Throwing sweets at pantos

[OldClothes]

At a local amateur production I attended last week, some of the actors were throwing sweets to children in the audience.

One person I was with thought it was dangerous, not due to Covid but because some of the sweets were hard and someone might be hit on the head.

Any thoughts on this? Is sweet throwing dangerous?

I did get hit on the head with a sausage once, but it was an aimed throw by a mate when I visited their panto on a day off!

I attended a concert where fish and cakes were being thrown. The cake was pretty good actually.

@Holothane

I don’t like it call me a killjoy but I’ve had two detached retinas I do not want another, if this happens (it was at church years ago) I duck and stay ducked.

Sorry to sound dense, did a sweet detach your retina?

@Peakedtoosoon

Hmm. They've banned plastic bottle tops at football matches because of the damage done when they're thrown. Is a sweet so different?

They’ve banned them so people couldn’t throw full bottles.

I always wanted to catch a sweet but never did.

@Holothane After reading again I assume not?

@Peakedtoosoon

I thought that was to stop the full bottles being thrown?

Maybe it is. I thought it was after a goalkeeper had a nasty eye injury from a lid

I thought it was because the bottles are more likely to contain piss?

So long as they're not skimming them across the audience's heads it will be fine. I think some people need to lighten up

@oldclothes can I just say thank you for this thread. Between this and the Quiddich thread I love a silly Sunday 😂

@Peakedtoosoon

Hmm. They've banned plastic bottle tops at football matches because of the damage done when they're thrown. Is a sweet so different?

They ban bottle tops so that people don’t put the lids on bottles and then people slide over falling on them

@TheWeeDonkey 👍

@NothingIsWrong

Was always wagon wheels for us! No major injuries that I am aware of...

York?

@CentrifugalBumblePuppy

I worked panto for years and have bought untold numbers of tins of sweets for the Dame to throw during the singalong before the finale.

Not once in 20 years did anyone complain because they’d taken a Cadbury’s fudge to the forehead!

If I was still in the game, I’d probably not do it this year (pandemic & all) but unless you have the bowling prowess of Steve Smith, everyone will probably be ok.

I did get hit on the head with a sausage once, but it was an aimed throw by a mate when I visited their panto on a day off!

Showing my age here... but years back I attended a London panto where Ian Botham (England cricketer, for anyone too young to remember!) was in the cast. The sweets were thrown to him and he hit them up to the balcony.

No casualties that I'm aware of.

I'm not a panto fan but that was entertaiing.

Don't leave your house unless you're wearing one of these.

I did get hit on the head with a sausage once...

Is that not a line from a Syd Barrett song?

@tobypercy Sounds good, did anyone catch them?

@BingoLingFucker yep! The incomparable Berwick Kaler...

Apparently he used to throw bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale for the big babbies at one point, but I think wasn't the best idea...

It was common when I went to pantos as a kid, I hated it though.

[quote OldClothes]@tobypercy Sounds good, did anyone catch them?[/quote]
I'm not honestly sure - for once I was in the expensive seats at the front, I actually felt a bit betrayed as usually I would be at the back and the one time I wasn't that's when the sweets went all that way

I have a very distinct memory of having a crunchie bounced off my skull at the age of 7. Still ate it though.

The only thing that's ever hit me at a panto was water from a super soaker. Bloody David Potts hit me right in the face and then right in my cleavage so I could feel it dripping down for the rest of the show. My own fault for picking front row seats.

They are being thrown by Panto Dame Luvvies, not the winning fast bowlers of The Ashes!

They stopped sweet throwing at our local panto years ago and they said it was due to health and safety! The children who were selected from audience had to go to stage and had a sealed selection pack.

[quote NothingIsWrong]@BingoLingFucker yep! The incomparable Berwick Kaler...

Apparently he used to throw bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale for the big babbies at one point, but I think wasn't the best idea...[/quote]
Yep, he did. Last night of the panto, when the cast all got their own back! He could chuck a wagon wheel up into the gods with surprising accuracy too! Obviously, he always got the audience to promise that they didn’t see him do it/wouldn’t sue him. Miss him in the York panto, the end of a tradition in our family.

@NothingIsWrong and @BingoLingFucker - my Dad took me when I was 3 to Berwick’s first panto there, he was an ugly sister in Cinderella.

We’ve been every year since and Dad took great pleasure taking each of his Grandchildren when they turned 3!!!

We have quite a collection of WWs - no one is allowed to eat them

@twomumsonebump

I have a very distinct memory of having a crunchie bounced off my skull at the age of 7. Still ate it though.