My earliest memory of going to the cinema is of a song called ‘Hi Lily’ – I can hear the music and the words still. A quick look at IMDb indicates that the film must have been Lili (1953) starring Leslie Caron, but I wouldn’t have been aware of any of that at the time. I am pretty sure the cinema was the Commodore in Chiswick.

Going to the Academy in Oxford Street to see Ulysses was pretty memorable in a number of ways. It was released in 1967, so I must have seen it that Summer, after my first year at university in Sheffield. I was working during the Summer vacation in the library at the Central Electricity Generating Board HQ near St Pauls and Ulysses, the film, was a topic of conversation among colleagues because the censorship controversy about it was all over the Press.

According to IMDB the BBFC requested 29 cuts (strong language, including the f-word and sexual references)…”in return director Joseph Strick replaced the offending footage with a blank screen and a high-pitched shrieking sound”. The BBFC relented and reinstated the offending footage, passing the film for exhibition to over 18s only. I went to see it with work colleagues.

The part of the film that offended the censors was Molly Bloom’s soliloquy and I do remember seeing that part and can recall a bit of the dialogue. It seemed a bit shocking, I suppose; we joked about it. Like many people, I tried reading the book and didn’t get very far. This will certainly have been the first time I went to the Academy (famous for its very distinctive posters). I believe I saw Spirit of the Beehive (1973) and Lacombe Lucien (1978) – among others – there in later years.

In London, the Garden Cinema. They very kindly made me a member without my asking​, perhaps because I started going there very soon after it opened. My favourite front row seat is always available. They have friendly staff, a nice bar, regular newsletters for members, reasonable ticket prices and an excellent programme of course, sometimes with rarities. It’s also walking distance from my old base in London; I went there to see Past Lives the day before I left my flat.

Now that I no longer have a base in London my favourite is the Ilkley Cinema. Going to see a film is much more of a production when you live in a Yorkshire rural area! Ilkley is about 45 minutes’ drive away from where I live, not easily accessible by public transport and parking when you get there is tricky and expensive. So you treat it as a day out. Ilkley is a pleasant Yorkshire town which boasts a branch of Betty’s tearoom.

The cinema itself is a pleasant place to visit, with two auditoria and the comfiest seats I’ve ever experienced in a cinema. Chintzy sofas with cushions, little tables to rest your food or drink on—served at your seat just before the screening begins. No ads​. I only ever get there once or twice a year, e.g. birthday, for a midday screening with a light lunch, say, followed by a stroll around Ilkley and afternoon tea at Bettys. (I get to Lancaster and the Dukes cinema more often as this can be done by train.)

Not popcorn and beer, but I am partial to having tea and cake served to me at my favourite front-row seat at Ilkley Cinema.

I would love to experience La Scala in Glasgow city centre exactly as it was in its 1930s heyday. So glamorous, and fondly remembered by a number of people who took part in the 1930s cinemagoing project, including at-seat refreshments service.