School's Out

The first day of the school holidays and there were lots of children around the town centre this morning. There were not quite so many later as the weather had turned it into a drizzly afternoon so what do you do with the children to keep them amused. Some people found the answer by queuing to see the latest movie at the Scala.

Some parents may already be thinking "Roll on September" but I thought it was a bit off last week when one major retail outlet was advertising "Back To School" goods before the schools had actually closed for the summer!

Bond Girl

Yesterday's picture of the golden girl reminded me of the opening sequence to the James Bond film "Goldfinger" which featured a gold painted naked girl and although I hadn't planned it, I suddenly realised whilst on South Street this afternoon that there is a shop trading as "Goldfinger Jewellers Ltd". The shutters were down as it is half day closing.

At the time of the release of "Goldfinger" we were given to believe that a small area of the girl had to be left paint free to allow the skin to breathe but I now understand that this is just an urban myth.

April Showers

To many people "April Showers" is synonymous with the song published in 1921 and made famous by Al Jolson but there have been several films with the same title made at various times since then in 1923, 29, 48, 93 and 2009. Another film with a similar title "April's Shower" was made in 2006 but today I'm using it in relation to the weather.

The BBC Weather pages say that the phrase "has become synonymous with the weather during the month but it is some way off the truth". It was not far wide of the mark today and as today is the last of April, I won't be able to use it again as a title until next year!

And Here's Number Four

After yesterday's little diversion I'm returning to the theme of Ilkeston's cinemas and architecture for today's posting. This is the last of the four that I remember from my youth as operating as a cinema. It was built in 1903 and over the years was variously known as the Theatre Royal, The Coliseum and Vint's Picturedome but I remember it as the New Theatre. Although primarily a cinema, I have a vague recollection of pantomimes being staged there and it more recent years it became a Bingo Hall until 1982.


Like the other cinemas in the town it was architecturally impressive but after 87 years of standing on Lord Haddon Road it was demolished in 1990 having been used between 82 and 90 as both a religious building and a carpet warehouse. Although it is always sad to lose a building of character, a redeeming feature of the Haddon House nursing home that now stands on the site is the fact that it was designed to complement the features of the exisitng buildings in the area.

There are a number of images of the New Theatre in its various guises on the Picture The Past site (http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/).

Three Of Four

The third of Ilkeston's four palaces of entertainment of my youth (there were more before that!) was the King's Picture House on Bath Street. With a reputation of being the most luxurious of Ilkeston's cinemas, the King's had been built in 1915, a year after the visit to the town by King George V and Queen Mary to open the Ilkeston County Secondary School.


Similar to the Ritz and the Scala, it was architecturally impressive outside and had a faïence-clad façade designed by local architect H. Tatham Sudbury but suffered under the demolisher's hammer in 1964 to be replaced later by the rather nondescript frontages of these shops as part of the Albion Centre Development. Whilst change must always go on, it is a disappointing fact of life that gems like the King's are lost in the name of progress. The replacement buildings are probably best seen as in this picture in the semi darkness. I'm not sure they would win any prizes for design or appearance.

Classic Architecture

Following on from yesterday's picture of the Ritz, here's another piece of classic architecture that pre-dates the Ritz by twenty or thirty years. This is the frontage of the Scala - Ilkeston's only remaining cinema that is still being used for the purpose for which it was built.


It dates from 1913 when it was constructed as a purpose built cinema. There is a family connection for my wife's grandfather and a great-uncle (later to become manager of the cinema) played in the orchestra to accompany silent movies. More recently it has been featured in the TV series "Boon" and the title sequence to "Shine On Harvey Moon".

O & So

One of Ilkeston's classic architectural buildings that just screams the 1930s at you is the former Ritz Cinema on South Street. There used to be four cinemas in the town in my youth but only one, The Scala, now remains. A nursing home now stands on the site of the New Theatre on Lord Haddon Road whilst the King's Cinema on Bath Street has been replaced by the Albion Shopping Centre.

The Ritz however is still open as a place of entertainment and for a considerable number of years now has operated as a Bingo Hall although I have never crossed its threshold since it changed. It was here though that I saw my first X-rated movie, a black and white horror epic called "Cyclops". Back then you were supposed to be 16 years of age before you could be admitted to see an X film but with a number of school friends we managed to gain access around about my fifteenth birthday. I think the most exciting thing about the outing was the fear that we would be found out as the film itself raised more laughs than frights and these days it would probably be shown as children's entertainment. How times have changed!

If you're wondering about the title of this piece it just refers to the missing letters on the vertical sign making it read the "BING. . ...CIAL CLUB" and if you look closely you'll see the "T" & "Z" of "RITZ" are missing their lights too.

It Wouldn't Be Christmas Without ....

There have been heavy snowfalls mainly down the eastern side of the country this week and I heard one weather forecaster say that it wouldn't be Christmas without snow. I don't think that is strictly true as a white Christmas in the UK is not that common but it set me thinking about the things that make for a modern Christmas.


For many people it isn't Christmas without hearing carols or popular songs including old favourites like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", Harry Belafonte's "Mary's Boy Child", Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song" or Judy Garland's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". Then of course there are more recent offerings from the likes of Cliff Richard, Wham, Wizzard, the X Factor winners and not forgetting the perennial "Merry Christmas Everybody" by Slade.

For others it's a Christmas film that makes the season - "Holiday Inn", "White Christmas", "Miracle On 34th Street", "Elf", "Santa Claus - The Movie", "The Grinch" - need I go on? There's TV regulars too like the Queen's Speech, Christmas specials of popular shows, endless repeats of programmes we've seen several times before but who would miss a Morecambe and Wise Show? "The Great Escape" or "The Eagle Has Landed" will probably be on at least one channel even if it is a satellite station and many would say that it just wouldn't be Christmas without "The Sound Of Music" - again!

For yet another group of people, it's the shopping, the baking, the turkey and the stuffing, the drinking, the merry-making and the family gatherings and while all the above contribute to making a good Christmas, isn't it time this week in particular to focus on the REAL reason for the festival - the birth of Jesus? However you celebrate, don't leave "Christ" out of "Christ"mas. After all it really wouldn't be Christmas without Him.

It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! - From 'A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens