DID you go out at all on Saturday at about 3pm? It was deserted in Malton and Norton and then there was the scream all over as England scored the first goal. I then went in and watched the rest of the match (I was not at the cinema).

With the heat and the football, we were very quiet. This week is the week when, now 16 years ago, I re-opened the doors of the Palace cinema, to finally achieve my ambition to own and run a cinema. It has gone way beyond my expectation from those days – with the realisation of the three screens, implementation of digital projection and three shows a day every day.

We did make time to watch two films this week – Swimming With Men and Mary Shelley.

Mary Shelley was the story of the young Mary Godwin who is sent away to a progressive school where she encounters Percy Shelley.

The whole story builds up encountering dark days and the love they have for each other. A dark tale with some lighter moments discussing the issues of publishing in those days particularly for women.

Swimming with Men, however, is a full on fun and frolics film, with some heartaches along the way, story of men who have a swim club which takes them to greater heights as a group. I don’t remember it but it is basically a true story.

I have had reservations in the past about Rob Brydon, but have to say he and all the other cast, including Jim Carter, Charlotte Riley, Rupert Graves, Jane Horrocks (oh there are too many great ones) were brilliant.

Films we are showing from Friday, July 13 are:

Zoo (PG) – the saving of Buster - a young elephant in Belfast Zoo during the Second World War.

Mary Shelley (12A) – the turbulent tale of the writing of Frankenstein with Elle Fanning in the lead.

Swimming with Men (12A) – brilliant, touching film, full of fun and not to be missed.

The Incredibles 2 (PG and on its release date) – I think this marks the start of the summer holiday family films. The superhero family sees dad stay at home with the baby while Elastigirl, mom, is out saving lives.

The First Purge (15 and number two in the top 10) – a third political party rises in America and as part of it there is an experiment on Staten Island where there are no laws for 12 hours. No one has to stay but there is a sum of $5000 for those who do.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (12A and number one in the top 10) – still doing well so we have decided to keep it for one show on Saturday and Sunday.

Coming soon

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is getting closer - next Friday, July 20.

Stage shows

A new announcement from The Globe is The Winter’s Tale on Thursday, October 4 – this is Shakespeare’s story of love and false accusations as well as poisoning and disguise.

Tickets are on sale already and there are plenty of seats to choose from. Apparently this is the play with the stage direction “exit followed by a bear”.