Vol 53 No 1 ISSN 1479-0882 January / February 2019
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Vol 53 No 1 ISSN 1479-0882 January / February 2019 The auditorium of the Ardwick, Manchester, visited by the CTA last August – see report p8; photo by Kevin Gooding The Trustees and Committee of the Cinema Theatre Association are still seeking mem- bers who would be willing and able to take on the rôle(s) of the Treasurer and/or Mem- bership Secretary. The present incumbent wishes to retire from the positions but will continue to be available to train, guide and support the person(s) appointed. Neither job requires the commitment of more than a few hours per week, although this would be a quite a regular basis. The tasks involved require the use of a Win- dows-based computer with a printer and e-mail capability – other software would be supplied if required. Attendance and/or re- porting to the meetings of the Main Commit- tee would be necessary; these meetings are held roughly two-monthly in the early evening at a Central London location. Addi- tionally attendance at and reporting to the AGM would be expected. If you feel that you have the capability and interest but require more information to make a decision to apply, please make con- An auditorium in the new Oldham; photo by Kevin Gooding. tact initially by e-mail to [[email protected]] Several of the auditoria are in rooms in the Grade II listed former Town Hall – I think this and include your phone number and the one is the former Courthouse; the judge’s bench is hidden behind the retractable screen. time that you are usually available, if you The CTA visited last August – see report p8. would like to talk about the rôle(s). Despite another big 36 page edition, I am still very tight for space. I’m afraid I had no room for holiday snaps and, although I have some held Company limited by guarantee. Reg. No. 04428776. over, I would still welcome some more. I also couldn’t fit in the index Registered address: 59 Harrowdene Gardens, Teddington, TW11 0DJ. to last year’s Bulletins and I hope I’ll be able to include it next time. Registered Charity No. 1100702. Directors are marked in list below. On p16 there is a very comprehensive article by Hector Hill on Waltur- daw. CTA Scotland sent me a couple of letters from Walturdaw to the Prestwick, which are in their archive. I had no room to put them on the same page as the Walturdaw article so I have put one below. On p12 is the first of a short series of articles by Ben Doman on Full Membership (UK)..................................................................£29 some Bath cinemas; there will be another one next time. Also next time Full Membership (UK under 25s)................................................£15 Overseas (Europe Standard & World Economy)........................£37 will be some items I have held over, including one from Fabian Breckels Overseas (World Standard).........................................................£49 on his time with Rank, more From Pictures to Pints by Gavin McGrath Associate Membership (UK & Worldwide)..................................£10 and hopefully Ron Knee’s account of the / Southsea. Life Membership (UK only).................£450; aged 65 & over £350 On p32 are two letters following up from the report on the North Life Membership for Overseas members will be more than this; Warwickshire visit in the last Bulletin. I have printed them verbatim. please contact the membership secretary for details. You will see that one refers to a Roy Wyatt and the other to a Roy All membership and subscription enquiries should be sent to Whyatt. We contacted Peter Lea, who organised the visit and he came back with Ray Whyatt. So we have three different versions of the name – I wonder which one is correct? Items for possible inclusion in the Bulletin should be sent to If you didn’t see the Michael Portillo programme on Channel 5 on the / Bradford and would like to, email your editor for details. Don’t forget I am still looking to retire from the post of Bulletin Editor in the not too distant future. If you would like to consider taking over, [[email protected]] please email me to find out what is involved. 