Events
which appear loosely connected are usually not.
A week ago, my attention was
drawn to an appeal by Sussex police for residents in the Eastbourne to Birling
Gap area on the coast to keep their windows and doors closed because of the
impact of a chemical haze which had come inland from the sea. The BBC also
carried a report which said that the number of people affected and requiring
attention had risen from 50 to 150. Kent live reported that 200 people had been
decontaminated at hospital.
There was a news report in the
Telegraph which stated that scientists believed the cloud had been created from
shipping and not the continent. The Guardian presented the views of several experts.
One suggested it could have been a discharge from a water treatment works but this
was immediately dismissed by Southern Water.
One expert pointed to the
similarity with chlorine gas and Sky online included a notice to the door of a
McDonalds saying the store had closed because of a discharge of chlorine gas. Another
reported said this was not chlorine gas. While police investigations were reported to
be continuing there appears to have been no further report explaining what had
happened. Fortunately, the cloud had dispersed sufficiently in time not to
affect the expected numbers coming to the coast on the Bank holiday and the
stay home request was lifted.
My first reaction at the time
was that this was a terrorist attack from a craft off the coast.
Yesterday, I went to the new
Cineworld Cinema at the Gate restaurant,
and entertainment centre in the heart of the City of Newcastle to see the
second performance of the new British film directed by Simon West called
Stratton and based on the novel series by former special boat services officer
Duncan Falconer who since his service with the British Security Services has
become a specialist for a British based
international enterprise and which
includes outsourced work for government intelligence and defence departments.
The extraordinary aspect of my attendance at on an evening opening performance
at the start of the weekend is that I was the only person in the theatre.
I was not aware from what I
had read beforehand that the plot involves a terrorist creating four drones to disperse
clouds of a lethal gas in an attack on a major city. I am tempted to explain in
more detail but given the negative review by Mark Kermode, in the podcast
checked this morning will say no more. In fairness it is an old fashioned
British action film divorced from the sophisticated CGI technology we have now
come to expect with Derek Jacobi playing an old sea dog anchor father figure for the hero. The Danish actress
Connie Nielson plays the MI6 chief in a stilted and slow English way which I
interpreted as the attempt by the director to create the illusion of a real-life
documentary but which only added to the lists of negatives which make Kermode’s
criticism valid. However, I looked beyond the film as a film or coherent and
plausible story into the potential reality that Terrorists would attempt this
kind and level of atrocity if they have not already thought of it. It is
however the kind of attack which the authorities will have anticipated,
monitored and planned to defend against. In the film, it is said that the only
way to prevent the airborne generated number of fatalities is to incinerate the
device before it can be used but I wonder if this can be so and that while it
should eliminate most of the toxicity is not possible to prevent some damage
using such a method.
It is noteworthy that coinciding
with the Bank holiday weekend the public were reminded to be vigilant and a
senior counter terrorism specialist said there appeared to have been shift to using social media to incite
existing UK based fanatics to commit atrocities in part because of the
extent to which those returning from fighting in Syria and
Afghanistan are being monitored The implication is that local fanatics were
being shown how to make simple but lethal explosive devices or to use simpler
weapons such as knives. I am taking the warning seriously, paying close
attention to what is happening around me when I am out and about.
This was second visit to
Newcastle and to the cinema in two days. Given that Newcastle has become a party city
since the first days of organised cheap holidays to Spain in 1970’s, it has
continued to surprise that cinema going has not been a major activity. When I
arrived in the North East there were three cinema Theatres. The multiplex was
to the East side of the city centre across from the dual carriage underpass for
main route from the south over the Tyne going northward and on to Scotland with
one branch towards the coast and Whitely Bay. Since that time there are now two
road tunnels under the Tyne between Jarrow and Wallsend and where the road then
loops into the AI from Newcastle going northward. The number of road, rail and
pedestrian bridge crossing over the Tyne has also increased.
