Re: The Rough Guide to FrightFest
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 1:51 pm
A friend of mine organises LARP games. After some venues said "look, we're not going to be able to accept any more bookings from you because the smell drives the other customers away," they had to start issuing personal hygiene rules for players.
The rules included:
* If you're staying away from home for the weekend make sure you pack: Clean clothes for every day (including underwear), a towel, shampoo, shower gel, anti-perspirant, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.
* Before coming to a game make sure you shower (not bath because you'll just be stewing in your own juices) incl washing your hair.
* Wear anti-perspirant (deodorant doesn't stop you sweating so is not good enough).
* Wear clean clothes.
Last year was my first FF and I was quite surprised by how ripe such a large, air-conditioned auditorium smelled after a couple of days (and I have chronic sinus problems and my sense of smell is somewhat impaired so it must've been really bad for me to notice it!). The foyer (being smaller and less well airconned than the auditorium) was especially whiffy and it's the area members of the public seeing films in the couple of other, non-FF screens, will be using. I started to picture FF getting told the same thing as my friend's LARP group: You're putting off the other customers with the smell. Which made me think of the LARP hygiene guidance and left me wistfully wishing FF had something similar.
So, um, please be kind to your fellow film goers and shower before you leave the house/hotel/hostel of a morning!
In hygiene-related things: You'll wanna make sure you've got some tissues in your bag for when the cinema toilets are out of loo roll. I also made sure I had baby wipes with me for when I invariably spilled nacho cheese dip down my front, though it might just be me that's that clumsy.
The rules included:
* If you're staying away from home for the weekend make sure you pack: Clean clothes for every day (including underwear), a towel, shampoo, shower gel, anti-perspirant, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.
* Before coming to a game make sure you shower (not bath because you'll just be stewing in your own juices) incl washing your hair.
* Wear anti-perspirant (deodorant doesn't stop you sweating so is not good enough).
* Wear clean clothes.
Last year was my first FF and I was quite surprised by how ripe such a large, air-conditioned auditorium smelled after a couple of days (and I have chronic sinus problems and my sense of smell is somewhat impaired so it must've been really bad for me to notice it!). The foyer (being smaller and less well airconned than the auditorium) was especially whiffy and it's the area members of the public seeing films in the couple of other, non-FF screens, will be using. I started to picture FF getting told the same thing as my friend's LARP group: You're putting off the other customers with the smell. Which made me think of the LARP hygiene guidance and left me wistfully wishing FF had something similar.
So, um, please be kind to your fellow film goers and shower before you leave the house/hotel/hostel of a morning!
In hygiene-related things: You'll wanna make sure you've got some tissues in your bag for when the cinema toilets are out of loo roll. I also made sure I had baby wipes with me for when I invariably spilled nacho cheese dip down my front, though it might just be me that's that clumsy.