Working there

Lillian, the usherette

The uniform was a deep mauvey skirt and top and you had to wear a white blouse under that. It was your own blouse but she [the manageress] provided the skirt and waistcoat too. It was normal - calf length skirt. You had to have shoes and stockings to match,
you could never wear high heels or anything like that.

You worked wherever in the cinema you were needed. You didn't stay just in one place. You didn't do the same aisle... you were trained to use the torch. You didn't shine it in people's faces or on the screen.

People don't realise but in those days you had two or three different prices… in the stalls and… then upstairs, it was more expensive upstairs. People never tried to sneak into the wrong seats.

We worked from six o'clock until it finished - about ten thirty. And of course we had the ice creams and soft drinks to take around. We did that as well, especially during the intermission. You'd be standing in front of the screen - three of you, four of you and people used to come down and fetch the ice creams and the drinks. Mind you she [the manageress] had a crafty little knack, she used to turn the heating up in that cinema, so everybody was thirsty and wanted ice cream! Sometimes the film had something to do with it. If it were a film set in the desert, people would get a lot thirstier than if it was a film set in the North Pole…. Ice creams, choc-ices, lollies and drinks and nuts. Tubs of ice cream. You made up your own tray.

You had a little tip up seat at the back, but none of us used it… It wasn't very comfortable… it wasn't meant to be. No, we used to stand along the back.

People often fell asleep. You had to wake them up, "Come on darling - it's finished." If they slept through a film it was alright… as long as they didn't snore!

Barry, the manager

It was company policy to be in evening dress in the foyer. Yes, that was a must. You had to be changed by 6 o'clock and make an appearance.

It was a bit of a mixture of regular patrons and new ones really… but you did recognise lots of them. You were quite often on friendly terms with some of them because of the fact that they were regulars and you knew that they were going to come in and you wondered what had happened to them sometimes if they didn't show up one week.

I joined the ABC circuit in 1955 and prior to that I was a trainee manager and assistant manager in Northamptonshire, Oxford and so on. Then I came down to Blackheath as manager in 1962…. When I first went there [the Roxy] the separate performance policy hadn't started. They were still continuous, so people were led to their seats - or usherettes attempted to - people didn't always follow…

Chewing gum was always a bit of a problem, on seats, carpets, wherever.