The Bump (The Alexandra) Cinema update 7/1/03 at the foot of the article

We're grateful to Andy Cashmore for the following: I was interested to read Sid Plant's memories and in particular his reference to the cinema in Gornal. I too remember the cinema, it was in Redhall Road, just down from the Chinese takeaway and before the top of Bank Road. It was closed and boarded up when I knew it, but my Mother always referred to it as 'The Bump'. She said that she had done quite a bit of 'courtin' in there - whatever that means! The take away was a chip shop and us young 'uns would buy our chips from there and sit on The Bump steps to eat them. They demolished the building a few years ago and built a row of two storey flats. Let's have all of your memories of the cinema - why was it called The Bump? Do you remember the staff there, or a particularly memorable film you saw? We want to know everything - well, almost everything, depending on whether your courtin' conquests are rated PG or X. And how about the Upper Gornal picture house? Email us at admin@yampy.co.uk. * * * Update 7/1/03 We asked above why it was called 'The Bump'. According to Ned Williams' interesting book Cinemas of the Black Country, it came from the noise made by the slow-revving Crossley single-cylinder gas engine which drove the generator in the shed at the side of the building. If we can get permission, we will soon publish Ned's history of The Bump, as well as that of "Jack Darby's" (now County Wallpapers). By the way, regarding Andy's courtin' reference, we understand that the back rows at The Bump were double seats in order to facilitate more comfortable, er, viewing. They were apparently known as "the 'oss (horse) boxes".