May 2011
I’m sure there is a sort of Room 101 at The Rex Cinema, Berkhamsted,  where a phone constantly rings and no one answers it. We have invited some friends for the weekend and have promised them a visit to our renowned local cinema. The problem is that we are in France the weekend the tickets go on sale and so a special plan is put in place. As soon as the clock strikes 10.30am on Saturday morning, the moment at which tickets go on sale, we will hit the phones while en route from Caen to Brittany. As this will have to be done via our mobiles I first check with Orange and Vodafone that we won’t be charged when we encounter the inevitable engaged tone.

The film is The Lincoln Lawyer, hardly a blockbuster, and we had been assured by a nice man at the Box Office that we shouldn’t have much trouble getting through. One hour of solid, dual calling from myself and my wife has produced one moment of hope: a call is connected and is ringing, And ringing. And ringing. It’s not the first time this has happened. You think, ah good, I’m through. But you’re not.

Maybe it’s The Rex’s idea of slow torture, made worse by the odd moment of hope. Eventually, after about an hour and a half and goodness knows how many hundred attempts, we finally get through and the booking is made. Our friends are thrilled. The Lincoln Lawyer is good Saturday night entertainment but the real pleasure is in being in The Rex. That’s why people put up with all the ridiculous hassle of obtaining a ticket!