“EVERY TIME I GO TO A MOVIE, IT’S MAGIC, NO MATTER WHAT THE MOVIE’S ABOUT.” – Steven Spielberg

At the best of times, birthdays for me can be emotional affairs. Following a return to Kentish soil, and move to the Marsh, my husband who has been blessed with superpowers knew I would enjoy a particular kind of birthday:-

Audio – Listen Here;

Sunshine, a picnic on the beach, and to honour the day, I would throw myself into the English Channel for a refreshing summer swim or three.

But hey, these plans needed a reshuffle. The weather changed to cool, windy and overcast so nothing for it but my husband to quickly organise a delicious brunch in Rye.

That followed with the magic of a lunchtime cinema treat, and tickets were immediately booked for Rocketman.

I spent the next two and a bit, hours, glued to my seat, mesmerised, and transfixed. Pure emotive entertainment that absorbed my attention as Elton John’s story came to life on the big screen A powerful film. Deeply moved to tears, his story unfolded, from the late ’70s through to him entering rehab in the late ’80s.

From the visual to the music, choreography along with brilliant actors, script, and direction, it blew me into another orbit. For me to sit in a cinema for the first time in twenty- one years without a major fallout and long recovery- is a miracle.  Exhilarated by this momentous feeling – I wanted to shout, I did it…. I did it…

Later that afternoon, after blowing out many candles- (age has no meaning, remember), and cutting my fabulous cake, I felt both joyful and emotional as I pondered on my surprise Birthday treat.

I had forgotten these feelings of excitement and anticipation, sitting in a comfy chair in a skilfully creative environment. I, the audience escaping into an actors’ and directors’ world.  I related to parts of the story about relationships and loneliness.

It reminded me of when we open that first page of a new book. How we lose ourselves in other writer’s worlds, We time travel through well-written stories and someone else’s imagination. We are both captured and captivated.

Cinema, books and audio can influence and help us learn about our daily lives. They leave footprints and remind us of the human condition. Our great need to be loved, accepted, valued and much more, for that is what I learned in viewing Rocketman.

May the magic of cinema and books continue…to touch and affect us.