Hackney Bound..

On Saturday we ventured North to Hackney, to see English Touring Opera at the Hackney Empire (review will be posted in due course). Once we arrived in Hackney we attempted to park near the theatre, only to discover that all of the parking bays were controlled until 11pm, so that we had to pay (£2 per hour) - we managed to scrape together enough change, luckily the Carissimi/Purcell double bill is not long. Only when entering the theatre did I read the back of the tickets and learn that you can request a parking voucher from the box office and then park free in Tesco's car park.

I know that the theatre has be restored fabulously and that they are trying to attract personnel to performances, but the hassle of negotiating the parking in Hackney means that we will think twice before going again. Perhaps the box office could be persuaded to issue parking vouchers automatically with tickets. As it is, not being able to just turn up and park means that people will think twice.