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Field notes
Jul. 29th, 2010 09:02 pmIt's come to my attention that I have been unwell recently. I mean, obviously not terribly unwell, or I would have noticed sooner. I have had a nasty cough this last week or so, which I have put down as being the tail end of the cold I had a couple of weeks ago being prolonged by my getting caught in the rain when I went to Melbourne last week. Only I woke up in the middle of last night absolutely drenched with sweat, and on further thought I realised I have been unusually tired this week. I've been going to bed well before midnight, instead of after; and I've been woken by the alarm, instead of waking five minutes before it. So I have been ill, but I seem to be on the mend now. I'm sorry I didn't notice. I do enjoy a good wallow.
The City by the Sea's cinema was gutted in a fire last year, which was sad. It was a lovely old Art Nouveau building. The outside of it still is; the top part of the facade, at least. Inside, it was lovely: all wood panels and chandeliers and trompe l'oeil window boxes and a couple of faux balcony boxes. Also, lovely green tiled bathrooms. When it only had one screen, the cinema had two levels. Upstairs was nicest. You could stop on the way in a sort of mezzanine level with armchairs and chaises dotted about and a lovely old carved table. You had to go early to sit upstairs where the rows were staggered and the seats were upholstered, otherwise you'd end up downstairs where the rows were flat and the seats were wooden pews and irritating upstairs patrons could drop things on your head. It was rearranged about ten years ago to make room for three screens - the big one upstairs and two smaller ones downstairs - and they all have the same sort of seats. Truly, we live in lesser times.
I walk past the cinema almost every day and I've been watching the repairs. Not that there's much to see. The builders leave the doors open (there are three sets of narrow double doors, which used to be wooden with windows and lovely brass handles, but are now just plain modern glass doors), but you can't see much inside. One day recently I saw a piece of wall with a big blue '3' on it, which was pretty exciting.
Anyway, almost a year after the fire, the cinema re-opened last night for VIPs and golden ticket winners with a special screening of Toy Story in 3D. (There was a campaign from some quarters to have the first film be one of the Twilight films, but wiser counsel prevailed.) Today's paper reports that the cinema looks 'modern' and that 'people won't recognise it'. I don't think I like the sound of that.
Something else that has been keeping the paper exercised for the last month or is a story about an adult umpire who got into a fight with a junior (under 15) player at a football match. I've not paid much attention to this because, well, because my interest in any sort of football is minimal. So imagine my surprise when I picked up the paper today and saw a large photo of my former Evil Accountant boss looking sorry for himself. He was the umpire! And he's just been banned from umpiring for a year.
The City by the Sea's cinema was gutted in a fire last year, which was sad. It was a lovely old Art Nouveau building. The outside of it still is; the top part of the facade, at least. Inside, it was lovely: all wood panels and chandeliers and trompe l'oeil window boxes and a couple of faux balcony boxes. Also, lovely green tiled bathrooms. When it only had one screen, the cinema had two levels. Upstairs was nicest. You could stop on the way in a sort of mezzanine level with armchairs and chaises dotted about and a lovely old carved table. You had to go early to sit upstairs where the rows were staggered and the seats were upholstered, otherwise you'd end up downstairs where the rows were flat and the seats were wooden pews and irritating upstairs patrons could drop things on your head. It was rearranged about ten years ago to make room for three screens - the big one upstairs and two smaller ones downstairs - and they all have the same sort of seats. Truly, we live in lesser times.
I walk past the cinema almost every day and I've been watching the repairs. Not that there's much to see. The builders leave the doors open (there are three sets of narrow double doors, which used to be wooden with windows and lovely brass handles, but are now just plain modern glass doors), but you can't see much inside. One day recently I saw a piece of wall with a big blue '3' on it, which was pretty exciting.
Anyway, almost a year after the fire, the cinema re-opened last night for VIPs and golden ticket winners with a special screening of Toy Story in 3D. (There was a campaign from some quarters to have the first film be one of the Twilight films, but wiser counsel prevailed.) Today's paper reports that the cinema looks 'modern' and that 'people won't recognise it'. I don't think I like the sound of that.
Something else that has been keeping the paper exercised for the last month or is a story about an adult umpire who got into a fight with a junior (under 15) player at a football match. I've not paid much attention to this because, well, because my interest in any sort of football is minimal. So imagine my surprise when I picked up the paper today and saw a large photo of my former Evil Accountant boss looking sorry for himself. He was the umpire! And he's just been banned from umpiring for a year.