Coronavirus Discussion So.... The Coronavirus / COVID-19

Sherliarty

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I don't know what it says about my family, one of the first things we went out to buy was iced coffee!!

Braved the shops today and a lot of people are out shopping so maybe not all doom and gloom for the economy. Also amused at how some shops took social distancing seriously and others were more haphazard.
 
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MIch21

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I don't know what it says about my family, one of the first things we went out to buy was iced coffee!!

Braved the shops today and a lot of people are out shopping so maybe not all doom and gloom for the economy. Also amused at how some shops took social distancing seriously and others were more haphazard.

Im not really seeing social distancing in the shops in my town - its like all the shops have given up. No queues any more to get in places.
 

Sherliarty

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Im not really seeing social distancing in the shops in my town - its like all the shops have given up. No queues any more to get in places.

My town center is 40/60 I would say in favour of shops still doing social distancing which still isn't great. I'd rather not return to a strict lockdown anytime soon.
 
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EdibleDormouse

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I'm not seeing much by way of social distancing in my corner of South East London (we're not that kind of neighbourhood), but I am seeing around 85% mask-wearing, which kind of helps the time + distance equation to balance out.

And I know it's trivial, but I *really* want my eyebrows done. I'm usually HD Brows every fourth Friday. Bloody first world problems.
 
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EdibleDormouse

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Hopefully. I don't think it's anywhere near enough, but it will depend where it's being directed. I'll be keen to see exactly how it's going to be distributed.

I think arts workers will be directed towards Universal Credit now, however. That's probably fair, if a bit shit.
 

Karonher

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I hope it manages to save a lot of jobs. I still don't know why some of the really well paid actors and singers - I know they will be a very small minority compared to ones on a "normal wage." cant help out. The wealth of 10 or 12 of them comes to over a billion. I am sure someone with a wealth of over 50 million - and some had a lot more - could maybe help out local venues. The government were quick to mention footballers and their wages but there is only one in the UK that is even close to having the wealth of some singers and actors.
 
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geebobuk

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I hope it manages to save a lot of jobs. I still don't know why some of the really well paid actors and singers - I know they will be a very small minority compared to ones on a "normal wage." cant help out. The wealth of 10 or 12 of them comes to over a billion. I am sure someone with a wealth of over 50 million - and some had a lot more - could maybe help out local venues. The government were quick to mention footballers and their wages but there is only one in the UK that is even close to having the wealth of some singers and actors.

I suppose that's a bit like the top Premier League players helping the lower league & non-league clubs.
 

EdibleDormouse

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I hope it manages to save a lot of jobs. I still don't know why some of the really well paid actors and singers - I know they will be a very small minority compared to ones on a "normal wage." cant help out. The wealth of 10 or 12 of them comes to over a billion. I am sure someone with a wealth of over 50 million - and some had a lot more - could maybe help out local venues. The government were quick to mention footballers and their wages but there is only one in the UK that is even close to having the wealth of some singers and actors.
That would be lovely, but we're talking megabucks here. £1.57 billion is barely going to touch the sides, and that's significantly more than even a group of megastars could front up. Stormzy is a shining example of walking the talk in terms of giving away a significant chunk of his earnings to give others a foot on the ladder.

I think we'll see a lot of "An Evening With..." type shows at theatres When We're Back (and please GOD let that be soon - if community transmission is as low as the government says, then it's no more dangerous to sit in a theatre than it is in a pub) with big stars giving their time for free in an effort to do their bit to raise funds.
 
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Karonher

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I must admit I was thinking more of each of the well off ones helping out a local venue rather than solving the problem. An evening with type event would be ideal. I would imagine of there was decent weather through August there could be some open air events - very well marshalled and maybe even not that well advertised. I would imagine theatres could be opened with limited numbers and the acceptance that entering and leaving would have to be staggered. It would be a case of whether it was cost effective or not.
 

EdibleDormouse

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I must admit I was thinking more of each of the well off ones helping out a local venue rather than solving the problem. An evening with type event would be ideal. I would imagine of there was decent weather through August there could be some open air events - very well marshalled and maybe even not that well advertised. I would imagine theatres could be opened with limited numbers and the acceptance that entering and leaving would have to be staggered. It would be a case of whether it was cost effective or not.
I still think it would be almost impossible for even a group of very high-profile and well paid actors to put up enough money to save even a moderate-sized venue. It costs thousands of pounds even to keep a theatre dark. And that's before you're looking at retaining front of house staff, admin staff, and a crew, many of whom might be specific to the theatre depending on the set up.

