Should gig-goers be allowed to stand up out of their seats? Readers discuss

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Is it bad etiquette for concert-goers to stand up out of their seats?

Metro ended last year with an interesting column from Brooke Ivey Johnson in defence of standing up
out of your seats at live music gigs (Metro, Dec 18).

This was prompted by criticism aimed at Rihana, who had done that very thing while incognito at a Mariah Carey concert. ‘If your view was blocked, it usually meant someone directly in front of you was having the time of their life – and their joy heightened yours,’ wrote Brooke.

Does she mean that, as someone who is only 5ft 2in, I should be content to never be able to see anything at a gig, so long as the taller people in front are having a great time enjoying their view.

I don’t expect a perfect view but having the little I can see being blocked by someone certainly does not bring me joy! I switched to seats at gigs rather than standing to help me get more chance to see. Jo, London

This reader doesn’t think so…

I totally agree with Brooke. We went to 
see Simply Red in October and it was 
the best concert I have ever been to – because of the atmosphere.

Everyone around us was out of their seats, singing and dancing to all the upbeat songs. We made so many new friends. That’s how it should be.

Good luck to anyone who expects other people to stay sitting down. Maybe go to the theatre instead. Gareth, North-West London

This reader is envious of those featured in Rush Hour Crush

The words, ‘It’s no fun getting old,’ certainly ring true to me these days as I read through the submissions in your Rush Hour Crush section.

Following some noticeable weight gain around the middle over the years coupled with some even more noticeable loss of hair on my head,
I rarely get past the first line of any 
of the letters these days.

Descriptions such as, ‘Older guy with blond wavy hair,’ or ‘Fit looking guy in his 50s,’ not to mention the dreaded, ‘Good looking silver fox,’ have me quickly moving on to the other letters. Oh well, cheer up, son, there’s always hope. Michael, Chingford

Should there be a William Blake museum in London?

It was a pleasing end to last year to see that Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson is a big William Blake fan and patron of the recently renovated cottage in Sussex where Blake lived from 1800-1803 (Metro, Dec 17).

But Blake, known by his many admirers as ‘the patron saint of London’, lived the rest of his life in our capital – and astonishingly there is no museum for him here.

Born in Soho, one of our greatest artists and poets and the man who wrote Jerusalem – the alternative national anthem – is being ignored in his birthplace.

There is just one of Blake’s homes in London still standing – 17 South Molton Street, Mayfair, where he lived with his wife, Catherine, for 17 years.

But the house is being refurbished and will soon be marketed by developers Grosvenor as a luxury private apartment! This precious jewel should be made into an artist’s house museum, a cultural centre of international importance.

Please, Bruce Dickinson, step in to save Blake’s last London house for the nation. Who will champion the capital’s patron saint? Helen Elwes & Stephen Micalef,
The William Blake Congregation

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