Saturday Morning Pictures

A Memory of Aldershot.

The ABC song certainly brought back memories of my regular Saturday morning trips to the pictures in the late 1940s and early 50s. In Aldershot we were lucky that the ABC – the Ritz, and the Empire – an Odeon cinema, were situated right next to each other. We looked at each programme displayed and, depending on which film we fancied, chose the one we wanted to see. It certainly gave our mums an hour or so without having to amuse their kids at weekends!

My most vivid memories are of the huge ruched curtains which went up at the start of the show and of horrid boys who kept clambering over the seats or threw their sweet wrappers at us girls. Imagine the despair if we were too ill to attend one week and had to miss the next exciting episode of Flash Gordon or other gripping serial instalments.

Here is the kids’ Odeon song we used to sing at the beginning – as loud as we could – and the noise would be deafening!

We come along on Saturday morning
Greeting everybody with a smile,
We come along on Saturday morning,
Knowing it's well worthwhile,
As members of the Odeon club,
We all intend to be,
Good citizens when we grow up,
And champions of the free,
We come along on Saturday morning,
Greeting everybody with a smile, smile, smile,
Greeting everybody with a smile.

Diana Lawer