IN the run-up to the 70th anniversary of Parkway Cinema, joint owner, Rob Younger, has been asking for our memories. Here are some of mine.

It’s October 1962 and I’m eight years old when my family visit the Odeon to see ‘Pinocchio’. This is a rare occurrence because normally we only visit the cinema together when we are on holiday in Blackpool.

The film takes my breath away. For 90 minutes, real life is abandoned as I’m transported into a world of pure magic. I love the cautionary lessons, the animation, the songs, and the scrapes Pinocchio’s innocence draws him into - despite warnings from his conscience, Jiminy Cricket. And has there ever been more realistic villains than Honest John and Stromboli?

My emotions are pulled hither and thither, but I unconsciously memorise the melody and lyrics to, ‘Hey diddle de de, an actor’s life for me.” I come away with that wonderfully enriched feeling of utter satisfaction.

Two years later my dad takes me to see ‘Goldfinger’.

We enter the cinema halfway through the film and are guided to our seats by a uniformed usherette with a torch. We’re aware that even though we’ve missed the start, when the film ends we’ll be allowed to remain in our seats and watch it all over again, at no extra cost.

The theatre is packed, including the upstairs circle. Many are puffing away on cigarettes and the beams of light from the film-projector emphasise the density of the smoke.

On the screen, James Bond – wearing a dark suit – is spread-eagled and strapped to a metal table by his arch enemy, Goldfinger. A laser beam burns slowly towards his crotch. Bond’s face betrays only minor concern, even though his ‘crown-jewels’ are about to be destroyed and there’s no possible escape.

But of course he does escape, until the next cliff-hanger moment.

When the film ends, my dad hands me a bob to fetch two tubs of icecream, and we can’t wait for the film to restart. We may be watching the scenes in the wrong order but the immense satisfaction we experience is still the same.

As a 10-year-old, my new hero is Bond, James Bond. He can outwit and beat anyone in a scrap. When faced with an armed villain wallowing in a tub full of soapy water, he tosses an electric fire into the bath and kills him. Then he does something similar to Odd Job when the giant bodyguard attempts to decapitate him. But above all, Bond’s most enviable quality is this: all beautiful women throw themselves at him.

Forget Denis Law, I want to be James Bond when I grow up, and I have such a crush on Pussy Galore! She can throw me into the hay, any day (although why anyone should be named after a cat, I’ve no idea).

The film, I realise, would not be the same without its brassy theme music.

The double-bill of Rocky I and II, creates my third perfect Odeon memory when I take my son, Asa, in 1982. I’ve always had this thing about super-heroes, especially those who upset the odds. But it still takes me by surprise when the whole audience cheers, as boxing down-and-out, Rocky Balboa, becomes world champion.

Heading for home, we jog on Shambles Street, towards the Town End. I start humming the theme tune: “Dadadah, dadadah dadadahdahdah...” and shadow-boxing my way to the foot of Pinfold Steps. Asa mimics me and starts to climb the steps, with me in pursuit – just like Rocky in the film.

So there we are: father and son, hugging, dancing, singing and celebrating, like we’re champions of the world.

Oh, what a fabulous memory!

Rob Younger, Carl Hirst and their team, are as much a part of our beloved borough as Oakwell, the Town Hall and Locke Park. Their dedicated work is a labour of pure love.

But when the pandemic struck and films could not be made or shown, I know the cinema suffered an existential threat.

The word on the street was, “Parkway is about to close its doors for the final time.”

Then, like George Bailey in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, Rob Younger suddenly found himself on the receiving end of generous donations from many ordinary folk. As the funds came cascading in, fresh life was breathed into a much-valued local treasure, and its future was assured.

Happy 70th anniversary, Parkway Cinema!