Relic from a Bygone Era...

A nostalgic mood today. The once proud centre-piece of Gatley village was the Tatton Cinema. Opening in 1937, the theatre welcomed movie-goers until its final curtain call in early 2001. The once gleaming art-deco facade is now a sad, faded shell, the entrance boarded-up and a cheap vinyl banner proclaims its identity where once bright lights emblazoned it. Bulldozers have long since demolished its auditorium and projector rooms and for over a decade a procession of owners, resident-committees and councillors have bickered and given false hope into what future awaits this bygone landmark. Like so many of our old buildings it lies in wait for a new beginning, I hope a suitable and fitting plan emerges. I live in the village and was brought up just a couple of miles away in Wythenshawe, so the Tatton was always my local 'flicks' (along with the Forum in nearby Northenden). Memories of Saturday matinees, refreshment intervals - the choc-ices, Kia-Ora orange drink, Pathe News come flooding back. My Mum, Mary, worked in the booking-office way back and by a strange coincidence so did my wife, Katrina, decades later. So the old cinema has always been a part of my life, I drove past today as I do most days and thought 'what a shame'.