London is a beautiful place, isn't it?



Very photogenic, especially at night. The romance of the South Bank in the evenings - Hungerford Bridge illuminated, the clang of a train running next to you bringing dreamers, commuters and pursuers of wonder to the city. The boats on the Thames, the Hot Dog vendors on every street corner, the over-sized ferris wheel (yet, there is neither enormous dodgem track or oversized Candy-floss van nearby, hence losing it's fairground appeal) - yes, there is nothing like London, especially in a film. Sadly, when I lived in London it was not so appealing as I rented a room in Harringey. The only time that's seen in the media is when children are dying due to lack of attention from social services, or there is another outbreak of small-pox due to lack of hygiene in a takeaway. Can't move for the TV outside broadcast units then. But never mind

Cineworld! 800 screens nationwide in 74 cinemas, 5 of which are in London. From Aberdeen to Witney, there are but a few areas in the country untouched by one of these mighty playhouses. Last year, 45 million people went to their cinemas, earning them pre-tax profits of £284.5 million pounds. They do a deal where you can get a large popcorn and a large diet-coke for about £8.00 and an unlimited film card will set you back £13.50 per month. My nearest Cineworld cinema is in Eastbourne, about a 10 minute drive away, although there are also palaces of dreams in Brighton, Chichester, Crawley and Falkirk.

So, having established that the tourist-y parts of London are beautiful, especially in the movies, and that I have a Cineworld cinema on my doorstep, one would assume that in order to view a film starring such huge names as "Paul Haley" as "Elderly Man", "Amy Younger" as "Girl Number 2 at Wedding", "Emma Thompson" as "Kate Walker" and "Dustin Hoffman" as "Harvey Shine", set in the gorgeous city of London, one would not need to take a 60 mile round trip to the nearest cinema showing it! Yes, Cineworld is so devoted to helping new directors who have done a top quality British film made in Britain and benefitting the British film industry by having one performance per day for one week only in one cinema on the South Coast!

And this isn't the first time. Oh, no. "London to Brighton"? Hard-hitting major indie film about the escape of a young orphan after killing a paedophile? Nothing. Michael Caines stars in "Is Anybody There?", but only for three showings in Sheffield! What? One of the biggest film stars that Britain has ever produced and Cineworld give him three showings in Sheffield? That's like booking Metallica to do a turn down the local!

Anyway, another rant over with. Back to my lunch.

TTFN. Me.

P.S. Did you know an onion in sainsburys costs 15p?