November 9, 2026
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Covent Garden wants my money again

Covent Garden wants my money again

In 1999, I named a seat at the Royal Opera House after my eldest sister. She had been a devoted operagoer in the 1950s and my kid brother’s nod to her past happiness was much appreciated. The gesture cost me £500, money well spent at a time when the company’s future looked more than usually fragile.

I checked recently to see the plaque was still there. It is.

But today I got a letter, asking me to pay anothe £500 to keep it there for another 25 years.

‘Whilst we did not specify this criteria for how long your plaque would be in place when you originally made the gift,’ says the hopelessly ungrammatical Senior Fundraisuing Manager, ‘we hope you are open to a discussion about your future support.’

Not sure. Not at all sure.

It doesn’t feel like good practice to change the rules in mid-stream.

 

The post Covent Garden wants my money again appeared first on Slippedisc.

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