"Leaving School"

‘Leaving School’: My first real introduction into proper cinema began when I was just 14 years old, I was just about to leave school, and around Heanor at that time, there was not much of a choice of jobs. It was a hard thing for a lad of my age to decide between the local firms of Vic Hallam who made timber buildings, G.R. Turner who specialised in making railway wagons and bridges, and working in the local coal mine for the National Coal Board, so I chose the latter, much to my parent’s disappointment. This was in the 1950s when along with everyone else of the time, I wanted to be ‘with it’, so my first thought was to have myself a ‘Tony Curtis’ haircut, and be seen around the town on a Saturday night, on the ‘monkey run’. To fill in the evenings when I didn’t go on the town, I got myself a part time job working at the ‘Cosy’ cinema, in the Market Place. From past experiences I picked up the job easily, which inspired the Manager Mr. John Plumb to pay me fifteen shillings for working three evenings a week. Before becoming a Cinema Manager, John Plumb had been a miner himself, working at Coppice Colliery so we both shared a common bond, and got on well together. I like to think I entered the business when it was at its best, for there was some real entertainment around at that time, and cinemas took great pride in the promotion of forthcoming films, which interested me. In the 1940s and 1950s, over 20 million people in this country visited their local cinema at least once a week. The silver screen was big business, with many studios churning out films at an alarming rate. Twelve to 16 films a year was not unusual, with some of the smaller players such as RKO Radio Pictures, Monogram Pictures, and Gainsborough exceeding those figures. William Boyd, as Hopalong Cassidy, and Roy Rodgers, with his trusty steed Trigger, led the field at children’s matinees. Some of those old movies can be seen from time to time on television today and you suddenly realise just how bad they were, but the good guys always come out on top. The first picture I was taken to see was ‘Bambi’. I was about four-years-old at the time and I was enthralled by this wonderful animation, the Disney Studios being true artists in this format. 15 The ABC chain of cinemas introduced the Saturday morning ABC Minors show in 1947 and proved to be hugely popular for many years. In addition to the “big picture,” the minors also featured a serial lasting about 20 minutes per episode and a couple of shorts with a Laurel and Hardy/Hal Roach production, or the Three Stooges making up the programme. These were known as two reelers. The main feature was usually a Johnny Weismuller ‘Tarzan’, black-and-white film, hugely popular at the time. Another favourite series of films were the “Blondie” ones, taken from the comic strip. They starred Arthur Lake and 28 were made, all on a shoestring budget. Every sizeable town boasted at least one cinema, but most of them closed down in the 1960s, when television took a real hold on the market, with two out of three households owning or renting a set. The industry has changed dramatically over the years. There was a time when you had to wait months or even years to see a new movie. Now they go out on a blanket release. When the renters have taken as much as they can at the cinema, the movie is then hived off to the video scene. Nothing would be complete without a touch of humour coming into the scene and the Saturday matinees were an institution. Smoking cinnamon sticks was the order of the day and sweets were still on ration, so you had to make do with something else. Old cinemas all had excellent rapport with the public, each year different events were staged, which included leasing the cinema to the local operatic society. Given the number of cowboy movies they screened, it was not surprising there were favourites, but those were the days. We are told the cinema industry has bounced back, but, although admission figures in terms of monetary value have shot up, the number of people visiting a cinema had declined over the years but there are some signs of a come back now. Many films made nowadays are in the millions of pounds category, while classics such as ‘Casablanca’ and ‘The Maltese Falcon’, both starring Humphrey Bogart, were made on the back lot at Warner Brothers Studios at minimal cost. Sadly, the days of golden oldies are now just a memory — or are they? Quality material will always be the front runner. The movies used to have a beginning, middle, and an end. Now they seem to be all over the place. There are exceptions to this rule of course. 16 The highlight every year at the ‘Cosy’ was the illumination of the Christmas tree which stood in the center of the Market Place, which was done from the rewind room near the roof of the cinema. A similar idea was used to promote the film ‘The Dam Busters’, when on a wet and windy night a young junior projectionist, namely myself, dropped off to sleep after a hard days work and allowed the beam to shine over the roof of the surrounding buildings, into nearby Eastwood. I was awakened by an anxious Mr. Plumb, shaking my shoulder and informing me, that the police had had reports of this mysterious beam of light dazzling motorists at the top of Mansfield Road , Eastwood, just what was I doing? It was the first incident in a disastrous week at the ‘Cosy’, because it’s richer cousin ‘The Empire’, just down the road, was to have ‘CinemaScope’, the latest invention installed. The competition was too great, and on Mr. Plumb’s instructions we all went into work on the Saturday morning, with the aim of fixing a wide strip of screen material down the right side of the screen to alter the format. All went well, and the joint was covered with wide masking tape and painted silver, to match the rest of the screen. At 7.45pm that evening, someone came to the Manager’s Office to enquire ‘what is that long piece of rope, or something similar, rolling down the screen?’ As you will have guessed by now, the masking tape had come unstuck, and was slowly winding its way to the bottom of the screen, much to the delight of the audience. So ended the feeble attempts to save money at the ‘Cosy’, and a week later a specialist company come to fit a new screen. There were other incidents too, like the time they screened the trailers for ‘Blood Alley’, and ‘A Man Alone’ which were made in the new CinemaScope format - on a technical point anamorphic films should not be presented in the normal format - but they were at the ‘Cosy!’ This was the time I first began flirting with girls, mainly usherettes and sales girls, I might have not been as handsome as some of the stars they saw each night on the silver screen, but there were no complaints, and anyway, it was at this point that I decided that marriage and a family, were not for me. There was a great big world out there, and I meant to enjoy it, not realizing that I was slowly becoming addicted to entertainment, the lifestyle it brought, and the people I was meeting, so I got myself a driving licence, and two wheels for the open road. 17 ‘Burning the Candle at Both Ends’ The highlight of my week as a teenager was dressing up in my suite, and with a friend, heading off to Ripley or Alfreton. My favourite night would be to watch a movie at the Ripley ‘Hippodrome’, have an hour or two in the ‘Cock Hotel’, where if I was lucky, I would see Beryl Scott the strip-tease dancer doing her show, and finally round off the evening at one of the dance halls. Although I never married, it wasn’t because I didn’t like girls, or never had the chance; it was mainly because I liked my independence. In fact I believe my independence meant everything to me, because I could go where I wanted, when I wanted, and didn’t have to consult anyone; I needn’t go home at nights if something, or someone important came along. The Ripley ‘Hippodrome’ was an unusual place. Just after CinemaScope had been installed, I remember going to see the film ‘Son’s and Lovers’, with a friend. We sat at the front of the balcony, only to find that, due to the picture area, when an object moved across the screen, it was necessary to turn your head, due to how near you were to the screen. There were times when we missed the last bus back home to Heanor, and it would be sometimes be 3am before I rolled into bed. When I was working at Coppice Colliery, I had to get up at 6am; and start work at 7am; so I was often very tired, but at least I was happy. I never regretted my two years at Coppice Colliery; they were exciting, and an ideal way to be introduced to my work career that lay ahead. I started as an apprentice electrician, but soon had to finish because I discovered I was ‘colour blind’, and was useless working with multi-coloured electrical cables. While I was there, Tommy Williamson who was the ‘hossler’ (a person who looked after pit – ponies), asked me if I was interested in helping him to take ‘Tom’ to the many agricultural shows throughout the Midlands. ‘Tom’ was a big light brown pony, who was show quality, even though he worked underground at the colliery, and he came to the surface to attend at several shows, such as the Moorgreen Show, and The Bath and West Show. 18 ‘Mysteries of the Mine’: I would be paid double time rate for the weekend, and all I had to do was to talk to people and explain what ‘TOM’ did at the colliery. My meals and other expenses would be paid for, and I just enjoyed the experience. Working underground was wonderful, in an environment where young lads of 16, and men up to 65 worked together side by side, sometimes under dangerous conditions. I was always one for going places where I shouldn’t, and down the mine held many places of unsolved mysteries for me. There was a time I doing maintenance on light fittings in Coppice Low Main. One of the ‘gates’ (a road or tunnel), known as 96s, led to a place where in the 1940s, an explosion occurred in which four workmen were killed. The bodies were removed, and the old workings were sealed off, and they remained like that until 1956, when someone opened up the entrance again. Naturally, being nosey, another electrician and I, went inside one day, just to see what it was like out of curiosity. We went as far as we dared; there was fungus growing everywhere, and possibly ‘black damp gas’, which was lethal, being odourless, but the place had an erie, deathly presence. Nearby was another ‘gate’, which it was said was a link road between Coppice and Mapperley pit, some two miles away. It was kept as an escape route for emergencies. We also explored this route, and found the rumours were true, when we saw lights heading toward us, we made a quick retreat. They say “curiosity killed the cat, and from then on we learned to leave these places alone. On balmy summer afternoons we would climb to the top of the dirt tip, armed with a pair of binoculars, and survey the surrounding area. Many was the time we have seen courting couples doing what courting couples do when they think they are on their own; it was a naughty thing to do, but then again we were just being human. Sometimes we even went mushroom picking in the fields around the colliery, and having access to the canteen whenever we wanted, many was the time we enjoyed grilled mushrooms on toast for our break. We also had priority when coming out of the mine, and never had to wait for the cage to bring us to the surface. Early admittance to the Pithead Baths meant we were ready to head for home, when the blower went, heralding the end of the days shift. 19 ‘Big Reg’: It was while working underground at Coppice Pit on the ‘Mickley’ seam that I uncounted my first, and only, incident, at the age of 17 years of age. There was this tall, six foot foreman named Reg, who for some unknown reason had taken a liking to me. Every time I saw him he would insist on talking to me about my girl friends. *********This part of the book has been edited to comply with Communigate's agreement. If you want to know why, buy the book! ************************* I still have happy memories of working at Coppice Colliery, and I will never forget my first day there, when along with Ron Benniston, who I knew from school days; we worked our first day shift down the mine. Ron was worried about using the showers, and stripping off in front of so many others when the time came for us to wash the coal dust off our bodies. I will never forget the look on his face as we walked home; he said to me “I went to my locker to leave my dirty clothes, stripped off, and walked into the shower, passing some others on the way; and do you know what, no one looked at me!” His worry over we both went home to resume our normal family life. After two years I left the pit, which on reflection should have had the motto: ‘Never Leave Your Friends Behind!’ 20 Please go to the next web page....