Situated in the remote hamlet of Low Moor in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, The Band Room is an unlikely concert venue and well off the beaten track. Built in the 1920s for The Farndale Silver Band it holds one hundred people. However, recent visitors come to enjoy more modern music from a small but carefully selected list of international visitors, giving the Band Room the reputation as “the greatest small venue on earth”.

On our journey the roads got smaller and the surroundings more beautiful as we drove into the valley of Farndale. It was the building itself that originally interested me and seeing it 'in the flesh' wasn't a disappointment - a charming small corrugated iron structure with porch and red roof, the Yorkshire Moors sitting high on the hills behind it. The interior is as lovely as the exterior, white washed wooden panelled floor and ceiling with a strikingly simple red lit stage edged with white fairy lights.

We navigated through the small crowd and sank happily into the laid back atmosphere sitting on the floor near the front with the local kids surrounded by their pop and crisps. The band came on stage. Citay, the six piece from San Francisco, were obviously delighted to be there, "why can't every day be like this?" asked their lead singer. The small stage and friendly people gave the venue a wonderful old fashioned charm but as the band started up with four electric guitars the place was brought alive.

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Posted by Maraid on February 17, 2011 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Just off the sea front in Bridlington you can walk around the corner from the promenade and experience a different type of amusement arcade. Old Penny Memories allows you step back in time and play coin-operated arcade games from the heyday of British seaside entertainment.

In the entrance you can pay a pound for a cup of twenty old one penny coins which operate the majority of games. It feels good to handle the big old pennies and you get a lot of play for your pound. The main room houses a variety of games and amusements such as early pinball machines, what the butler saw, penny pushing, shooting gallery, laughing policeman (well.. he may have been a sailor), strength tester and fruit machines. Pleasant sounds of bells and chimes ring out from 'pinball alley' in the next room.

Just like modern day arcades there is a buzz in the air, children and adults move around eager to play the next game while (sixties) pop music heightens the excitement. The difference, it seems, is that people here are not hypnotised by the flashing lights, computer imagery or prospect of winning money but genuinely excited by the inventive games.

It’s tempting to call Old Penny Memories a museum as the items have been collected, cared for and shared with the public. But this may be misleading as nothing is out of bounds and you are free to play on all the arcade games, each one unique in design, craftsmanship and entertainment.

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Posted by Maraid on August 09, 2009 | Permalink

While searching for some evening entertainment in Reykjavík I came across a list of times for The Volcano Show at Red Rock Cinema. I was intrigued but struggled to find any further details or reviews, eventually I found one description online - "a bit of an oddity that attracts geologists and curious tourists alike". That sold it for me.

Arriving at the Red Rock Cinema you are immediately struck by the beautiful small red wooden buildings. We began to realise that we were the first, and perhaps only, people to arrive but this was a bonus. From a quick glance around the images in the foyer we recognised the man that appeared from the back room as the film maker and director of The Volcano Show. Villi Knudsen has been filming the volcanoes of Iceland for decades and took over from his father, Ósvaldur, who started in the 1940s. Their life-time dedication has paid off and left them with thousands of hours of footage, piles of canisters and videos can be seen through the window of the editing studio. Villi was keen to chat, not just about his work, but also about us. He was curious, interesting and I was slow to notice his wonderful dry straight-faced sense of humour which later crept through in the film.

Two more people arrived. We were shown through to the small cinema surrounded by maps and filming equipment. Villi gave us some background to the films and Iceland's volcanic history. The films are split into two, you can watch one or both and there are showings in different languages. Part one is entitled "Villi Knudsen's Volcanic Adventures". A younger Villi appears on screen and the film begins.

Regrettably we couldn't stay for part two. I didn't mind missing the film too much but I wanted to hear Villi talk some more and stay a little longer in his Red Rock Cinema.

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Posted by Maraid on November 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)