Sometimes I start with a blank computer screen and ideas just come along. On other occasions as I go about my day, subjects and memories just pop up and I try to remember them for coming blogs. At other times it is tough and I just don't have any inspiration at all. I would estimate this last category happens about 10% of the time.
At the moment I seem to be in more of a creative mood (mode) with enough subjects coming up to create a full week of blogs. Often the comments I get send me on another stream and themselves give me something to write about.
So today the subject of cinema came into my mind. It was prompted by an interview on television on Sunday with the British film director Sam Mendes and his new film "Empire of Light" which apparently is set on the South Coast in the 1980s and stars the brilliant Olivia Colman.
Of course Olivia comes from Norwich, so I'm slightly biased but the sheer scope of the roles she has played over the years is staggering. She always seems to live the character she plays and in this new film, from the small bits I've seen, she portrays many different aspects of the same person.
I won't say any more about this picture until I've seen it but it looks like a good bet for awards. I will probably catch it at the weekend as this week is already building into another busy one.
But back to cinema in general. I remember going with my older cousin to Saturday morning cinema at the ABC in Prince of Wales Road in Norwich. Slight aside here. Prince of Wales Road is a wonderfully wide boulevard that leads from Norwich Railway Station into the city centre. It is a very historic road and used to have trams trundling down. During the day it's nice to wander down and try to summon up the ghosts of the past.
Sadly Prince of Wales Road is part of what is strangely entitled the Night Time Economy. In other words one of the areas where the nightclubs are and as such becomes pretty much a no go area for most of us. How I wish this road could return to the gentility of the past, but that's just not going to happen.
A few years ago I worked with an Australian guy who was living and playing cricket in Norfolk for a couple of years. We gave him a part time job in the pr section of Norfolk Constabulary. He went to view a flat in Prince of Wales Road and said it was really nice and remarkably cheap. We told him not to make a decision until he had been down the road on a weekend evening. This he did. He decided not to go ahead with the rent.
But back to cinema. On those Saturday morning at at the ABC we would finish by going to the Wimpey restaurant which was attached to the side of the cinema. Who remembers Wimpeys? For some reason I remember the curly sausages and I can still smell the place today. Smells bring memories if you know what I mean.
I really fell in love with going to the pictures when I went to college. Previous to that I had been to a few films in Norwich and our school had film nights which I went to but have no recollection of what films I watched.
I think at Harlow College it was shock horror time for cinema. I remember "Clockwork Orange," "The Devils," "The Exorcist" and "Love Story" which was probably more horrific than the others put together but had quite an effect on me as a love-lorn late teenager. Visits to the pictures were usually followed by visits to the Chinese restaurant where at that time I usually ate English (what an idiot).
I well remember queuing round the block in Long Eaton when we lived there to see something starring John Revolting. Not sure whether it was Grease or Saturday Night Fever.
I remember vividly cinema trips to Wymondham Regal and that really is a blog all of its own and I will turn it into one in the future.
Today we are members of Cinema City in Norwich which is owned by Picture House and aimed at the slightly older audience who enjoy being able to take a large glass of red wine in with them. Membership is excellent value. Can't quite remember how much we paid as it was a Christmas present but we get 10 tickets, along with 10% off food and drink, free coffee at times and quite a few other offers and it's housed in one of Norwich's most historical houses (again more about that later).
Support of cinema seems to go in circles. I remember crammed cinemas in the 70s and 80s and then a serious drop off that saw many cinemas (including Norwich ABC and Gaumont and a few more) close. Then a few years ago there was a serious revival despite the introduction of streaming. Now according to Mendes cinema is in decline as far as numbers actually physically going out to shows is concerned. I wonder if this is something to do with the flood of films now available. Everything seems to have been watered down with so many choices and films only on at the cinema for a week or so and often released on Netflix either at the same time or just a few days later.
For us personally we will continue to enjoy a mix of going to the big screen and watching on the television.