Film Night

We don't usually get much excitement in our tiny village in the middle of nowhere, but a leaflet has just come through the door advertising the first ever community cinema night to be held once a month at the pub - FREE ENTRY ! That at least will appeal to the spirit of any true Yorkshireman.

This month's offering is Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I haven't seen it, but see from Amazon UK that it's number 8 in their horror chart ! As if these dark days and nights weren't already scary enough. The movie is a tale of: 'two U.S. marshals who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.'

It has a 15 certificate, so most village brats will have to stay home on their own, listening to the persistent howls of our many owls and the lonely barking of the demented fox. People will doubtless be encouraged by free entry - it costs an arm and a leg to get into the Vue cinema complex twenty miles away; though we do have an excellent independent picture house in the nearest market town - only six miles distant. The landlord will of course be hoping customers will drink plenty of beer, wines and spirits; and there is still perhaps some pleasure in gathering with other human strangers to watch a film, which could otherwise be quite easily obtained on DVD for home viewing.

Since our lovely village shop and post office closed, the pub is the hub of the community, apart from the small school and tiny church. It would be great if our public house considered having a shop as well, which quite a few places already have, along with mini-libraries etc. etc. Things can get pretty lonely in the many rural communities across North Yorkshire, so more and more of these events and services must be a good thing.

It is the very darkest time of year, though only a couple of weeks to the shortest day, when we begin the painfully long drag back to the light of spring and summer. Maybe, it would have been more magical to have the flicker of an old-fashioned projector to show our films, but at least some of the community will be gathering together to be terrified and amused - and that's just the effect of dealing with the peculiar neighbours.