I was on my way to work last week and sitting in the slow traffic that is now standard on Belfast's Ormeau Road when I noticed with some surprise and dismay that the final curtain really had at last come down on the Curzon Cinema. We all knew it was going, but now it was gone. This building which had hosted so many memorable scenes of glory, glitz and grandeur from the Hollywood Movie Industry now looked as inglorious as it possibly could.
A big digger sat right up on top of a mountain of rubble which had been our cinema. The familiar red velour seats were strewn everywhere, sodden with the rain that fell. I honestly felt a sense of loss.
I wondered how many thousands of personal memories across the city, or across the world, connect with that cinema. I wondered too how many people married with a family, just like me had their first date with their partner at a movie there. The Curzon has been a very important part of the community for many many years. I remember my mother telling me that she used to queue up there with her friends to watch a Saturday Matinee and they used jam-jars to pay their way in. Does anybody else remember that?
I'd really love to hear from anyone out there who has special thoughts or memories about the Curzon. I do know that Radio Ulster did a special programme about it maybe a year ago. Any chance of hearing that again?
© MMIX