Saturday morning pictures (The Alhambra on the Moseley Road in Birmingham), sixpence downstairs and ninepence upstairs (where you were able to lob your empty ice cream tubs onto unsuspecting heads below). ABC Minors club badges (I've still got mine), hula hoop and yo-yo competitions up on the stage, then coming out into (always) blinding sunlight and recreating the films on the way home. Here's a song I wrote not long ago, inspired by those memories (sorry about the caps -- it's the way I write 'em):

FLASH GORDON SAVED THE UNIVERSE
FROM CERTAIN DEATH OR EVEN WORSE
AT LEAST A DOZEN TIMES THAT I RECALL
AND BATMAN OFTEN NEARLY DIED
THROUGH DRIVING OFF SOME MOUNTAINSIDE
BUT ALWAYS JUST ESCAPED THAT FATAL FALL
AND WE WOULD SHOUT IN DISBELIEF
OR HEAVE A HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF
AS THE CAVALRY CAME CHARGING DOWN THE HILL
AND TARZAN SWUNG FROM TREE TO TREE
TO RESCUE JANE AND SET HER FREE
AS THE ALLIGATORS CLOSED IN FOR THE KILL

SATURDAY MORNING MAGIC, FLICKERING ON A SILVER SCREEN
WHEN WE STILL KNEW WRONG FROM RIGHT
WHEN EVERYTHING WAS BLACK AND WHITE
AND WE COULD ALL BE HEROES IN OUR CELLULOID DREAMS

CHARLIE CHAN WAS ON THE RUN
TO TRY TO SAVE SON NUMBER ONE
BEFORE THE TRAIN COULD SEND HIM OFF THE RAILS
ROY ROGERS SANG AND KISSED HIS HORSE
AND CAUGHT THE BAD MEN TOO OF COURSE
DALE EVANS WAVED AND WARBLED 'HAPPY TRAILS'
WE LAUGHED AT CHAPLIN'S FUNNY WALK
AND WONDERED WHY HE COULDN'T TALK
WE HAD TO READ HIS WORDS BETWEEN THE SCENES
WE CHEERED THE GOODIES AND BOOED THE BAD
BUT WE NEVER CRIED WHEN THINGS WERE SAD
WE USUALLY THREW OUR ICE CREAMS AT THE SCREENS

SATURDAY MORNING MAGIC, FLICKERING ON A SILVER SCREEN
WHEN WE STILL KNEW WRONG FROM RIGHT
WHEN EVERYTHING WAS BLACK AND WHITE
AND WE COULD ALL BE HEROES IN OUR CELLULOID DREAMS

NOW THE ODEON'S A BINGO HALL
THE ALHAMBRA ISN'T THERE AT ALL
THE ROXY'S SHOWING ADULT FILMS TODAY
SO NOW THE KIDS ALL WATCH TV
WITH VIDEO GAMES TO SET THEM FREE
THE SATURDAY MORNING MAGIC WENT AWAY
PERHAPS THE GHOST OF MICKEY MOUSE
HAUNTS THE LOCAL PICTURE HOUSE
AND WONDERS WHY THE MINORS DON'T RETURN
AND MAYBE LASSIE SHEDS A TEAR
AND SADLY THINKS OF BETTER YEARS
DAYS WHEN THERE WERE STILL NEW TRICKS TO LEARN

SATURDAY MORNING MAGIC, FLICKERING ON A SILVER SCREEN
WHEN WE STILL KNEW WRONG FROM RIGHT
WHEN EVERYTHING WAS BLACK AND WHITE
AND WE COULD ALL BE HEROES IN OUR CELLULOID DREAMS