Last night I caught the Underground to Stepney Green and then walked a couple of blocks to get to Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel. Unfortunately, Stepney Green is such a sad, featureless Underground station that even I, lover of all things automotive, couldn't bring myself to to take a photo.
Genesis Cinema is a really old building and once again, I wish I had done my homework before I went. I thought the building looked nice and modern but it's not - it's full of interesting history. The area is really dodgy - Whitechapel is where Jack the Ripper took his victims and I'm sorry, but the area hasn't improved since in my not-so-humble opinion. I went for an interview there last year and the "high bag snatching area" sign outside the Underground station really put me off. I'd tried to leave the crime behind me in SA!
Anyway... Stephen struggled for 45 minutes to find parking as he had driven up from Sidcup. The people at the cinema were really friendly and said of course they'd let us into the show still if Stephen only arrived after starting time.
I won the tickets through the Eros Reward Card from Evening Standard. I will have to look out for the signs next time - I am not sure if I ticked some option that took us all the way to Whitechapel (yes, that is me looking a gift free-movie-ticket in the neighbourhood). The Eros card was where I got the 2-for-1 Doctor Who tickets.
It probably sounds like I'm all gripes but actually, I would go back to this cinema because of its friendly staff. It was also voted one of the top ten cinemas in London for Art House films. The normal ticket price is only £6.50 and then you get all sorts of concessions, discounts and loyalty bonuses. I'd definitely recommend taking public transport to get there because there really is no parking in the surrounding area.
They've got the usual snacks inside including nachos and hot dogs. Hot dogs are one of my 5 staple food groups (along with tea, cheese, potatoes and Kit Kats) but unfortunately they were not yet cooked last night by the time we had to go into the theatre.
We saw Taken by the way, with Liam Neeson in. I wrote a review here. It was a lovely evening and it was nice to get out with Stephen. It made me really nostalgic because for the first 5 or 6 years of our relationship we went to movies every single Tuesday. Of course, that's because movies were R8 if you were on Discovery Medical Aid which is 55p or $1. I've heard that Bexley Cinema does half price Tuesdays too so one day we might get back into that groove. We'll see. :0)
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