We have now had five screenings at our new venue, the Resources and Wellbeing Centre (the RWC) in Audlett Drive. We are encouraged that the majority of members have rejoined and that audience size, as a proportion of members, has been excellent. We think that overall things have gone well and hope you agree. In any case, do give us feedback, whether positive or negative, using your reaction slip or any other channel.
Special event reminder:
Thursday March 7th: AN ITALIAN STRAW HAT
- show begins at 7.00 pm
- show takes place at Saint Nicolas Church, Market Place Abingdon
The rather early start is to allow our pianist, Andrew Youdell, to get home to London at a reasonable hour.
This film is included in your subscription – nothing extra to pay unless you attend as a “one week member”.
The annual silent over the last few years has been one of our entries in the Abingdon Arts Festival and attracted very good numbers of one week members, which obviously was beneficial for us. This year, alas, there is no arts festival, so we would ask you to encourage others to come along, if you are in a position to do so. These are the ticket prices:
£7.00 single (£6.00 student & Friend of the Phoenix)
Members’ guests £6.00 single
Thursday February 14th – no screening
This is because of the half-term holiday. In the past we were simply not able to screen during College holidays, but this constraint no longer applies. Should we show films at such times? Do tell us. There is quite an Easter gap, too, for similar reasons. Next film is At the Height of Summer on February 21st.
Discussions after screenings
Long-standing members will know that when we have a guest speaker there is always an immediate post-screening discussion in the room where the film has been shown. Members who don’t want to take part simply leave. There are no plans to change this arrangement.
In our new venue, the RWC, there is as well an additional space alongside the main room and there is no pressure on us to vacate the building immediately after the film. Thus our proposal is that after all films, when there is no guest speaker, anyone who would like to talk about what they have just seen should take a seat in the kitchen area and do just that. Initially, the committee will ask someone to lead the discussion, if only to get it going. We will put a limit of 30 minutes on these discussions, because committee members like to get to bed at a reasonable hour every now and again. (They have to lock up). Let’s see how it goes.
Refreshments
This brings us to the question of whether we should use the kitchen facilities to prepare hot and cold drinks (both before screenings as well as afterwards). The problem is that committee members are often too busy to do the work involved, so we would need members taking advantage of the facilities to do it. Will this work? Please tell us.
John Krish and The Elephant Will Never Forget
If you would like a bit of background information on Krish and his films, here are some useful links:
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljcIZhtukd8
- www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1077061/index.html
- www.bfi.org.uk/live/video/534
The next newsletter is planned for early April.