An Education .....

Somewhat , ( though admittedly not much ) anxious at the Autumnal prospect of Falling into a Rut , I vowed to book myself a night out no matter what last night , forgetting that it was Hallowe'en . Come seven pm the odds were stacked against me . Saturday night and therefore venturing out meant that I would inevitably miss Casualty , about the only TV thing I watch , well apart from Holby City of course . I am nothing if not predictable and I do love hospitals , having become accustomed to them over the years .
Then of course the lateness of the hour . I had been building up to seeing a film and was particularly keen to see Lynne Barber's memoirLynn Barber: My age of innocence - Times Online transformed by Nick Hornby and the Danish director whose name temporarily escapes me , out from Friday inwards at Oh Bliss the Tyneside cinemaTyneside Cinema: Welcome to Newcastle’s newest cinema - and a brand new kind o in Newcastle thus giving me the opportunity to inspect its recent transformation and for me to step back in time to my twenties when I was in the habit of seeing every film that came out , often on my own . - An Education An Education was billed to start at Nine pm . Nine pm ! Usually the time I would be thinking of changing into my night time attire in the interests of comfort , and shuffling off to watch a few episodes of Six Feet Under since I discovered the Boxed Sets at the library .
Could I really be tootled to get changed into suitable Going Out clothes , apply make up even , brave the storm which was forecast , find a parking space in town and calculate the time it would take to drive there in order to arrive at the correct time for the film . Did I really even want to see the film that much ? Enough to go on my own ? I had made a half hearted effort to invite a friend but she was indisposed , having flu . I didn't try anyone else , partly wanting to go it alone . Partly wanting to make it easy to drop out if I wanted to .
But ... you know what , I did it !
Donning an outfit of Nat's , I pushed myself out the door , drove off there in good time , parked no problem , though walking up a back alley in town I did have a few qualms when encountering a few lonely souls dressed in ghoul outfits , with black and grey robes and the scream masks . As they approached me in turn out of the shadows , I kept my pace up , stilled my beating heart and thought , at twice their age and some , I am probably as scary in this dark back lane ! Just Keep walking .......Arriving in good time , I found the Tyneside coffee rooms open and the young waitress admired my Hard Rock Cafe brooch I was given in Barcelona . And the film .... oh the film was so good . So many memories , of Twickenham , of riding around in a car like the one the older boyfriend had whilst staying in Teddington myself so many years ago blah blah .....And the city when I emerged at eleven or thereabouts was heaving with the street cleaning machines and literally a plethora of witches ghosts and assorted spectres so many that it was impossibly to be alarmed . I walked back to my car on air , in a throng of people , so glad I made the effort .