Growing up in North London and studying 'A' level music, it was normal for me to travel on the Northern Line to attend concerts here regularly. Whether sitting in the cheapest seats then or during the ensuing decades affording the most expensive, the Royal Festival Hall has been a significant part of my cultural life. I remember being irritated by my dad tapping his fingers in time with the music - which was distinctly 'uncool' to a 17 year old!