We’ll Always Have the Cinema

After 30 years living in my childhood home, I finally moved away last year.

Moving was in the cards for a while, with the cost of living in the UK making living in such a big house unsustainable. After an incredibly stressful year that consisted of having improvements done, putting the house on the market, finding a new place to live, finding a buyer, and then going through the whole process of moving, I was relieved when the dust settled and I was free to enjoy my new life.

After the first few months, I’d mostly been able to move on from everything I missed from my old home. My new house had everything I needed in a good location with great transport links, and I was able to visit my niece and nephew more often, only 10 minutes away.

Everything was great, but there’s one thing I missed after moving: seeing my dad regularly. He and my mum split amicably in 2007 and he moved to a little flat about five minutes away, so it was never too difficult to see him when I wanted. That’s changed now that I’m living in a whole new place while he’s stayed in that little flat. My mum, brother, sister and her children live nearby, but he’s stubbornly refused to talk about moving whenever we’ve broached the subject.

He’s 75 years old and has some mobility problems that means he can’t get out as much as he used to. He can still drive, so he does visit me every so often. He also still has friends in the area, so it’s not like he’s completely alone. However, this is the first time in my life where I’ve lived far away from him, and I can’t help but feel guilty that I can’t see him as often as I used to.

Take me out to the movies

This is why our occasional trips to the cinema have become such an important part of my life. We used to go all the time before I moved, as the cinema is only a 10 minute walk from where we lived and I’ve strived to carry on this pastime. Even though it’s not as frequent anymore, it’s still a special thing for both of us.

My parents have always loved movies, and it’s something they passed on to us at an early age. I have fond memories of birthdays and Christmases spent watching some film or another on the TV. This has changed over the years, from animated movies and Christmas films to horror movies at Halloween, but it’s always been something that helped us bond. It’s helped me as well in a way I never would have expected. It was writing reviews of movies I’d seen that made me realize how much I loved writing, and it’s the reason I write for a living today. My life wouldn’t be the same if my parents and I hadn’t bonded over our love of movies.

This is why I still make the long journey back to my home town whenever I can. In the last year, a new restaurant opened up next to the cinema, and it’s become traditional to grab something to eat there after the film. It sounds mundane. In many ways it is. We see a film, grab a table, and order some pretty standard food — usually pizza or pasta. 

In an increasingly stressful time, it’s become something I look forward to every time. There are times where we’ll go to the big cinema in town for big movies like the new Mission Impossible, but most of the time we’ll go to the small independent cinema in Whitley Bay and see a quieter, smaller-scale film. Even if the film isn’t very good, I’m still grateful for the time I get to spend with my dad. 

Stepping out and stepping back

Cinema has always been an escape from the real world for me, a chance to not think about the outside world for a few hours at least. Following my move, it’s become so much more than that, and I’m so glad that my parents shared their love of movies with me. It’s helped me bond with my dad, and it’s helping me keep in touch with him even after I’ve moved away.