Every now and again in Bangkok something triggers memories of childhood days in England. Not far from my current residence a condominium is going up called the Glendale, which was the name of my local cinema back home in Reading.
It wasn't actually in the town but situated in Caversham village, a 15-minute walk from home and a venue for Saturday morning pictures, a tradition for English kids in the 1950s and '60s. The quaint-looking Glendale was an ancient cinema even in those days, having first opened in 1911 with the splendid name "The Electric Theatre".
My mother wasn't too keen on me going to the "flicks'' as she thought it attracted all sorts of undesirables, and she was absolutely right. But I did pop down to the Glendale sometimes on a Saturday morning for three hours of great entertainment. Admittedly, things did get a bit rowdy sometimes among the young audience and wild sweet fights erupted with toffees, gobstoppers and fruit gums flying all over the place.
In addition to cartoons, we were treated to Kit Carson, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy and other western heroes. My favourite was The Cisco Kid and his sidekick, Pancho, with Cisco being dubbed "the Robin Hood of the Old West".
To this day, when I hear the Cisco Kid hit song by War from the 1970s, it reminds me of those Saturday morning flicks. And what great lyrics: "He drink whisky, Pancho drink the wine."
Alas, the Glendale closed in 1977 and is now the New Testament Church of God. One suspects they don't have sweet fights anymore.
Scary days
The cinema in Caversham was most likely named after the city of Glendale just north of Los Angeles because of its close involvement with nearby Hollywood. On my only ever trip to the US in 1995, I happened to pass through Glendale on the way to Universal Studios. Can't remember much about Glendale, but that Universal visit was quite an experience.
The "Back to the Future" simulator ride was one of the most terrifying things I have ever experienced, and it was with some relief that the old ticker managed to survive all the scares. Coming face to face with King Kong on a studio back-lot was also bit of a fright. But what stuck in my memory the most was that creepy house from Psycho which was still on the studio lot and looked as menacing as ever.
Blame it on Honey
Reading's smartest cinema in the 1960s was the Odeon in the centre of town and I remember shivering in a long queue on a wet night to see the first James Bond film, Dr No, a frightening 57 years ago.
There was considerable anticipation among us schoolboys as the word rapidly spread about the scene in which Ursula Andress, as Honey Ryder, emerges from the sea in her white bikini. Back in 1962, bikinis were still regarded as a bit naughty. For the next few months the film became the hottest topic of conversation at our school and anyone who had not seen Dr No was effectively a social outcast.
After playing the first Bond girl, Andress posed in a revealing Playboy spread. Asked why she did it, she replied with refreshing frankness, "because I am beautiful".
Following Dr No, bikini sales soared, although unfortunately not everyone looked quite like the Swiss actress. It is hard to imagine that the original Bond girl is now 83-years old.
Explosive outfits
The bikini was named after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean where the US tested nuclear bombs from 1946-58. Frenchman Louis Beard had just designed a two-piece swimsuit when the first bombs were dropped and adopted the name "bikini". French fashion writer Diana Vreeland gave it a boost by describing the bikini as the "Atomic bomb of fashion".
Although the bikini quickly became popular in France, it was frowned upon in the US where it was regarded as too risqué. At that time even belly buttons were banned from US films. A dismissive article in a 1957 edition of Modern Girl Magazine said it was "inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency would ever wear such a thing".
But then along came Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth who had no qualms about wearing revealing outfits. In Europe, Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren and Anita Ekberg all did their bit for the bikini.
And once Honey Ryder stepped out of the Caribbean Sea in 1962, bikinis were here to stay.
Treats and hangovers
I trust everybody survived Halloween unscathed. While it is great fun for kids, I suspect the festival's main role is to allow adults the opportunity to do daft things like dressing up in seriously silly costumes and getting plastered in the process. That probably explains why it is so popular.
During my schooldays, I don't recall anyone in our neck of the woods celebrating Halloween. It was something they did "across the Pond". Maybe it was because we had "Bonfire Night" at roughly the same time.
When I first came to Thailand no one had heard of Halloween, but times have changed judging from local kids spotted in malls this week dressed up as wizards, witches, elves and goblins. The Thais have the wonderful ability to celebrate anything as long as it has the potential of being good fun. And why not?
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