A night on the town
Another exhibition, another language problem. It was a wet cold night in Richmond and I had just finished a days exhibition. I decided to go to the pictures for a couple of hours and then get something to eat afterwards. I don't know my way round Richmond so I asked a couple walking toward me if there was a picture house nearby.
" Pardon ?" said the young man politely, so I spoke louder " The pictures, is there one near here.
"Oh yes" he replied, " Go up this street and turn left at the lights, you'll find two up there, Pizza Express and Pizza Hut".
"No" I said " I don't want to eat, I want to see a Film".
"What's a fillum?" he asked.
" You know, pictures, on a screen" I responded, now thinking I was going to miss the start anyway. Just then his girlfriend clicked, "Oh darling he means the cinema" she exclaimed.
"Yes that's it, that's what I want, where is it?" "Oh you can't miss it" She said. "Its next door to the Pizza Hut".
I was once in the pictures at Stoke. The craft fair finished at 5pm that day and so I thought I would go to see a film and then go to the pub for a pint or two.
The only film on was Mel Smith and Griff Rees Jones in " Wilt". Good title because that's how I felt when it had finished. I had read the book years before and found it funny but the film was so poor I never heard anyone in the audience laugh at all. When the lights went up for intermission I realised why there was no laughter, there was no one else in the theatre but me.
A second later the ice cream lady came in and walked past me to the front. She stood there and looked at me and I looked at her. This went on for 10 minutes just staring at each other. Then she walked up the aisle and left, the lights went down and the picture continued. I was in the pub next to my digs long before that film ever ended.
Published: 19th May 2006 | Back to Watercolour Memories.
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