2012/01/06 Cinemas
Full ride report to follow – 45 riders, drizzle held off until the end, great movie, The Purple Rose of Cairo, from the Magic lantern Film Club at the Harland Cafe – links to both under Supporters side bar. Excellent night!!
Next SFNR
Friday Jan 6 2012 (NB change of date back to the 6th!)
Cinemas past and present
A joint production with The Magic Lantern Film Club
Start 6.30 pm outside The Showroom
Finish at the Harland Cafe (formerly Cafe Euro), John St for a showing of The Purple Rose of Cairo
Doors open at 8, Film showing starts at 9.00 pm
A short-ish (just over 12 miles) ride to take in sites and remains of past and present cinemas in Sheffield with the emphasis being on places close to the City Centre. No mid-ride stop and we will finish with drinks etc at the Harland Cafe and a showing of The Purple Rose of Cairo.
All are welcome to watch the film and invite friends, family and partners to join us -the only entry requirement is that you have an email address that you can use to register your presence with the MLFC (its a condition of showing their films for free)
There is no charge for the film show but The Magic Lantern Film Club welcome donations – check out their website, become a member even http://magiclanternfilmclub.wordpress.com/
Drinks and refreshments at the Harland Cafe, so celebrate 12th Night in style and start your post-Xmas exercise regime
The cafe owners, Steve and Sara, are offering their full menu (plus specials on the board) and you can pre-order for you and whoever is joining you (eg two pints of lager, two halloumi and pesto paninis, with a side order of chips PLEASE) by phoning them on 0114 273 8553 or emailing from their website with your order and when you would like it. Just be fair and turn up and pay for it and eat it. The food’s good; I tried it today!
The MLFC say: The film is a sweet fantastical tale to beat the post-Christmas blues. Mia Farrow plays a downtrodden wife and waitress in Depression-era New Jersey whose only solace is the local picturehouse. All her dreams come true when the star of the movie (Jeff Daniels) walks off the screen and into her life…
Join the ride (start at 6.30pm outside the Showroom) or just come along to the film (doors open at 8pm).
Map
View SFNR Cinemas past and present in a larger map
Heads up: mainly on quietish roads which we have ridden many times before for other reasons, with no long steep ascents, or descents – boo! Should suit any bike
Weather: so far looks like dry and cold-ish but not f-f-f-freezing
Planning this ride was a real learning experience. I hadn’t realised how many cinemas have existed in Sheffield and at one time there must have been more cinemas than TV sets – that must have been up to the early 1950s. (So now I am off to find out the the dates of the first TV transmissions in Yorkshire – 1951! found it!))
This ride will take in mainly past and some present and concentrate on ones that still exist or the shells of them exist – that’s why we will visit the Darnall Picture House (now Balfours Carpets) the Adelphi (now languishing in disuse), The Mecca bingo hall on Flat St, the selfstorage depot on West Bar and so on – we will also look at some ‘holes’ where cinemas were – any way take a look at the map to see where the cinemas were near you and get ready to share your experience of watching films in Sheffield.
So if you remember the Anvil, the ABC on Angel St, the flea pits on the Wicker and others (remember when the Odeon was Cannon and you could get in from Pond St? and we can talk about films we saw places that were memorable,; I’ll start: I saw my first Oliver Stone movie at The Anvil, It was Salvador and it is a thrilling, political movie based on the real story of a US reporter. I’ve never forgotten it for its intensity; I thought my heart was going to burst. Great lead performance from the inimitable James Woods
We finish with the film show at The Harland Cafe where we can get a drink and the idea is to share the communal experiences: riding bikes; chatting with each other; discussing movies; saturday morning pictures etc; watching a movie together; and collaborate with the Magic Lantern Film Club. What’s not to like?
Seasons Greetings to all!