PR exercise

What a lovely public relations exercise the Baw Baw Shire has undertaken in The Gazette and Trader last week.

Unfortunately the positives pointed out in the half page advertisement don't really do much to address the concerns that have been expressed in The Gazette over recent weeks about the West Gippsland Arts Centre.

A handrail up both sides is helpful but what good is it when you then have to shuffle, climb or scramble over a minimum of 16 people while clutching your handbag to your chest so you don't whack people in the face with it.

Once you are in, you are in there for the duration, unless you want to repeat the process, and many people find such confinement stressful.

The increased wheelchair access is wonderful, but did the centre aisle have to go to make this improvement? Safety considerations are always essential and the usher I spoke to assured me that they have done evacuation drills to ensure that patrons can exit quickly and safely with the new arrangement.

Obviously this is a good move and one that the public could hardly argue with, but I do wonder if these safety measures could have been implemented somehow without removing the centre aisle.

If you are elderly, infirm, overweight, anxious, have children who may need to leave during a performance, or just not very steady on your feet, attending a performance at the WGAC has quite probably ceased to be a pleasurable experience.

I considered going to the Carole King performance recently but after weighing up the cost of the tickets and the experience of scrambling into the middle of a crowd and feeling trapped there, I decided it wasn't worth it. I don't think I am alone in this. Annette Martin Drouin