The multiplex on the East side
has been demolished along with the restaurants to enable the expansion of
Northumbria University which now has more undergraduates and other students
than Newcastle University although combined there are now over 50000 attending the
two universities plus academic staff together with art and dance schools and a
college of further education. The serious film student is more likely to visit
the Tyneside Cinema, an independent arthouse which was recently developed with
four theatres showing a balance of current films, those from other countries
and from yester year together with an upmarket event cinema experience. A more traditional cinema a few doors on the
opposite side of the main road leading from the Tyne Bridge closed and recently
fell during demolition causing havoc but no injuries. Like Sunderland City
centre, for a time there was no multiplex cinema in the city centre and cinema
goers had to rely on Cineworld at Bolden in South Tyneside and Odeon’s located at
the Silverlink shopping centre at one end of the Tyne Tunnel and the other
within the Metro centre shopping extravaganza at one edge of Gateshead on the
Banks of the Tyne on the way to Hexham.
The past two decades has
witnessed a major transformation. To
remain the largest out of town shopping complex in Europe the number of indoor
malls at the Gateshead Metro centre has increased from three to four and a new link
between the red and yellow malls became a restaurant quartet leading to a state
of the art Odeon with Imax theatres, a VIP experience and a trendy bar. Earlier
this year a multimillion refit of the main part of the restaurant quarter was
completed and I was impressed on a visit to see the film Dunkirk in Imax just how
busy the restaurant quarter had become. This was surprising because the indoor
shopping centre in central Newcastle, Eldon Square, has also had a major refit
at Monument end on three floors bringing the number of restaurants and bars
there and in the immediate vicinity to over thirty.
This quarter now completes
with the Gate Entertainment centre which near Newcastle football stadium, China
town and the former huge Cooperative Department store between Monument and
Haymarket Metro stations. The Cooperative store is now the second Premier Inn
hotel in the city with many restaurants on the ground floor. The Gate is huge complex on three floor which
opened in 2002 and at the top of which is a large multiplex with 12 individual
theatres plus three studios theatres all accommodated on one floor (with access
by two lifts and escalators). The
entrance to the cinema also the biggest space I have seen at any multiplex and
unusually there are two areas of tables, chairs and benches. The escalator from
first to the ground floors involves a walk passing several restaurants towards
the Casino and it was at this point I noted the closure of the Handmade Burger restaurant
which on my way to the Monument Metro home through Eldon Square I also noticed
was closed, suggesting the financial collapses of the chain and which on
checking is in administration with immediate closure of nine of its twenty-nine
establishments, including that at the Metro centre.
The Casino does not require membership
and is open 24/7. It features a sports bar with 25 individual screens and one
cinema style screen, a restaurant and full range of gaming opportunities where
there are also 25 individual sport screens. The centre offers a free discount
card for those who work in the city. For everyone else the online site reveals
a wide range of special offers. There is a 266-space underground car park free
Sunday-Thursday if one goes to the cinema and eats at one of the named restaurants.
On the ground, there is the ubiquitous Wetherspoons and the coloured large one
price eat as much you want for £9.99 food from the world Za Za’s Bazaar
featuring Sushi, Tex Mex, Italian Pizza and Pasta, Indian, Chinese and American
Grill, Vietnamese and GB classic twenty separate food bars in total cooked with
fresh ingredients by up to 30 chefs. There are two sports bars with banks of TV
screens plus a cinema size screen. One bars provide topless female dancers when
I once visited to watch a relay of a Newcastle game. It is possible to watch
Newcastle (and Sunderland home as well as away games at bars in the respective
cities for the price of a round or two of drinks).
The Cineworld at the Gate is
only three months of age replacing the previous cinema chain(Empire) which
managed the cinema when the centre was first opened as it continues to do in the
City of Sunderland which is across a pedestrian area from the Casino built to
one side of the multi storey carpark. I now have a a Cineworld subscription
which after its first year provides 25% off in-house snacks and concessions off
the full price of meals at many adjacent restaurants. Learning that Cineworld
had taken over the Newcastle multiplex I was interested in visiting the
Newcastle development because of its intention to have a 4D screen. Until
recently the only Imax cinema in the North East was at the Metro Centre and apart
from the senior discount, it was necessary to pay the full price plus the petrol
on an hour’s travel each way.
More recently a super screen
opened at the new Vue cinema in Gateshead built as part of the shopping complex
on the site of famous car park which featured in the cult crime film centred on
Newcastle and the North East, Get Carter, (although there is also an American
remake. As a Lloyds Bank club customer, I am issued 6 Vue tickets a year and
where it is possible to pay an additional fee to see Imax films and/or use a
VIP seat. It has and remain possible park in the car park below the Tesco store
when using the cinema and although not ‘policed’ until later this month it had
been possible to use the car park as a customer of the supermarket without any
requirement on the amount to be spent. Parking for any purpose is restricted to
four hours until 6pm when there has been no limit. This has mean that I have
been able to visit the car part to shop, have a meal or visit the theatre in
Newcastle always purchasing something from the supermarket, sometimes do some shopping,
especially from the indoor Granger Market or Marks and spencer food store,
returning to the car and then going to the theatre or a lecture at the
University.
