Photograph by Martin Saban-Smith
The Alton Cinema Group wants to ensure that independent cinema stays in Alton. Here Penney Hames talks about how the group came together.
Over the last year I’ve talked with most of my friends about how we’d change the Palace Cinema if only it was ours, but it wasn’t until April of this year that I finally got around to sending out an email to ask everyone in my address book whether they felt the same.
I wasn’t planning a Palace Coup, it’s just that Raj, who’s owned the Palace, man and boy, for the last fifteen years, has been saying that he wants to abdicate and retire for so long now that we’re in danger of a constitutional crises.
Well, that short email didn’t quite go viral, but it certainly got a bit of a head cold. About a week later, the Alton Herald called. They’d had the email three times and wanted to run with the story, was that OK?
So far it was just an idea, now it felt like something ought to actually happen. But what? I talked it over with Tom, the friend who’d started me thinking. ‘Get a few people to take a Palace tour and let them talk’ he said.
Like all the best cinema crowds our tour parties were an eclectic mix of enthusiasts. I counted a web-designer, a jet-setting commercial interior designer, the producer of the King’s Speech – yes , the King’s Speech - a local entrepreneur and gallery owner, a Sunday Times journalist, a restaurateur, a local councillor, a couple of campaigners for old Alton and two young people from the college who wanted to get their fellow students involved. Pretty good for a first date!
In the pub afterwards everyone was excited. Yes, it’s a great opportunity – but the asking price is high – where do we go from here? Importantly though, the bottom line was that we all loved independent cinema and didn’t want to see it leave Alton.
Since then Geraldine, film fanatic and experienced chair of an astounding array of voluntary organisations has become chair and Elliott has spent three days on the web-site and the database. In addition Maureen is our new database manager and Carolyn has kindly agreed to become our minute secretary. It feels as though we can make this happen.
www.thisisalton.co.uk
If you’d like to sign up and join in please visit our website at
www.altoncinema.co.uk Page 9
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