Yawwwwwn!!...Your arm subtly falls around your date’s shoulders, butterflies ripple…
As my dad once described, that was the traditional romance of going to the flicks. Not to mention of course the ice-cream trays, the musty dusty coziness, dimmed orange lights, sugar-papered tickets and that flickering whir…
Does this sound like your local multiplex? No, I didn’t think so.
I’ve always been jealous of those magical cinema memories of my elders and could never imagine telling my future grandkids the same kind of stories…
“Oh yes, I remember the days of money-boasting surround sound, rigid premier seats, seamless air conditioning and the constant flow of regurgitated blockbusters…those were the days…”
Doesn’t quite work does it?
Luckily for me I experienced the magical charm of going to the flicks during a trip to New Zealand last year. Hidden away in the small town of Wanaka lay a little building called ‘Cinema Paradiso’. A single screen cinema soaked in every bit of traditionalism that those old folks talk about. Musty dusty coziness, mismatched seats (donated sofas in-fact), cookie intervals, dimmed orange lights and yes, that flickering whir…I absolutely loved it, submerging myself in the sleepy comfort as I drank hot chocolate, munched a homemade cookie and watched Get Low.
That tiny experience has stayed with me and I often dreamingly talked about opening my own ‘Back to the Past’ cinema based on such charm.
And amazingly something seems to be brewing in my hometown…
Part of an independent mini-chain, The Clifton Cinema in Wellington, explosively opened in January 1937 with a Shirley Temple film.
However, in 1983 30,000 people desperately tried to keep it open…
They unfortunately failed...
The poster-peeling building aged and quietly blended into the background as the rest of Wellington grew and developed. It wasn’t until my dad pointed out that the home-ware store we were now shopping in used to be a cinema…I didn’t even know and I doubted that many people my age knew either.
I felt a wave of sadness and it added to my opinion of Telford as a whole, a town growing but a town lacking culture and identity.
That was until a ripple of excited whispers echoed through the streets…
“They’re re-opening the Clifton!”
It’s like Willy Wonkers Chocolate Factory has opened its gates once again…Could it be possible? Well yes, it looks like it could!
A new bid has been put forward to breathe life into the ghostly past of this pretty awesome building and plans to resurrect it as a second cinema and a multi-purpose entertainments venue are coming together nicely.
What makes me proud is that this is going to be a community project. A regular focus group has already been set up where locals can bounce their ideas, pull together, fundraise and finally pump a bit of culture into our town.
Talks of independent films, theatre performances, live music and even a film festival are just what Telford needs to put us back on the map. I don’t know about you but I’ve often found myself a bit lost for stuff to do when I have visitors from out of town…
”Shall we err…go to the…park?” Not cool. Especially now I’m 24.
So as an ‘arty farty’ kinda girl these talks ignite my inner-geek! And although I haven’t quite had the pleasure of attending the focus group meetings just yet I certainly plan to.
If anything I passionately believe that the romance of cinema going has been badly tinseled with money and technology...it’s far too…007 cool.
I say bring back ice-cream trays, musty dusty coziness, dimmed orange lights, sugar-papered tickets, intervals, flickering whirs and backseat smooches…do you feel those butterflies rippling? I know I do…
Whether you’re a film-nerd, a music freak, a drama queen, Van Gogh or simply just a Telfordite looking for change… let’s make it happen!!
AND SAVE THE CLIFTON!!
http://www.facebook.com/SaveTheClifton?fref=ts
