You may have noticed that characters in my Woolworths novels enjoy a visit to the cinema, or ‘the pictures’ as they were known locally.

For the girls from the Erith branch of Woolworths their local cinema was The Odeon set midway between the store in Pier Road and Alexandra Road where we first met Ruby Caselton who lived at number thirteen. In fact, within a few pages of that first book, Ruby had been invited to go to the pictures with Sarah, Maisie, and Freda to see a re-run of a musical staring Jessie Matthews. Ruby did a fair imitation of the beautiful star, kicking her legs high while singing over my shoulder goes one care… as she entertained the girls as they enjoyed their meal after work.

Now, at this point I will have to explain to younger readers that way back in time we were able to purchase a ticket and enter the cinema at any time watching the ‘B’ movies and the main film along with advertisements for as long as we wished. We were not kicked out after watching one film as is the practise these days. We could walk in halfway through a film and stay to watch the beginning afterwards…

The Odeon cinema was just a stroll from Ruby’s house, which was also my home in Erith from 1972. Along with my husband we were regular visitors to that cinema. Opposite was The Prince of Wales public house (at one time referred to as a hotel) and across the road from the cinema was the chip shop frequented by many of my characters. You can see how my life blurs into that of the girls from Woolworths!

Pier Road, Erith 1953

Something else of interest is that films would not just appear in cinemas upon release and then goes to video, DVD, and television. In fact, even in the 1960s we would occasionally see a film on television for the first time at Christmas; it was a big deal often being shown after the Queen’s speech. Films would re appear in cinemas many years after first being released.

My memory of this was going to Erith Odeon to see Gone with the Wind with my now husband in 1969. It was a very long film and by the time we’d walked home it was way after my curfew time – Mum was very strict with what time I got home as it seems ‘things’ happened to girls who stayed out late… I was sixteen and not allowed out for one week after that!

Dressing up

Everyone dressed up to go to the theatre and the cinemas, unlike today and eating throughout the films was frowned upon. Going to the cinema was a special event and people made the most of it; they may even have had a bag of chips to eat on the way home. Freda first received news of an incident in the war whilst eating chips wrapped in newspaper. She relayed the exciting news to her friends but was unable to tell them how the incident ended as unfortunately, that page of the newspaper was missing – someone else had that part of the news wrapped around their chips!

Favourite films

What would our Woolworths girls have seen?

The Lady with the Lamp starring Anna Neagle was a favourite as was Genevieve with the handsome Kenneth More.

Of course, everyone visited the pictures to see A Queen is Crowned so they could relive that exciting day in June 1953 on the big screen.

Ruby was a fan of the Old Mother Riley films and refused to believe that Mother Riley was played by a male actor named Arthur Lucan which made her family laugh.

Freda’s favourite film was A Matter of Life and Death starring David Niven as she was invited to attend the Royal Film Performance in 1946 and met David Niven. More of that story in The Butlins Girls.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to visit the Erith Odeon one more time and enjoy those old films? However, we do have the Talking Pictures channel on television to compensate although it not quite the same as a drink in the Prince of Wales before watching something on the big screen followed by a bag of piping hot chips to eat on the way home.

Prince of Wales

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