General Chat

Possibly a thread for the older ones. Memories of visits to the 'pictures', wooden seats and all that.

Remember the songs with the bouncing ball. OCC (Odeon childrens club and their song).
Has cinema lost its magic or is it just that I,ve grown old?

Happy days

My wife was a leading light in the cinema - an usherette.

Oh I remember it well, remember being taken by my g/dad to watch the cowboys ....great times. Love your bit about your wife .....A Leading Light , how lovely lol!

Norah

The lady with the torch and the icecream lady.

You used to get two film's too, didn't you?

It wasn't till I was in my late teens, that I learned if you went in at the start you saw the 'start' lol.

My mum used to take my brother and I. We would just jump on the bus and go. Walked in halfway through, then when it got back to where we started we left.
No wonder I am easily confused lol

Marion

No one mentioned the Movietone news ,and adverts in the middle,nor the possibility of going through the whole programme twice ,if the films were good.Fred.
Happy days indeed.

Hi there Harry
Ah yes happy days indeedy!

There was a picture hall in our town with wooden seats and floors,great for stamping on when the goodies were catching up to the baddies lol

Then there were the matinees! One in the morning,huge queues and very orderly they were too. The ABC Minors and 'our' club,we wore huge badges and I was a moniter keeping order ;O)
I always say now don't think children would take orders from another child just a few years older.

Remember The Hooded Claw? The Three Stooges?

Mau

Another shining light here!! :O)

You certainly got your money's worth then. Can remember my Mum saying she used to use a jam jar to get in! Empty of course lol!

Norah

I can remember the jam jar ,
I used to use one to get in free every Sat morning .

Re the penny or a jam jar to get in (I,m not that old). My dad used to tell me about urchins going in with a jam jar. A fella rolled up in a big car and slapped half a crown on the counter.

"here you are sir, 29 jam jars change"..Boom boom.

Mau. ABC minors were the opposition to the OCC in my town.

As I got older the one and nines carry some nostalgia. but I,ll leave you to guess why.

Thanks to you all for your interest.

Happy days

My mum told me about the Jam jars.

I remember it being 6d and 1/- or 1/6d
1/6d was upstairs i think.

Marion

Marion,

You have no right being on this thread - you are only a chicken.

Children were 2d and 3d in my younger day. We used to stand outside for an A film - will you take me in Mr? Or better still - "will you take me in mrs?" (the ladies usually had a bag of sweets.)

Try that these days.

Happy days

cluck,cluck cluck lol

Irember going to the Crown picture cinema on liverpool road Eccles, and if the filme went of we used to all stamp our feet as hard as we could,
and when the pics finished we would run to Lee"s
shop for a lolly and if it had the name of the shop on the stik you got a free lolly,
happy days. thanks for the memory.
Pauline

I remember those lollies Pauline,we (ashamedly) used to search in the gutters to find sticks that had been thrown away,I think there were also Jolly Lolly packets too,if you gave them back you got free lolly.
We used to 'trade them' to friends for other sweets (well they were rationed lol)

Harry?
What was the OCC please (Odeon Cinema Club?)
We also went to GB pictures ....Gaumont British...
oh weren't we spoilt! ;O)

One Friday night Mam & Dad 'took' our older cousins in to see a 'big' picture, we were'nt there and were very jealous!

I've heard about the jam jars but thought it was a myth, never happened where we lived.

Mau

we used to have loads of cinemas in Cardiff city centre and a cinema in every suburb. Two films a week - one Mon.Tues,. Wed and one Thurs.Fri, Sat.
Always one big film and one small. In between, either an organist would rise up out of the floor playing the organ or there would be a trailer for films to come, Pearl and Deane advertisements and sometimes Pathe News with the cockerel.

Eccles - just down the road from me.

We used to follow the bouncing ball at the ODEON CHILDRENS CLUB. "To the odeon we have come; now we're all togethere we can have some fun, Oi"

Happy days

In Dublin, first you would sell the jamjars to get the tuppence, then you would give the tuppence to the lady in the kiosk, and she would give you a token with a hole in the centre. Then a Large Usher would stand at the door and collect the tokens and put them on a string. Then another Large Usher would show you to your seat...all for tuppence!! My love of cinema started when I ran away from home at 3 years old, and was found by a kind sailor (we lived near the docks) with tuppence clutched in my grubby paws. When asked where I was going, I replied...to the pickchers.....lol BC XX

Awww BC love that tale .......you poor little mite :O)
Seriously, never had to sell any jam jars to get into the pictures, but remember it was sixpence,ninepence and for rich folk a shilling!! to get in.

There certainly was an awful lot of cinemas in towns those days.
One of my favourite tales was when my boyfriend and I were taking our seats in the back row,.....like you did ;O) I saw one of my friends waving,now she had sat through the first film and was 'staying in' to watch it again.
She whispers loudly down the row "oh you'll cry at the end Gina (Lollobrigida) dies!! .......don't know how she didn't get thrown out ....lol

Good to "see" you, Harry. You were mentioned on my we do care about people thread.

Aaaaah Saturday morning pictures....

one film usually cowboys/indians then we had a break and children were invited up for a 'talent' contest usually singing or juggling. A few jokes from the MC and time for a few more refreshments from the ice cream lady.

Then settle down to watch the 'feature' film. When it was all finished the MC would announce next week's bill and state that he hoped we would all be back.

Used to go out the emergency exit and lurk around the back of the cinema and play games for as long as we could.

Those were the days....lol

Sue x

Bc, I was an usherette, in the pictures on the Grande parade, Cork!!!