Spirit of the Essoldo

This weekend was Mr GFB’s birthday and I took him to a shopping centre for dinner. No, not the Trafford Centre for Five Guys, much, much closer to home.

We headed (all but) across the road to Stretford Mall (yeah, it’s still the Arndale or Precinct in my head, but then I have lived in Stretford for 20 years, after growing up a mile or two down the road). And instead of entering the building as normal, we walked up the ramp next to Aldi, into the car park.

Up and up, til we reached the top floor.

I can see the house from here.

What waited for us was an outdoor cinema, street food and DJ set. Because if we can’t go to the Essoldo, the spirit of the Essoldo can come to us.

The Essoldo is a cinema on Chester Road. Now in her 83rd year, she’s been empty as long as I can remember. In truth about 23 years. The outside is maintained in it’s pastel colours, but though there is discussion (again) about compulsory purchase, and use as part of the U92 development, her Art Deco curves remain unused and she is still just a landmark in Stretford that everyone passes day in, day out. Not paying any attention to her, save for directions.

I know I’m not alone in wishing she was a cinema again. Or a community space. Or something. So in the spirit of Stretfordians just doing stuff, a group got together to bring cinema back to Stretford by using one of the biggest spaces we have available to us. Stretford Mall’s multi storey carpark.

Friday 22 March, Spirit of the Essoldo featured a screening of Romeo & Juliet, whilst 23rd saw Drive on the big screen, and it was perfect.

Well… No it wasn’t. It was bloody cold for a start, and despite layers and blankets, the cold permeated to my toes. The wind press chill into my back and shoulders, through the wool of my coat, and I was left wishing for the extra blanket sitting on a chair in the living room that Mr GFB had suggested was overkill.

But we’re Brits, and we muddle through. Aided by popcorn and thick tasty hot dogs, beer and eventually a cup of tea and a biscuit, my fingers warmed, and I was sucked into the movie – jumping when everyone else did, gasping at the gory bits, revelling in the cinema on the big screen.

And though the after party on the second floor, complete with bright lighting, music and dancing called, we made the short walk home, through the eerie quiet of the closed mall to toast our toes instead.

I’m hoping this is the first of many. I want more of this, more use of our public spaces – we may not necessarily love the Mall, there are always discussions about how it’s too expensive, about how it’s too ugly, there’s ‘not enough good stuff in it’.

Maybe it’s less about grumbling about what we haven’t got, and making use of what we have. Reinventing it. Reusing it. Taking it back. We’ve done it with the Public Hall, and Victoria Park. Maybe it’s about ‘owning’ our space, our town. It’s the community that make it what it is, not where we pick up our frozen peas and loaves of bread.

So, Spirit of the Essoldo, when’s the next one?