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The Tudor Cinema |
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Until recently the Another Fine Mess Tent for Northern Ireland held its quarterly meetings in a very special place indeed. It is called 'The Tudor Cinema', and is a privately-owned 66 seat cinema nestling in the drumlins of County Down.
The cinema was built by twin brothers Noel and Roy Spence on a site beside Noel's home that was previously occupied by a chicken shed! Fortunately for Noel and Roy cinema was beginning to go out of fashion when they began their labour of love 30 years ago due mainly to the advent of the video recorder, and as the old cinemas began to close Noel and Roy invested in many of the fixtures and fittings. The Tudor therefore boasts a quite staggering array of art deco light fittings and frames for advertising up-and-coming attractions. While Noel and Roy both enjoy Laurel and Hardy their first love is the old B-movie science fiction films of the 1950s. Consequently visitors are greeted with original posters advertising such classics as 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon'. Needless to say from a club perspective The Tudor provides exactly the right atmosphere — the kind of original setting, albeit on a smaller scale, in which Laurel and Hardy movies would have been viewed by audiences at the time when the films were originally released — for tent members to watch their idols on the silver screen. TVs are fine — and goodness knows but Laurel and Hardy are worth watching in or on any medium — but it is impossible to beat the feeling that one gets when walking into an old cinema with low lighting, settling down into the seats, seeing the flickering lights overhead and watching the comedy masterpieces of a bygone era with an audience that appreciates the humour and provides the giggling, laughter and guffawing as Stan and Ollie get up to their old tricks. Pure magic......... We hope that Noel will still be able to facilitate over-14-years-old-meetings on a less regular basis. Check 'Latest News' for any updates. Please note that the Tudor cinema is not owned or run by the Another Fine Mess Tent of Northern Ireland. Requests for private showings must be made directly to Noel Spence. |
| Date last updated 04/02/2008 |
