment...definitely worth bringing the binoculars for that one.

[FLo711]

Hi Everyone - thanks for all your responses!

Unfortunately for me 3:30pm is much too early without organising some leave (which I now may think about doing)

Instead I might see if I can grab some unsold tickets to another prom, any suggestions on what is best (and still unsold?) I can go to most porm weekdays after the 30th of august.

Thanks!
F

[Chris Newman]

Thankyou, PhilipT. I was unaware of the Door 12 toilet.

Usually, I find that there is plenty to natter about with neighbours in the queue so time passes quickly. Also I find the Pre-Prom talks and concerts at the Royal College of Music help to pass an hour. Your "raffle ticket" keeps your place in the queue. These are free, variable in quality but often entertaining or informative or both. The Pre-Prom talk before Prom 61 looks promising as Graham Fitkin will discuss his Cello Concerto (played by Yo-Yo Ma in the first half of the concert) with Tom Service and there will be musicians on hand to play examples of his works.

I would regard the prices charged by the caterers in the Albert Hall as some of the most extortionate in London. I do not think they will last long as customers are avoiding them. See the thread on Albert Hall Catering.

[cavatina]

Instead I might see if I can grab some unsold tickets to another prom, any suggestions on what is best (and still unsold?) I can go to most prom weekdays after the 30th of august.

Thanks!
F

Phoning the box office is your best bet...it's a bit unpredictable, really. What kind of music are you most interested in? "Something for everybody," as the saying goes.

[PhilipT]

.. any suggestions on what is best (and still unsold?) ..

It's impossible to advise on what is still unsold, because (as discussed elsewhere on these boards) over 1000 seats at the RAH are owned by leaseholders who may or may not choose to return their tickets to the Box Office for re-sale. A Prom that is "sold out" today may not be tomorrow, so if there's one particular concert you're keen on it can be worth keeping trying.

[cavatina]

These are free, variable in quality but often entertaining or informative or both.

Speaking as someone who's been to all the pre-Prom talks, I must say they're extremely variable in quality and pitched at different audiences. The best talk I've heard so far was Andrew McGregor's interview with Pascal Dusapin. He basically sat back and let him give a fascinating account of the thought process behind his music--very informative and worth hearing again! Louise Fryer is a consistently excellent host as well.

When it comes to what I don't like, I can't really think of a way to put it nicely, so think I'll give it a pass. But I will say that unless you have kids, you might want to avoid talks pitched at families.