April 1981, Gravesend ABC, Superman II. I remember queuing in the cold under some scaffolding with my parents and sister. Cinema attendance was on the decline at this time, but my memory is of a packed picture house. I have vague memories of enthusiastically telling my grandparents about a baddie walking on water when we visited their house shortly after the screening.

My first film in the cinema was actually The Rescuers. I have almost zero memory apart from perhaps a mouse falling a long way and feeling some dread. It’s interesting to me that my cinema memories are always more emotional than visual, particularly those when I was a young kid.

Return of the Jedi, June 1983. I was taken to the Dominion on Tottenham Court Road for my seventh birthday treat along with my parents, my sister, my two cousins and auntie and uncle.

Beforehand we went to Hamleys, then the world’s biggest and most famous toy shop and I was spoiled rotten with Star Wars toys. I think I got an AT-AT, a Snowspeeder, an X-Wing and some new Return of the Jedi action figures, some with the blacked-out Ewoks on the back. (This is the 1983 Hamleys catalogue, a nostalgia trip for us 80s kids – Nigel).

I remember we sat in the upper circle and I could see the huge audience below. If memory serves, there was an animated Weetabix ad* before the film!

I remember being pumped about seeing the film and couldn’t wait for it to start. On leaving, my sister and I were allowed to buy a book in the foyer. I bought The Return of the Jedi storybook and my sister bought the behind-the-scenes book. On the train home we swapped and I was instantly in love with the idea that people make movies – artists, technicians… I was hooked. To this day I still enjoy interviewing people that worked on my childhood favourites, digging out new untold stories with the unsung heroes.

I find popcorn a bit too messy and also it has an odd smell if you’re not the one eating it. I prefer some jellies, chocolate or nuts and a cuppa. I’ve had beer in the cinema before, but honestly it just makes me want to use the facilities, and I hate missing anything. I am compliant with Kermode and Mayo’s Code of Conduct. The occasional soft roll. No crisps.

I wish the Picturehouse in Bromley was still open. It recently closed, five years after being renovated and reopened. For me it’s about a local cinema that doesn’t just show blockbusters.

But there is one seat in a particular cinema that I don’t think will ever be bettered for me. In April I was lucky enough to visit Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California.

I got to sit in George Lucas’ preferred seat and watch a reel of movie clips as well as Alex Garland’s Civil War. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more pristine projected picture or heard such full and rich audio. Quite incredible. Definitely an experience I’ll never forget. I’d be happy if that was my local picture house.

My old local – the Picturehouse, Bromley! I could walk or bike there very quickly. I loved going to see movies at 11am during the week (I often work weekends) and always enjoyed the renovated, art deco surroundings. Sadly I think it was perhaps a bit too sophisticated for Bromley. We’re hoping to move house soon, and while most people check that there are good local schools for their kids and make sure there is room for a dishwasher in the kitchen, I’m checking all the properties based on their proximity to local, good cinemas.

*according to Wikipedia, that’s Bob Hoskins’ voice in the Weetabix ad.