Jack, Get Off That Beanstalk!

yet again the Health and Safety brigade have stepped in, at Brierley Hill Musical Theatre Company in the West Midlands players are living in fear of being shut down before the curtain goes up, yes you have guessed it, health and safety rules even affect your panto, once upon a time, preparing for the panto was a lot of fun for the amateur dramatic group, everyone would muck in and even if the scenery was sometimes a little rough around the edges, all would soon be forgotten amid the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd on opening night, but now health and safety regulations have turned just getting the show on to the stage into such a performance in itself that members of the Brierley Hill Musical Theatre Company in the West Midlands are living in fear of being shut down before the curtain goes up, a mind-boggling list of 20 conditions not only orders them to ensure all scenery is free from sharp edges, but also warns them to keep records of the interval ice cream to ensure it is stored at -18C, on arrival at the venue, they should also check each day that milk for the cast's tea is being kept at less than 8C, one year, even 'Jack' was restricted on how far he could scale his beanstalk, the beanstalk was 30ft tall but Jack would only have been allowed to climb 4ft from the ground provided he wore a harness, so the idea was abandoned and he just gazed up at it instead, how pathetic the UK is becoming.