Media GUIDE
cosy Cinema
Writing for Radio
The Cosy Cinema Presents: Northern Soul The Concertina Club, Mexborough, S64 9AZ 6th November
Book It! on Sine FM
Four days into my internship and I got to see what Right Up Our Street is all about. I arrived at the Concertina Club to set up The Cosy Cinema’s upcoming event alongside the arts supporter for Mexborough, Dominic Somers. Empty, the venue reminded me of sleepy, familiar social clubs back home in Hull, and for a moment it was hard to picture a lively communal gathering. One screen, two speakers and plenty of re-arranged seating later, I was proved wrong as the guests started to arrive. They were eager. The first couple of people through the doors weren’t regulars coming in to settle for the night with a routine pint - they were here for the film early and had managed to get there before the barman and DJ had even arrived. The film was Elaine Constantine’s recent release, Northern Soul. Set in 1974, it follows the story of two Northern boys and their discovery of black American soul music, capturing the youth culture of the time. It was humorous, insightful and nostalgic for some of the attendees. The shared interest (and laughs) in the film contributed to the night’s success, but also contributing were the attention to detail and additional flourishes, which made it into an event, rather than just a film screening. The guests were greeted with their very own free Northern Soul patch, customised with a Yorkshire rose and the name of the club. These proved popular, with one lady stopping by to collect some for her enthusiastic son, who couldn’t make the event. A special beer was on offer too, Long After Tonight is Over, named and brewed by barman Andy. Most importantly though was Tony the DJ, who played soul before and after the film. I had to catch a train home and missed the end of the film (luckily sparing the gathering from witnessing my attempt at dancing), but I thoroughly enjoyed what I did experience because that’s exactly what it was: an experience. As the lights went down and we began to watch together, you could sense the communal atmosphere, far beyond that of a normal cinema, as this was small, uniting and, well, cosy.
What do Roy Clarke of Open All Hours, best-selling novelist Joanne Harris and Katie ‘Jordan’ Price have in common? They’ve all appeared on Book It!, Doncaster’s local radio programme about books and writing. When local author Stephanie Cage and I visited Sine FM back in 2009, we were looking for some publicity for Doncaster Writers, a group which still meets at Central Library. Thanks to some smooth talking by Sine’s Jon Kelly, I found myself signing up first for one of Sine’s taster courses, then the regular presenters’ course. Book It! went on air in January 2010. Stephanie, who is a published romance writer, was my first guest in the author spot of the show and local writer Phil Baker read one of his stories. The programme also features book reviews and, for the last few years, the library spot, featuring news of upcoming author and other events at Doncaster library services. I’m always looking for new writers for the story spot of the show. If you write entertaining, short fiction of approximately 2,000 words, please contact me at sheila@sinefm.com. Depending on how comfortable you are with reading aloud, you can read your story or I can arrange for someone to read on your behalf. Book It! broadcasts at 10 am on the last Saturday of every month on Sine FM. You can listen to Sine in central Doncaster on 102.6 FM or online at sinefm.com. Programmes are held on podcast and can be found on the Sine website. Sheila North (Photo Credit: Mark Sebastian ©2014)
Lydia Caprani, Right Up Our Street community arts intern. The next Cosy Cinema screening is Whistle Down The Wind at Concertina Club, Thursday 4th December from 7pm. (Photo Credit: Right Up Our Street ©2014)
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