Cost of Going Out

I’m an unusual reviewer. You might already have guessed this from my writing style or the fact that commenting on the creative work of others, when you work creatively yourself is a fairly rum way to spend your time.

But the reason I consider myself strange is that I hardly ever accept a “freebie”, which is an industry term for a free ticket or pass. My family has always been considered pretty mad for doing this but there is a reason. It is not that I like paying for everything, far from it. No, the rationale goes like this, if I pay my own way I can write what I like without owing anything to anyone. I don’t even owe the timing of my reviews to coincide with the whims of the big entertainment companies and their marketing schedules.

So, like you I notice when prices for entertainment inexorably rise. I do have a clear picture of what the profit margins are on a soft drink and a regular packet of popcorn, and they are huge. How can items like this be charged at more than £5 (nearly $10)?

A London soccer team, QPR, not even in one of the top professional leagues, just charged £40 (approximately $70) for each ticket to its last game. How can the average family man sustain a day’s football for himself and a couple of others at about £200 if you take into account the tickets, transportation and refreshments?

Now a cheap day out with the family constitutes a serious expenditure running into the low hundreds of pounds. This insanity has to be brought into line with the new reality. The suppliers of entertainment will have to realize that with the generally increased costs for staples, like fuel, food and the necessary ingredients of life; they are going to have to come down in cost or they will not be able to survive the coming financial stormy weather.

In the meantime I shall review my stance on foregoing the odd complimentary ticket.