Demolition of Astor cinema: End of an era

Jul 31, 2017 News, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....inema-end-of-an-era/

When I read last week that Astor cinema will follow its sister theatre and neighbour on Waterloo Street, the Globe and be demolished, a tsunami of memories flooded the floors of my mind. There were five popular cinemas in the heart of downtown Georgetown at the time I was growing up in Wortmanville, South Georgetown – Strand Deluxe at Wellington and Charlotte Streets (the building is still there but is now occupied by a Brazilian church); Metropole at Robb and Wellington Streets; Plaza on Camp Street and Astor and Globe. I wouldn’t say Empire was in the heart of the city though it was on Middle Street closer to East Street rather than Camp Street. All are now gone. Long gone.

For some inscrutable reason, Astor and Globe were the favoured ones for the ordinary folks in South Georgetown. The section where the poorer classes went was referred to as ‘pit.’ On any day, no matter what movie was playing, the ‘pit’ of Astor and Globe would be filled. Strand Deluxe and Plaza were more often patronized by the folks from outside of Georgetown. Metropole always had a more diverse set of patrons.

It was Globe that had a contract with Vivian Lee (the major recorder producer of Robb and King Streets) to host Johnny Braff, Guyana’s singing sensation of the late sixties and early seventies. I rather suspect that the owners of Plaza and Strand would not have wanted to accommodate the type of patrons that would have flocked to Braff’s shows, for fear of damage to property because of crowd behaviour. And it did happen. At one of Braff’s performances, the door to the entrance to ‘pit’ was torn off in the mad rush. I saw Johnny Braff twice at the Globe and it breaks my heart to see the bad hand fate has dealt him in the 21st century. We name streets after cricketers but nothing after Braff who swept this country off its feet fifty years ago. This country has an ugly conscience. I hope we pay due recognition to Dave Martins, who is very much alive, swinging and singing.

Ask any South Georgetown unemployed about how he spent his nights and he would tell you; the cinemas were his life line. There are just too many memories of the cinemas to even fill one book length manuscript. My memories of Astor will live forever. It was at that cinema my daughter had her last movie outing with both parents together. The movie was DEEP RISING about monsters at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that eat up all the passengers of a luxury cruise ship. I would not keep such an item in my DVD collection but I do have it to remind me of the last time I visited the cinema with my kid. She has grown up and never went back to the cinema with me.

It was at the Plaza that I proposed to my wife. The time was Old Year’s Night in 1978. We went to see THE MASTER GUNFIGHTER about the massacre of Indians after the Americans took California from Mexico. We got married one month, one week after. Ask my wife what is her favourite movie and she would tell you number one is the MASTER GUNFIGHTER because of that night at the Plaza and KING OF THE GYPSIES, the first movie we saw after we began dating. It was shown at the Astor. Astor Cinemas reminds me of Boyo Ramsaroop, who saved me from a wasted life in Wortmanville. He insisted I come with him to Astor to see ROMEO AND JULIET.

One of the things I will always remember as a Wortmanville boy on D’Urban Street going to the cinemas in the night was the channa shop at D’Urban and Camp Streets directly opposite the now infamous Camp Street prison. My friends and I always take the same route – west on D’Urban, north into Camp. There was where “channa man” was. Huge basins of steaming channa. You look, you want, but you can’t buy because all you had was the ticket money for PIT. The tearing down of Astor marks the final chapter of a certain lovely period in the life of Georgetown.

Frederick Kissoon

Demolition of Astor cinema: End of an era

Jul 31, 2017 News, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....inema-end-of-an-era/

One of the things I will always remember as a Wortmanville boy on D’Urban Street going to the cinemas in the night was the channa shop at D’Urban and Camp Streets directly opposite the now infamous Camp Street prison. My friends and I always take the same route – west on D’Urban, north into Camp. There was where “channa man” was. Huge basins of steaming channa. You look, you want, but you can’t buy because all you had was the ticket money for PIT. The tearing down of Astor marks the final chapter of a certain lovely period in the life of Georgetown.

Frederick Kissoon

"Channa man", well known person and shop.

Dat DAAG Bunham mek plenty people watch movies on a hungry belly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of feeling up use to happen in balcony 

Tell me about it. I love the late shows at 8 PM or the 11 PM advance shows. I rememer going to JAWS 11 PM show with a Binnie, she had to wait till marnin to enter her house so we spend the night at a Cricket ground on the East Coast.

Nehru  behave yourself!

fun days

Astor and Globe brought back many memories for Prashad.  I first took my future wife to watch "Animal House". At Globe I would watch Christopher Lee movies.

Nehru posted:

Tell me about it. I love the late shows at 8 PM or the 11 PM advance shows. I rememer going to JAWS 11 PM show with a Binnie, she had to wait till marnin to enter her house so we spend the night at a Cricket ground on the East Coast. 

She used the bat and you were the ball ??  

DG how come we dont see you talking about any chicks you hustle back home. What happen man goat bite you

Amral posted:

DG how come we dont see you talking about any chicks you hustle back home. What happen man goat bite you

I hustled chicks while in Guyana and at university studies in Europe.

Many are well established in Guyana and other parts of the world.

I did mention that while in Europe I frequented Austria to meet a young lady while we attended the opera and other activities.

"My wings got clipped" when I got married in Guyana and she then had me in the narrow and straight path.

Which one of the Cinemas, Rohee was the caretaker of our bikes?

Mitwah posted:

Which one of the Cinemas, Rohee was the caretaker of our bikes?

Me thinks Metropole.

Hopefully my comments on GNI will leave no doubt that I love lots of women. I had no problems kissing up girls in the cinemas or feeling up them bubbies.  However, I once went with a girl and I couldn't wait for the movie to finish. As soon as the shorts started, she wanted to climb on me hugging and kissing. Even for me, that was way too much. Very unfortunate since she was from one of those sawmilling family. I could have milked her family money but my worry was that she wanted me to milk her. 

ksazma posted:

Hopefully my comments on GNI will leave no doubt that I love lots of women. I had no problems kissing up girls in the cinemas or feeling up them bubbies.  However, I once went with a girl and I couldn't wait for the movie to finish. As soon as the shorts started, she wanted to climb on me hugging and kissing. Even for me, that was way too much. Very unfortunate since she was from one of those sawmilling family. I could have milked her family money but my worry was that she wanted me to milk her. 

she had a sex change she use to be a man 

warrior posted:

ksazma posted:

Hopefully my comments on GNI will leave no doubt that I love lots of women. I had no problems kissing up girls in the cinemas or feeling up them bubbies.  However, I once went with a girl and I couldn't wait for the movie to finish. As soon as the shorts started, she wanted to climb on me hugging and kissing. Even for me, that was way too much. Very unfortunate since she was from one of those sawmilling family. I could have milked her family money but my worry was that she wanted me to milk her. 

she had a sex change she use to be a man 

Even better that the movie finished when it did.