Intrusive actions of gallery staff

An attendant in the Victoria Art Gallery foyer gratingly greeted me on a recent occasion when I was merely popping in to briefly use the wifi in the upstairs coffee/seating area and was intending to view the ground-floor exhibition only if enough time remained before my next appointment.

Though I had not ruled out viewing the Myths and Monsters show in the main galleries, sadly I ran out of time and, due to an apparent Covid-precipitated annual-pass complication, would have had the disincentive of paying full admission.

Hence it was annoying and superfluous to be hailed and questioned by the employee before I had indicated any attempt to enter the non-free zone. It created needless complication and delay.

Having insufficient time left by the time I had conducted my business upstairs, I would then not have needed to interact with staff or entered the ground-floor rooms anyway.

Another galling gallery-attendant debacle had arisen that very same day when I visited the Fashion Museum.

An employee by the threshold of the main entrance asked me and other arrivals whether we had booked, and directed us to the reception/ticket counter.

This seemed entirely needless as it was unmissably close and prominent - about two paces away, and right in front of us - and seasoned venue-goers would obviously expect to check in for a ticketed visit anyway.

Another staffer indicated the availability of audio guides, which again was perfectly apparent and needed no (in)human intervention. A woman, perhaps the same person as the superfluous counterlocation informant, also valedicted when I left.

Perhaps these persons are stafftrained to do such things, and/or are bored/under-occupied, but their interventions are, even if wellmeaning, unnecessary and intrusive.

Francis Harvey By email