Banbury's new cinema 'should have been a parking area' - plus cost of living and the cost of social media - Letters

In my youth Banbury had three cinemas when the town had half of the present population.

They were The Grand in Broad Street, The Palace in Market Place (now HSBC Bank) and The Regal in Horsefair that changed to the Essoldo and now The Odeon.

The Palace had a Saturday morning show for children and I often attended. Today people have access to films etc, at home and this has been the demise of cinemas.

I was surprised when a new rival cinema to the Odeon was announced and I predicted that it would cause the Odeon to close. The area that the new Castle Quay cinema takes up would have been better retained as a much needed parking area.

No wonder that the town centre shopping is dying when people can shop and park more easily and for free at retail parks away from the town centre!

Brian Cannon, Great Bourton.

A hard and moving watch

As a 66-year-old, I watched with interest the Dispatches – Britain’s Forgotten Pensioners programme on Channel 4, on June 7. It was one of the hardest and most moving watches of my life.

It was cleverly presented with four case studies interspersed with national statistics. It starkly highlighted the cost of living crisis and the choice older people are having to make between heating and eating. It went on to look at pensioners’ declining mental health and the frightening fact that many contemplate suicide as life is too tough.

All politicians, including local councillors, can affect social care input, can allow community centres to shut, and should be compelled to view the Dispatches programme.

I was in tears and felt a future of isolation and loneliness and poverty.

Adrian Rimington, via email.

Be at peace

I feel sorry for youngsters today. Youth is a time for discovering who you are and what you want to be. It is a time when many lack self-confidence and make adverse comparisons with others.

There has always been an emphasis on outward appearance and beauty. Models tend to be slim. In my era “Twiggy” was not only ultra-slim but positively skinny. Some models now are fortunately of more realistic sizes.

Social media is a mixed blessing. Youngsters can compare themselves to others who have chosen their best image, possibly enhanced. How sad to be unhappy with one’s appearance – and in extreme cases resort to plastic surgery.

A programme today claimed that age used to be revered but we have swung to strive for youth. Adverts urge us to use Botox to suppress lines and improve appearance. Yet beauty is only skin-deep: what matters lies inside. It claimed that what shines out with age is the person inside and whether their life had purpose.

I was painfully self-conscious when young but never compared my appearance to others – only my social competence. I always got on well with myself. Only now do I realise what a blessing that was. If you don’t get on with yourself it is harder to relate to other. If you can easily empathise, that helps too. Confidence comes with age – so age isn’t such a bad thing.

Never stop learning and seeking to understand. Try to make the world a better place. Justice and a liveable planet for future generations mean everything. Your appearance isn’t important: be at peace with yourself and strive for something worthwhile.

Carol Broom, via email.

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