Dig the beat

I received an email from Jonny Trunk Records and was intrigued. Fred was up for the adventure so we headed to The Cinema Museum behind Elephant and Castle (in a building that used to be the Workhouse in Lambeth – Charlie Chaplin spent time there as a child when his mother was down on her luck). We didn't know what to expect, but we were amazed by the amount of paraphernalia. The blip shows an advertising board from either Aberdeen or Stonehaven cinema - I can't remember which (boards from both cinemas were there).

There were uniforms aplenty, cameras, reels, posters, cigarette stands, chairs, projection equipment, and much more. The entire museum is run by volunteers and is open only by appointment, except on fundraising nights such as this one. We enjoyed good beer, quiche and shortbread while listening to Jonny Trunk spin his favourite soundtracks, then we took our seats for the film:

Beat Girl - opening credits

The reel we watched was an original 35mm film that had been found in the depths of an old cinema in Highbury, north London. Two reels were found and there is a difference between the two. The projectionist showed us both versions of a striptease so we could see the difference between the film judged fine for British viewers and that for a European audience. That lady knows how to make people blush using only a scarf! Needless to say, the scarf wasn't used to quite the same effect in the British version.

The film was great fun. There was a lot of laughter for the language used and the various hip kid scenes. The music is fantastic. When I got home, I downloaded the soundtrack from Jonny Trunk and haven't stopped listening to it since. I'd definitely go back for more cinematic evenings.