In the 1920’s through to the early 1960’s, before television was a national obsession, the picture house (sometimes called a cinema!), was the main form of public entertainment.

Below: A 1923 Programme advertising films.

Below: A 1944 Programme

Below: the coloured version of the above programme

Below: The red building in the background was the Empire Picture House, after which time it was known as the Jira Club. In the photo are Doug and Dorothy Roberts and their 2 children. Dorothy was Raymond Gibson’s sister. The family emigrated to Canada, eventually settling on Saltspring Island, British Columbia.

Below: THE ELECTRIC THEATRE EVENWOOD (presumably, this was the same building as the picture house) saw the entertainer, “The Marvellous EL ROY The Armless Wonder”. He presented, “his remarkable performance which you can see next week and might never have the chance of seeing again. Usual prices EL ROY will appear at matinees.”

Below: A programme from March 1960

Below: And another from April 1961

Below: Is this possibly August 1962?

Below: January 1994, An article written by Raymond Gibson and published in the Teesdale Mercury