The Wizard of Oz (4 Stars)

This was the ninth and last film shown at the 2013 Outdoor Film Festival at Brindley Place in Birmingham. Today two films were shown back to back, "Madagascar" and "The Wizard of Oz", but I arrived too late to see "Madagascar". For me it was an emotional to see the film again. It was the first film I ever watched. I don't remember how old I was, but I went to see it with my mother at the Avion Cinema in Anchor Road, Aldridge. Before anyone says that I might have seen a film on television at an earlier age, I'm certain that I didn't. My parents didn't own a television until I was at least six years old.

I only ever went to the cinema six times with my parents.

1. "The Wizard of Oz", the Avion (Aldridge), with my mother
   
2. "Call me Bwana", the Avion (Aldridge), with my mother
   
3. "2001: A Space Odyssey", in Walsall, with my father (not sure which cinema)
   
4. "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", in Walsall, with my father (not sure which cinema)
   
5. "The Magnificent Two", the Imperial (Walsall), with my mother
   
6. "Z", the Clifton (Great Barr), with my mother

As far as I remember, those were the only two occasions that I ever visited the Avion. It was closed in 1967 and became a Bingo Hall. It was used for Bingo until 2009, but the building itself was never altered, apart from minor repairs. It was always "The Avion". The building remained empty for the next four years, but it was recently acquired by Wetherspoon's, and it re-opened last Tuesday, July 9th. This is good news, because Wetherspoon's has a record of retaining old buildings in their original design.

Here are links to my posts for this year's film festival

• Day 1: Grease
• Day 2: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Day 3: Breakfast at Tiffany's
• Day 4: The Goonies
• Day 5: Mamma Mia
• Day 6: Shrek / Mary Poppins
• Day 7: Madagascar / The Wizard of Oz

Most years I like to visit a few venues for Birmingham's annual jazz festival. For one week jazz bands play in bars and restaurants throughout Birmingham. I missed out this year since it was running at the same time as the film festival, but after watching "The Wizard of Oz" I went to the Slug & Lettuce to listen to the Digby Fairweather Big Four. No, I'd never heard of them before, but they were very good. They became a Big Five for their second set when they were joined by a guest singer. The music was very laid back and relaxing, a perfect way to cool down after sitting outside watching a film in burning sunlight.