Time was, if you fancied a night at the cinema, you had a huge range of options. There were two cinemas in PG, the huge Palmadium, and the Queens, both on Green Lanes. A stroll up to Winchmore Hill would take you to the Capital, or Southgate to the Odeon, and Enfield had several more.
These days its a case of schlep down into Wood Green or Muswell Hill, or jump in the car to Southbury Road. And you can just about make it to the wonderful Phoenix in East Finchley on the 102 if you have a bit of time on your hands and don’t mind getting back a bit late, but frankly we never quite have the energy.
But could it all be changing? Last month saw the second cluster of events from Around the Corner Cinema, which first saw light of day as part of the N21 festival.
Meanwhile, Palmers Green’s own Talkies Community Cinema has been going from strength to strength. The latest announcement from Talkies is First Thursdays, a series of monthly nights at the Dugdale Centre running from May until August. The summer season then finishes with a sing along Wizard of Oz at the United Reformed Church in Fox Lane on 31 August, the eve of the Palmers Green Festival. The full roster for the First Thursdays events is: 2 May A Serious Man, 6 June The Wave, 4 July Zero Dark Thirty, 1 August Chungking Express.
But you don’t have to wait until May for your next cinematic experience. This month Talkies takes part in the international Future Shorts festival with a night of award winning short films at Baskervilles on Friday 22 March. There are two showings – the first at 7.30 is now sold out but at the time of writing there are still tickets for the second showing at 9.15. Baskervilles are offering a special pre show menu, as well as drinks and cakes. Bookings for all events can be made here.
Talkies is also asking local residents what kinds of film they would most like to see in the future. Click here to complete the questionnaire : Main Film Genres Questionnaire_(final) and email to David Williamson at talkiescommunitycinema@gmail.com. You can see responses so far on the Talkies website.
