07:55 Wednesday 4th April 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
(MUSIC – THE DRIFTERS)
PAUL STAINTON: Talking about it all morning. Ferry Meadows is being turned into a cinema for a weekend in May. And you won’t even have to get out of your car. A giant inflatable screen is being put up. Susan Evans is from the Nene Park Trust. Good morning Susan.
SUSAN EVANS: Morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: How are you?
SUSAN EVANS: Very well thank you.
PAUL STAINTON: So tell us what’s going to happen exactly.
SUSAN EVANS: Yes. Basically, as you’ve said, we’re going to turn one of our two meadows into a drive-in cinema for the weekend, and as you rightly said, it’s a big inflatable screen that goes up, and we can have up to 500 cars at any one time watching some of the old classic flicks for the family Bank Holiday Weekend.
PAUL STAINTON: What are you going to be showing?
SUSAN EVANS: Well, on the Saturday night we’ve got Back to the Future. And on the Sunday we’ve got Mama Mia.
PAUL STAINTON: Ok. Well you’ll pack then in for Mama Mia won’t you I suppose. (THEY LAUGH)
SUSAN EVANS: I think we’ll get a few for that. Sing-a-long on the Meadows there.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes. And is this part of a bigger thing, or is it just a one-off?
SUSAN EVANS: It’s part of the last few years when we’ve had an annual event that’s been run by the Trust at Ferry Meadows. But this year we thought, with all the great things happening across the summer in the city, linked with all the big national events, we thought we’d try something a bit different, and maybe bring it forward. And it was one of our staff team that actually saw this event happening at a park elsewhere in the country. And we thought what a cracking idea. Something we could bring to Peterborough.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes, exactly. Now, it costs, what, about eight, nine pounds to go to the cinema. What are you charging?
SUSAN EVANS: We’re charging a straight ten pounds for the car, and you can bring up to five people in your car. We’re limiting it to people carrier sized vehicles, just so that everyone gets a really good view, and we don’t block anyone’s view for the night.
PAUL STAINTON: Camper vans allowed, or not?
SUSAN EVANS: No that’s a little bit too big, because we’ll end up blocking everyone behind, I’m afraid.
PAUL STAINTON: So tickets, how can we get hold of them?
SUSAN EVANS: Tickets are available at the Ferry Meadows Visitor Centre, which is open every day eleven till four on weekdays, and ten till five on weekends.
PAUL STAINTON: You’re going to get people saying you can do this for movies but you can’t do it for fireworks.
SUSAN EVANS: Quite different scale events, the two events. With 500 cars and no pedestrians, it’s a maximum of about two and a half thousand people. Obviously, Firework Fiesta, which is a much larger event, tens of thousands of people there. So, much different scale-wise.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes but you know people are going to get on their high horse. We’ve already had people suggesting films that can’t be shown, like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and stuff like that this morning.
SUSAN EVANS: Yes, we’re ready for that, but yes. Totally different scale event.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes. Ok. And is it a little warm-up as well for the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee? Have you got anything planned for that?
SUSAN EVANS: At the Park itself we don’t have too much. We are involved with the Olympic Torch route at Orton Mere rather than Ferry Meadows. It’s coming through there as it gets off the train. But yes, this is helping the city build up to all the events across the summer.
PAUL STAINTON: Ok. Just give it a big plug again then. So it’s in May, and it’s a tenner a car.
SUSAN EVANS: Yes. Tenner a car. It’s the Bank Holiday weekend. The Saturday and Sunday night, 5th and 6th May.
PAUL STAINTON: Good stuff. And Back to the Future and Mama Mia playing at Movies in the Meadows.
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