My brothers and I were thrilled to receive an Easter egg each, and disbelieving
of Crundale Road kids that claimed to have received two, three and even four. We
were wrong to be doubtful. Aunties, Uncles and Grandparents accounted for the extra
eggs, it seemed. If such generosity hadn’t sounded so excessive, we might have
been envious, but envious we were not. Besides, we were lucky enough to have a
Granny that lived with us – a Granny that regularly made coconut ice and
macaroons.
Some kids spoke of visits to the Strand, where they went swimming. Some
spoke of outings to Saturday morning pictures. My brothers and I had no
experience of either. A visit to the pictures, for us, was a special treat and
Mam took those of us that were old enough, whenever she could.
Tarzan’s Three Challenges was a good one, especially the bit where
Tarzan fights a man to the death on a rope net above a huge, boiling cauldron –
a scene my good friend Kevin and I imitated with our toy soldiers.
Flipper was another good one…
Snow White was okay. if a bit soppy…
Old Yeller was very good, though I almost blubbed when Old Yeller got rabies and had to be shot.
Of course we couldn’t see every film we fancied, but I heard good things about
Jason and the Argonauts, Ben Hur, El Cid and The Alamo. Doctor Syn was another good one, Kevin said.
But Mam picked a winner when she took us to see The Long Ships, a
brilliant film…
…that contained many memorable scenes, not least an
execution on the eye popping Mare of Steel.
Highly impressed, I
wrote a detailed account of the Vikings’ quest to find the golden bell in my
news book at school.
A job well done, I
thought. I saw nothing wrong with the part where the Viking’s broke into the
Moors’ castle and happened upon a sleeping harem, yet when Miss Bayes marked my
work she saw fit put a red line through “Cor!’ one of them shouted as he grabbed
a woman’s leg.”
Seeing Zulu was
eagerly anticipated from the moment I saw it advertised in the Chatham,
Rochester and
Gillingham News. In the foyer of the Odeon Cinema, I couldn’t get inside fast
enough when I heard a thunderous clattering of shields, chanting and rifle fire
from within.
In the battle that
progressed, I sat mesmerised.
In awe of what I
was watching.
I’d never seen
anything so exciting.
As was common in
those days we stayed on to watch the beginning of the next showing… until it reached
the part that was on when we arrived.
‘Come on, we’re
going now. We’ve seen this bit.’
When Mam said time
to go, it was time to go but what a wrench, to leave at that most critical
moment of the best film I’d ever seen.
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