Grease is the Word! - Drive-In Film Club

Why don't we have more drive-in cinemas in London? One even features in Grease which is set in the 1950's yet they are so rare over here. Probably down to our dodgy weather I know, but the sultry weather we've been having lately suits them perfectly.

This week I went a long to the first night of the summertime run of the Drive-In Film Club, by the people at Experience Cinema and what could be a better opening night film than Grease? Grease the Sing-a-Long!

Situated in the south car park at Brent Cross Shopping Centre in North/West London, we got a little lost trying to find it at first but it is really well signed once you get into the (wrong) car park and we were able to follow the signs there. It's not a hugely glamourous affair but who needs glamour when you're being so all American, watching a movie with a pal or a partner - in your car!

We pulled up and showed our e-ticket (it's £22 per car regardless of the number of occupants) and were given a handout with some info about the night including the frequency we would need to tune into to hear the film in the car. We checked out a couple of vendors selling hot-dogs and popcorn as well as the toilet cabin, before being shown to our parking space. We'd arrived just before the film started so the car park was pretty busy already. After a quick announcement over the PA, we joined Sandy, Danny, Rizzo and the gang at Rydell High, singing along to the lyrics that appeared on the screen.

It was a balmy night so there were cars with their tops down and there was a lovely vibe, people all singing along and swaying their hands in the air to 'Hopelessly Devoted'.
Waiters and waitresses on rollerskates are also on hand to deliver sweets, drinks and popcorn to your car if you give them a flash of your headlights to catch their attention!
There didn't seem to be any rule against bringing your own goodies either, so we had a few of those in my car. We watched, sang a long and generally had a great night.
Sing with me now "We will alwayyyyyyys...be togetherrrrrr"

The Drive-In Film Club is at Brent Cross until the 9th august and will be showing classics like Top Gun and Dirty Dancing, Ryan Gosling overload with both Drive and The Notebook and newer films like Locke starring Tom Hardy and Her with Joaquin Phoenix, both of which I'm pretty desperate to see as I missed them at the cinema. Just gotta persuade the Boy now...

Go: Vauxhall Village Summer Screen

YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US!!!

Well, actually you can sit anywhere you can find a spare bit of grass for your blanket down at the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, but you better get down there early!

Yesterday, I headed down to the the gardens for a free summer cinema screening put on by Vauxhall Village. They are showing films every Tuesday for 6 weeks on a large projection screen - perfect for a summer evening.
However, I don't think the organisers anticipated our generations love for cult film Mean Girls. Thousands of people turned up and the facilities were overwhelmed.

Only one of the food vendors advertised turned up and the cider bar ran out pretty early. The queue for the 2 portaloos was as you can imagine, ridiculous. People were advised to arrive at 7pm to get a good spot but when I rocked up with my pal at 7.15 there were already hundreds of people there and the main green where the screen was located was full, leaving us trying to seek higher ground to see over the heads of people. The sheer amount of people who streamed out of Vauxhall station and into the park meant that the sound wasn't great in the middle of the crowd and it didn't get dark until almost 10pm so we couldn't see the film clearly at first.

That said. I still loved it! People all around joined in shouting out "You go glen Coco" and "She doesn't even go here!" and loads of us put our hands up when asked if we had ever felt personally victimised by Regina George. There was a great atmosphere, people drinking and laughing at all the best bits.

Coco queued for an hour for this burger from the Korean BBQ stall. She did say it was worth it!

There are 4 more screenings over the next few Tuesdays and I doubt any will be as rammed as Mean Girls was, so why not head down? Here are my tips for how to enjoy.

1. Get there early! 7pm should be fine for most of the films but going straight from work is probably the best idea.
2. Bring your own food and drink. The vendor queue was an hour long and the cider ran out so don't be caught short! I picked up a Nando's take-away from over the road (there was even a 45minute wait for that) and there's also a Sainsbury's nearby but I saw people with full on picnics so whatever floats your boat!
3. Bring a jacket and a blanket. As the sun sets it does get cold and you'll need them. However, don't leave them unattended as people nicked ours. I confronted them and got them back you'll be pleased to know but learn from my mistake!
4. Be prepared for Vauxhall station to get packed as soon as the credits roll. Consider getting a bus or going to another station, Oval isn't far away at all.