Hi Cheetah,
Thank you for the feedback, and of course apologies that it is something that has given you a little bit of a negative impression of the overall fantastic weekend experience.
As Ralli has already mentioned on one occasion, the main reason for there being no chairs in the opening or closing ceremony were to accommodate quick 'get in' and 'get out' turn abounds. This year we were up against some logistical challenges in regards to vacating the room in time. In the instance of getting out of the Monarch in time after the closing ceremony, and as was briefly mentioned by Matt during the event, we would face very heavy fines if we were late given that there was an inbound event the next day. As this was our first year at the Hilton, and using a contractor to assist with build and deconstruction, we brought the closing ceremony forward as a trial. Now that we know it went very well, and was very quick, next year we can reconsider the time of the event, as well as the set up.
With regards to the opening ceremony, the decision to not have seating was based on a very quick turnaround from Theatre to Cabaret for the pub quiz. However again, now that we know how quickly we can turn a room around with all hands on deck, its once again something we can re-consider for the following year.
As for the pawpet show, unfortunately I didn’t personally see this event, so am unsure how subscribed it was, but if you ended up sitting on the floor, it does sound like we need to look at addressing this issue for the following year. Many thanks for feeding it back.
Thank you again, and sorry once more for the fact you ended up on the floor. With bad knees and a back, I know exactly what you mean about being an old, fragile furry
