What a carry on as I start having second thoughts on my new career

It’s been a while since I recounted any of the chronological episodes of my life and I left you fairly early in my new role as manager of an Odeon cinema in London – Camden Town to be precise. It’s strange the period from me going to work for Harry Corbett and my move intoContinue reading “What a carry on as I start having second thoughts on my new career”

You’ve got to have style if you’re one of the London (Odeon) boys

The day I took over as manager of the Odeon in Camden, an inner city suburb of London, was a big step as I would be in charge of a cinema, responsible for the presentation, screenings, staff and all that goes into entertaining the public. The place had begun life in the 1920s as theContinue reading “You’ve got to have style if you’re one of the London (Odeon) boys”

Thanks for all the information – now it’s time for me to say goodbye

By the time Christmas 1975 came round I began to think it was time to put in for a manager’s role at one the Rank Organisation’s Odeon cinemas. I believed Tony, my manager at Romford, had taught me all he could teach me. This included matters one did not automatically connect with cinemas, such asContinue reading “Thanks for all the information – now it’s time for me to say goodbye”

Happy workers are good workers, as long as you’re not a soft touch

I was much happier when my induction course in Birmingham was ended and I could get back to proper work at the three-screen Odeon cinema in Romford, where I had recently become an assistant career manager. It is not that I have anything against Birmingham. In fact when we lived in Redditch we went toContinue reading “Happy workers are good workers, as long as you’re not a soft touch”

Back to class for the fourth time

Unlike joining the staff at a local shop, where new assistants tend to pick it up as they go along, the workings at any Odeon cinema could not be passed along by the manager, who would be too busy running the show to teach a new assistant manager what’s what. Within a week of startingContinue reading “Back to class for the fourth time”

Caring for cinema connoisseurs as well as the dirty mac brigade

There were some real blockbuster movies playing in Odeon cinemas in 1975, when I first joined the Rank Organisation as an assistant manager early in that year. Mind you, there were some real stinkers as well. This was a time when many cinemas were being turned into multi-screen operations because the days of a fullContinue reading “Caring for cinema connoisseurs as well as the dirty mac brigade”

Getting off on the wrong foot as my cinematic world turns upside down

The first day at a new job, or even, when I was a lot younger, a new school, never bothered me. Even interviews were not a problem because I always took the attitude that if I didn’t get this job then there’d be another one coming along soon. Mind you my first day as anContinue reading “Getting off on the wrong foot as my cinematic world turns upside down”

Walking into a lion’s den and out again with a smile on my face

The blue plaque on a building in South Street, Mayfair, which was once the headquarters of the Rank Organisation. It was a delight to pick my old Morris Minor up and it didn’t take me long to drive from Colchester to Basildon where I was greeted by the three young ladies in my life. Sarah,Continue reading “Walking into a lion’s den and out again with a smile on my face”