Page 6 - CR_01_Printer

RECENT HAPPENINGS by Fred Page

Following the October meeting we were entertained by the final episode of "The Crimson Ghost" and large videos
of cinemas in Singapore, Fiji and India. Rod How made and projected these videos on his own equipment and
provided a live commentary of the program. Serial addicts will be pleased to know that "Spymaster'' will
commence at the February meeting. It has been run before but those who saw the first episode would number
less than eight. Thanks to the two Rods for providing this entertainment. As usual we ran out of time and were
unable to see the Regent Open Day video.

·November saw us travelling to Seymour to visit Neil Harris and his "Tatty Cinema". The day commenced with
great weather and a picnic lunch in Neil's backyard, which was a joy to inhabit. We were shown over Neil's
engineering works located within the historic former Seymour power station. All were impressed by the
orderliness of the place, and the railway buffs enjoyed the photos on the noticeboards of the "S" Class (Spirit
of Progress engines.

After lunch we were escorted to the "Tatty", which is a converted Victorian cottage. It is well equipped with 35mm
and 16mm projectors, and provided with comfortable theatre chairs. On the screen we were entertained with old
newsreels and short subjects. Following the picture show, Nancy Harris generously supplied tea/coffee and
biscuits.

But the day was'nt over. Arrangements had been made with the Seymour railway preservation group to conduct
us over the historic rolling stock housed in the adjacent railway complex. Well this was the icing on the cake and
made an already enjoyable day something special. Word got around that the "J" Class steamer was due in from
Yarrawonga at about 5.15, so it was decided to stay to witness its arrival. It was back to the "Tatty" for more movies
and afternoon tea to fill in the time. Judging by the laughter and comments (mainly off colour) the second session
was enjoyed more then the first. Then it was back to the railway yards and guess what? We had been misinformed
of the arrival time, now to be 6.15, so it was decided to pack up and leave after a most enjoyable day.

Thanks again to Neil and Nancy for entertaining us and thoughtfully providing for our needs. We all had one of
those great days CATHS-V is becoming famous for. And Neil, thanks to your mates in the railway group.

As if the foregoing was'nt enough, we were entertained on another full day on the Mornington Peninsula on the
5th of December. The day started with an inspection of the Momington Cinema. We were not shown in the
projection room and there was little to see in the auditorium, it being a virtually unadorned concrete brick hall.
It's redeeming features being air conditioning and a raked floor. The projectionist, Peter Wallis, informed us that
the screen will be brought forward (with the expense of the first two rows of seats) and the screen made larger
by extending it wall-to-wall, over relocated exit doors. This arrangement still does not allow for curtains to be used
with the screen. Our thanks to lan McCann, Tessa and Peter Wallis for the inspection.

A few metres up the street we entered the "Deli By The Sea" for lunch. The number attending the Mornington
event was unknown prior to the day, so no booking was made for lunch and the staff of the "Deli" wondered what
had struck them when more than twenty of us arrived. The lunch was inexpensive and very satisfying, and the
chatter and joke telling that went on made for a very convivial time.

It was then off to the "Studio Multi Media Museum" where we inspected TV production equipment and
memorabilia, a few film projectors, several radios and radiograms, and an odd gramophone or two. The
collection is quite extensive, however members reactions to the display were mixed with several commenting
that the exhibits were mixed up too much to concentrate on any particular topic, in our case, cinema. Never-the-
less we were made welcome and enjoyed a 25% discount on the usual admission charge. Further we have been
invited to provide our publications for sale there, and to supply a radio advertisment for CA THS-V (All of this is
now in place). Thanks to Ken Tulloch for his assistance at the studio.

The day still was'nt over! It was off to Fred Page's at Frankston for a barbecue which was held in perfect weather,
in contrast to last yearts washout. A collection of European sub-gauge projectors was on display, together with
library materials. Gerry Kennedy and Peter O'Reilly displayed the CATHS-V archive items and had some
success in having a number of photos identified. To cap off the day Alan Windley supplied the Laurel and Hardy
film "Blockheads", which was enjoyed by all.

This year commenced with a visit to the Progress Theatre, West Coburg. A report on this outing will appear in
the next issue.