On the subject of open air events, again, you have the crew problem. It's an entirely different skillset. Plus, events need to be rehearsed, and we're not actually allowed to do that at the moment. I think I've probably clocked up 500 open air performances over the past 25 years and compared to being indoors, they're pretty dangerous and need extra work. Not the thing you really want to do when you've all been sitting on your arses for four months and are a bit performance (and crew) shy.

I'm hoping we'll be allowed in to rehearse soon, but I have a feeling the government (and a fair chunk of the public) just think we can open the doors and be straight back to immediate performances. You're looking at a six to eight week lead in minimum.
 

Jon

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This is taken from another site I use but I can well believe we are about to see large firms like John Lewis Etc. either lose totally or see them contract

My Father-in-Law works at one of Europe’s biggest reinsurance firms (they insure the insurers) and he said that catastrophe is looming. There are so many huge companies with poor insurance expecting a payout that legally won’t come. There’ll be some huge, old names leaving the high street in many areas of retail, banking etc. He said one company is expecting £400 million or so that categorically won’t be paid out. By his reckoning there are thousands, near 10,000 people who rely on that company and its supply chain for survival. Other companies expect bullions

The people who’ll come out of this pandemic richer will be the lawyers he said. Everyone else will suffer.

By his reckoning, and he has access to their financial records, most companies don’t have any sort of cash available to resist most shocks, let alone this. They expand too quickly without shoring up the business. A certain high profile businessman who is a TV personality apparently stands to lose up to half of their wealth if they don’t cut off a huge swath of their investments.
 

EdibleDormouse

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This is taken from another site I use but I can well believe we are about to see large firms like John Lewis Etc. either lose totally or see them contract
That is truly frightening. And absolutely plausible. I've wondered about the M&S business model a few times over the past few months as well.
 
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Jon

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I still think it would be almost impossible for even a group of very high-profile and well paid actors to put up enough money to save even a moderate-sized venue. It costs thousands of pounds even to keep a theatre dark. And that's before you're looking at retaining front of house staff, admin staff, and a crew, many of whom might be specific to the theatre depending on the set up.

On the subject of open air events, again, you have the crew problem. It's an entirely different skillset. Plus, events need to be rehearsed, and we're not actually allowed to do that at the moment. I think I've probably clocked up 500 open air performances over the past 25 years and compared to being indoors, they're pretty dangerous and need extra work. Not the thing you really want to do when you've all been sitting on your arses for four months and are a bit performance (and crew) shy.

I'm hoping we'll be allowed in to rehearse soon, but I have a feeling the government (and a fair chunk of the public) just think we can open the doors and be straight back to immediate performances. You're looking at a six to eight week lead in minimum.
Can theatres manage to run shows at 50/60 percent capacity in the short term (as in 6 months we will more than likely have a vaccine)

if not then does it not become about saving the production companies and letting them run plays / concerts that would have been in theatres or town halls into arenas where they can have their regular sized Audience but more spread out!
 

Jon

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That is truly frightening. And absolutely plausible. I've wondered about the M&S business model a few times over the past few months as well.
Well they were already scaling back in size before this pandemic so god knows how close to the wall they really are now
 

EdibleDormouse

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Can theatres manage to run shows at 50/60 percent capacity in the short term (as in 6 months we will more than likely have a vaccine)

if not then does it not become about saving the production companies and letting them run plays / concerts that would have been in theatres or town halls into arenas where they can have their regular sized Audience but more spread out!
I'm wondering how much the government might be prepared to underwrite 50/60% capacity shows. IMO, that might even be cheaper than their proposed bailout.

The problem with taking plays in particular into arenas is that the sets/lighting/rig just won't translate so they'll need a completely new set/lighting design/rig. Which costs a lot of money. It's the crew-for-venue issue again too. People are focusing on the performers (me too) perhaps too much - it's the people who shift the scenery and focus the spotlight that are actually significantly more important.
 

Jon

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How do places like Debenhams, M&S, John Lewis etc survive all this?!

but more to the point why do these places operate so close to the wire. I would say ever rising city rents plays a huge part

It’s weird how Well supermarkets have adapted with all this by cutting special offers and making the stores save

retail is a different beast
 

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