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RECENT HAPPENINGS by Fred Page

The picture night at the Roxy was a sellout for "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" and the selected featurettes. The
attendance at our annual show is creeping upwards in line with the Society's growth, so to accommodate the
anticipated crowds next year the program will be presented for two nights. As usual we thank Ken for the use
of the Roxy and for his usual professional standard of presentation.

It was a pleasure to be entertained by Maurice Scott as he spoke to us about his life in the cinema and theatre
industry. His talk which went for around 45 minutes was a joy to listen to. especially the anecdotes concerning
Dr. Zhivago and the Metro commissionaire. If you didn't attend ask someone who was to repeat the stories;
they had to be true - you couldn't make it up!

We hope we see more of Maurice in the future and to him we express our thanks for the enhancement he
brought to the meeting. Surely among our 74 members we have others with a story to tell- let's hear yours.

It was pleasing to hear the complimentary remarks made about CinemaRecord; hate the Editor-keep him busy.

As well as the material which continues to trickle in to the archives, the Society has purchased three reference
books:- The MGM Story, The Warner Brothers Story, and The Hollywood Story.
These can be borrowed on the same basis as the videos.

Thanks to a donation from Alan Windley we now have a double video "A Night at the Movies". An updated list
of videos will appear in the next issue of CinemaRecord.

At this stage it is appropriate to record our thanks to Pamella Hutchison who we are really abusing by the
volume of typing being thrown at her. I'm sure everybody has noticed the high quality of our typed material.
Thanks Pam, we need you.

In the manner of last years trip to the North-East, the 1994 convention at Warrnambool was a like success.
On arrival at the Hotel Warmambool we sat down to a hot meal with a variety of salads to go with it. By mid
afternoon the group 'marched' to the Performing Arts Centre. This is a 19th century town hall which has been
converted to a modern rated theatre. The Manager, Cheryle Todd, was our tour guide and we inspected the
foyers, auditorium, stage (fly tower, dressing rooms, green room and the adjoining dance hall/convention
centre. A feature of the foyer is an embroidered representation of the proscenium showing little cameos of
events which have taken place there. We were presented with postcards and Town Hall brochures which will
attendees form the basis of a CinemaRecord article from one of the in the future. Suffice to say the facility is
in excellent condition and a credit to the City.

It was then into the cars and on to Port Fairy. Initially we were let down, as our contact- The Town Clerk- was
in Canberra. Some detective work by Gerry Kennedy soon had Council officials in attendance and we were in
to the Community Centre, formerly the Port Fairy Theatre. The theatre was of stadium design and the steeply
raked section remains complete with seats. The lower section has been levelled and fitted with nets to form an
indoor cricket venue. Films are still screened in the summer and the bio equipment is still in situ. There is no
stage or proscenium so a screen is fitted to a "gate" hinged on the right hand wall about half way along the flat
floor section. When the indoor cricket nets are taken down, the screen is swung into position for the movies.
The overall condition is run down and very little of the theatrical architecture remains.
The Port Fairy Lecture Hall is another matter. Although a little tatty (get that Neil), this building is a little gem.
It is in effect a bijou theatre with stage, apron, arched proscenium and a couple of dressing rooms. The floor
is stepped in three levels and over the door is a tiny platform for spotlights or film projectors. The word that
best describes it is "charming".- If only it was ours and in Melbourne!

It was then a quick drive past the "drill hall" that was once the "Fairy Palace" and back to the hotel for dinner.
Another superb meal of roast with the trimmings followed by plum pudding or fruit salad. We then staggered
into the Function Room which had been converted into a cinema for the night. Ken and Denzil's projectors
were stoked up and we enjoyed 'Tom and Gerry' followed by Judy Garland in 'Little Nellie Kelly', a most apt film
with it's Irish theme in the Irish heart of Victoria. Between the films, Denzil introduced our guests, Leo and
Theresa Howard, who had provided contacts for our inspections. Denzil then gave us a talk on the history of
3YB the local radio station and played some archival material in which Theresa featured many years ago.
The presentation of the films was of the usual high standard we come to expect of Ken - thanks a million Ken
(and Denzil). The night still wasn't over, guess what- it was supper time. One thing's for sure- CATHS-V is
good on the tooth!