47 The Street, Old Basing, Basingstoke, RG24 7BX Happy New Year. 11 Tarrant Avenue, Witney, OX28 1EE Harry Rigby, CTA Bulletin Editor [[email protected]] 59 Harrowdene Gardens, Teddington, TW11 0DJ (details as membership secretary above) Chairman: 45 Arnold Road, Bow, London, E3 4NU [[email protected]] Members: as main committee plus Tim Hatcher, Jane Jephcote, Mark Price, Vicky Simon, James Weir & Peter Wylde [[email protected]] 14 Ivychurch Gardens, Cliftonville, Margate, CT9 3YG 73 Cressy House, Hannibal Road, London, E1 3JF [[email protected]] 228 Malpas Road, Brockley, London, SE4 1DH 34 Pelham Road, London, N22 6LN [[email protected]] 69A Mill Street, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 2EE [[email protected]] [[email protected]] 66 Woodside Road, High Wycombe, HP13 7JB [[email protected]] 13 Tennyson Court, Paddockhall Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 1EZ [[email protected]] 11 Merker Terrace, Linlithgow, EH49 6DD / [[email protected]] 3 Swan Lane, Ystalyfera, Swansea, SA9 2JB [[email protected]] 4 Oxford Way, Stockport, SK4 1JR Emma Beeston, Kevin Gooding, Lynda Hillman, Tim McCullen, Sally McGrath, Ken Roe, David Simpson Please use [ ] if uncertain to whom to address an e-mail enquiry; this address will be monitored and e-mails redirected if necessary. Members are invited to submit items for possible publication to the Bulletin Editor. However, it is stressed that the publication of an item does not necessarily imply that it reflects the views of the Cinema Theatre Association, its Committee or its Bulletin Editor. It is assumed that submissions are for publication, unless stated otherwise; A reprint of the 1993 edition, with a new introduction by the items may be shortened or edited at the discretion of the Editor. Please state if you require items to be returned and enclose SAE, author highlighting developments since the book was pub- otherwise everything will be passed on to the CTA Archive. lished, including the short-lived return of the name. 164 Members and non-members are reminded that they attend visits entirely at their own risk and no responsibility can be accepted by the pages, paperback, fully illustrated, £17.50 plus £3 postage. Cinema Theatre Association or the owners of the buildings for any Ordering details on p5. accidents or injury sustained during the course of any visit. : The Cinema Theatre Association does not necessarily recommend or endorse any products or services advertised in the Bulletin or in any flyer or document included in any mailings to members. 2 As well as the location of a somewhat astonishing film-going culture, Gotland and in particular the small island of Fårö off its northern tip, have provided many film locations. The CTA party puzzled over the location of the final scene in Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice (1986) and peered into the woods surrounding Ingmar Bergman’s house to try to glimpse the location for much of Persona (1966). If the technical challenges can be met these might be shown on film as well as in our 2018 souvenir pictures. Before setting off for Visby the party visited the newly and impressively restored cinema in Stockholm, which will be recalled and if time allows there may be some vintage images of long-gone cinemas visited on earlier CTA visits to Sweden’s capital. Björn and Anne-Marie Alnebo, the organisers of our Gotland adven- ture, hope to attend and we hope to add a Swedish theme to the catering to make this a truly Swedish evening. The Gallery, Alan Baxter Associates (address below). Members and Guests: £10 each, includes wine, soft drinks and light refreshments. The new Crystal Palace; photo by Kevin Gooding Some CTA members will no doubt have heard of, or possibly own a copy of the book Modern Theatres and Cinemas by P Morton Shand, New cinema screens are on the increase with the takeover and published in 1930. This seminal book, which despite the title deals enhancement of existing cinemas and redevelopment of other proper- principally with cinema design, was virtually the only major study of the ties. Companies such as , and are subject published in Britain for nearly forty years. And what makes spearheading this new flurry of activity. Morton Shand’s book still so interesting today is that it is not merely a study of the subject but rather an outspoken polemic that denounces This event will kick off at 10am at the recently opened as much as it praises and probably enrages as many readers as are Crystal Palace, a venue which has seen a great deal of to-ing and enthused by it. The author led an intriguing lifestyle but is barely fro-ing in recent years; film, bingo and church ownership to name but remembered at all nowadays and surprisingly little has been written a few. Moving on later using public transport to the West Norwood about him, yet he played a significant role throughout the first half of , we are also hoping to secure entry to another venue the 20th Century in the cultural life of Britain. For several years David before finishing at the former Forest Hill, now operating as a Vinnels has been researching Morton Shand and his talk will endeav- JD Wetherspoons pub. our to unravel the complex tale of this extraordinary man and his A charge of £5.00 for the visit will be collected on the day. Visit notes amazingly eclectic life and work.