Dear Mary…
Q. You suggest (22 October) that scrap suppers be served on site following private views in art galleries. May I suggest the very same practice might well reverse the decline in numbers of young people attending classical concerts? For friendless, new to London perhaps, but unpushy lovers of classical music, it would surely be an incentive to know that, for an extra £10 on their ticket, they could eat a simple hot supper with a glass of wine, meet and chat to the musicians and mingle in like-minded civilised company following a performance.
M.M., London W8
A. Of course you are right. Some administrators are already cottoning on to this punter-magnetising idea. ‘Friends’ (from £35 a year) of the Wigmore Hall are invited to the occasional reception with musicians and, following the Mayfair Concerts at the Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street, ticket-holders are invited to a ‘free drink reception to meet the artists and make new friends’. Meanwhile John Landor, music director of London Musical Arts, will kick off in January a series called ‘Bite-Size Baroque’ at St Martin-in-the-Fields. This will be an hour-long concert at 6.30 p.m. followed by a meal in the crypt, all for £17, or £10 for the concert only. As part of the deal, the musicians will also attend (www.smitf.org).
Q. Please advise us, Mary. My husband and I have moved to a very beautiful part of the country and have been inviting people down from London to stay for the weekend. Our problem is that many of our friends have young children who adore feeding the ducks on our duck pond. Just when we are winding down after Sunday lunch we invariably have a chorus of childish pleas for a final trip to the duck pond. It is a five-minute walk to the pond, but once you have factored in assembling coats, hats and wellies and the crawling speed that toddlers proceed at, the clock has inevitably got round to 4.30 p.m. by the time the group is back at the house. Cue teatime. ‘Could I just quickly give them boiled eggs and soldiers, it will be too late by the time we get back to London?’ Is there a tactful way of saying, ‘Do you mind leaving immediately after lunch because, much as we love you, we will have had enough of you by then’? Should we take a tip from the Duchess of Windsor who, apparently, had a cushion prominently displayed in her salon with a clock face set at three and the legend ‘Time to Leave’ embroidered on it?
Name and address withheld
A. No to the latter. Such a cushion would make guests feel uncomfortable. What you must do is to make a pleasant announcement that lunch will be served at one sharp so as to accommodate the toddler appetites and also because you have to rush off at three o’clock yourself to deal with some local matter. Sadly you will have to chase everyone out by then so you can set the burglar alarm.
If you have a problem, write to Dear Mary, c/o The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL.
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