昨天， 天气好得不得了 – 21度，晴。
Ed放工后，我们出去逛和在Bloor Cinema(如上图）看The Queen。
这间戏院约有一百年历史，已蛮残旧了， 政府也没特别修补。
放映的都是较过时的或独立电影。
票价很便宜，只收会员加币4元。
它让我想起小时候与家人看电影的日子。
那时，一 张戏票才5元马币左右。
爸爸爱看电影，约每一，两个星期看一 部。
马来西亚旧戏院的座位是延一级一级的阶梯建的。
每一行座位比前一行高一级阶梯，所以不会被挡住视线。
通常， 大人不会买戏票给小孩，我爸爸在内。
我们小孩没戏票，如爸妈旁的座位是空的话，那是我们幸运的日子。
否则，得坐在走道的阶梯上看戏。
我爸爸只买走道旁的座位，所以我可以坐在他座位旁的阶梯。
有时，我爸旁的阶梯被其他小孩“霸”了，我还是会被逼坐得离爸爸老远的。
在那时，吉隆坡的小孩们都是这样看电影的。
小孩多时，会把院内的阶梯都坐满，大人们要进出也不容易。好不热闹！
现在的电影院不会允许小孩坐阶梯。小孩也要买票才可进场。
而且，现在的小孩， 多是玩电脑的，不然家中也有大型电视。
此情此景已不复在了。也已听不到阶梯上小孩的嘻笑声。
Bloor Cinema 这旧戏院内没有阶梯。
我不禁想问：多伦多以前的小孩又是怎样看电影的呢？
上图是吉隆坡其中一个旧戏院。我想是我家常去的其中一家。现在，已被铲平，成了停车场。
The weather yesterday was very pleasant – 21 Celsius and sunny.
After work, Ed met up with me for a walk and a movie (The Queen) at Bloor Cinema (photo above).
Bloor Cinema has over 100 years of history.
The interior is quite old and there are no major restoration by the government.
It usually show second run movies, independent movies etc.
The ticket is very cheap, and only charge members CAD$4 per ticket.
This cinema reminds me of the good old cinema memories that I had with my family.
When I was young, the movie ticket in Malaysia was very cheap, only about 5 riggit malaysia.
My dad loves movies, and we watched one movie every one to two weeks.
Most of the old cinemas in Malaysia had steps or stairs.
Each role of seats was higher than the front role by a step, hence no blockage of audience’s view.
At that time, adults would normally not buy tickets for their children, including my dad.
Without tickets, as kids, we normally prayed for empty seats next to my parents’ seats.
Otherwise, we had to sit at the steps in the walkway.
My dad only bought tickets for seats by the walkway, so I could sit right next to him at the steps.
Sometimes, if the steps were occupied by other kids, I would have to sit at steps very far from him.
This is how children in Kuala Lumpur watched movies in cinema in the old days.
If it was a full-house, the steps would be packed by children and adult audience would had problems walking through the walkway. It was lots of fun !
Nowadays, modern cinema will not allow children to sit at the steps in the walkway. And, parents have to buy tickets for their young children.
The scene mentioned above is no longer exits. We can’t hear children’s laughter in the walkway anymore.
Bloor Cinema does not have steps like the old cinema in Malaysia.
I wondered : in Toronto, how did the kids watch movies in cinema in the old days ?
The photo above wasone of the old cinemas in Kuala Lumpur. I think it was one of them that we went when I was young. It was demolished in 2002 and now a parking ground.
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