CINEMAS, when Spectator was but a young un they were the heart and soul of entertainment, people would queue for hours just to make sure they could be certain of a seat for the big blockbusters of the day.

OK that was a while ago and with the pandemic and now home entertainment becoming ever bigger and impressive you can see it's a battle to encourage people to turn out. So the grand campaign by Thirsk's Ritz Cinema is heartwarming. They've issued an invitation to support them and go and see the movie Save our Cinema, a British film based on the true story of a community in Wales who fought to stop their theatre being bulldozed in 1993.

It's obviously been a very tricky time for cinemas thanks to Covid-19. Thirsk is totally volunteer run and is one of the oldest in the country dating back to 1912. They did get a £6,000 grant and money locally through councillor Gareth Dadd and the county council's community fund, but largely they have had to try and keep their head above water themselves and used the time to improve and update the auditorium, particularly the nostalgic but not necessarily comfortable seats.

They're now trying to build their audiences back up to pre pandemic levels and slowly but surely people are coming. For Spectator it's a no brainer the lure of snuggling down into a large chair in front of a big screen, with popcorn and a bag of sweets, it's the height of luxury. And if it keeps a tradition alive that's so far lasted 110 years, we're right behind it, or preferably slap bang in the front row.