On Thursday afternoon, I drove
the car first to the Bridges shopping centre car park in Sunderland (parking
£1.40) to get a substantial discount for Operas on successive nights in January
by the Ellen Kent company which if purchased online would cost £47.25 for an
aisle seat in the middle stalls close enough to see the faces of singers on
stage but without the having constantly look upwards for the translation into
English. By booking at the theatre before 1st September I obtained a
discount with the price per ticket reduced to £34.42, a total saving of £25.46.
I hurried back to Morrisons Seaborn for petrol and a comfort break before going
to Gateshead via the Boldens, passing close to Cineworld by the Asda
supermarket when I was given a voucher for 3000 points when spending £30 in
store. At Gateshead, I purchased a box of Croissants and a meal deal of a cheese
and tomato roll, a bottle of Diet Pepsi and a packet of salted popcorn. It was
at this point I discovered a voucher for £2 had been left on the desk at home.
After the roll and a swig or
two of the Pepsi I made my way over to Metro station replacing the walking
stick with a full-size umbrella because of the threat of thunderstorm taking
the train to the Monument stop and quickly to the Theatre Royal to seek a
refund for the cancellation of a concert back in June, One Night at the Opera when
because the principal singer Lesley garret had pulled out. I booked three new shows which did involve
some payment over the £45 reimbursed. One show was at the Theatre Royal on the
Sunday evening of Remembrance Day November 12th when a company of
service military men the Bravo 22 company perform Unspoken. The month before I
going to Northern Stage, the former University theatre to see a performance of
Ian Hislop’s production, The Wipers Times, the magazine produced at the front
by serving men during World War 1. The
second show purchased was at the Civic Hall theatre for an evening with Agers,
Jonathan Agnew and Bumble David Lloyds now internationally recognized cricket
commentators and former Test players although their appearance was few. David
Lords comes into his own each year on the 20 20 finals day competition held for
five years at Warwickshire’s County Cricket ground in Birmingham (Edgbaston)
close to the university which I attend for one year to obtain qualification as a child care
officer. During the interval between the two semi-final games Bumble holds a
race for the mascots of all the first-class counties. This year he was also the
centre of attention with Freddy Flintoff when he performed a Karaoke during the
interval between the semi-finals and the Finale as the Country singer Johnny
Cash while Freddie dressed up Elvis Presley and they both led a crowd rendering
of Sweet Caroline. The three games today occupied a great deal of my time
although I missed the last part of the finals as the latest Montalbano took
priority. Of the four teams contesting the trophy this year I could only
support Nottinghamshire with enthusiasm as I had when they won the 1-day trophy
at Lords earlier in the season. They are also likely to gain promotion at the
first attempt back to first division leaving Durham even more isolated in the
second Nottingham did win and even more pleasing was the award of Sammi Patel
as man of the match. Over a decade ago
on a visit to the Nottinghamshire cricket ground when Durham was visiting team
I had told my companion that Patel was an excellent player who I expected would
play for England because of his ability to bat as well as bowl
The third purchase was for
June 2018 for an Adele tribute show where there was a wife choice of seats so I
selected a centre aisle seat at the front of the second block from stage.
I then made my first visit to
the new Cineworld cinema to see a Theatre relay of a contemporary adaption of
the 1930’s Lorca play Yerma part of his trilogy challenging the social conventions
and moral attitudes of a Catholic dominated Spain as the Republicans faced the
growing threat from fascism. In the update of this joint National Theatre
production at the Young Vic the focus is the marital relationship between two
central characters. The play is about the decision of Yerma, played by Billie
Piper, to have a son and her descent into a frustration driven madness as all
her efforts fail including a succession of IVF treatments which plunge the couple
into £60000 of debt, losing home and business. The experience was harrowing and
not enjoyable. The audience was small and into a state of shock at the
explicitness of the language. What
struck me was the cinema appeared generally deserted when I left as were the
streets of Newcastle.
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