Will ‘garden cinema’ take off?
THERE are no limits to the number of ways that people can deliberately aggravate, alienate, exasperate, infuriate and irritate others.
For example, no-one accidentally drives up and down Oystermouth Road on a fine spring evening with their car stereo turned up so loud it shakes the foundations of buildings in Port Talbot. They do it deliberately. You don’t see ‘ghetto blasters’ around these days but it’s easy to spot annoying individuals who once carried those heavy radio cassette players on their shoulders, blasting out the chart hits of the time.
Today, they lean heavily to one side and are deaf in one ear.
Things haven’t improved for anyone who doesn’t want to be entertained by the entertainment other people are entertaining themselves with.
A recent newspaper article promoting the idea of “garden cinemas” took me aback.
It must have done because
I’ve never before used the word ‘aback.’ The article suggested that on warm summer evenings you could take your giant 60” TV out into your garden, settle down with drinks and snacks on your garden furniture, turn up the volume and enjoy a movie under the stars.
Which genius thought up that stupid idea?
A garden cinema is only practical if you live in a remote country house with no immediate neighbours.
It’s totally impractical if you live in a detached, semidetached or terraced house.
If your neighbours are sat outside enjoying a quiet drink, why would anyone with half a brain want to disturb the peace with the ear-splitting sound of “Transformers 27” or “Justice League Part 56”?
I’d go as far to say that selfishly watching TV at high volume in your garden while people in the houses overlooking yours were trying to get their kids to sleep or hoping to get an early night themselves was anti-social behaviour.
Should garden cinema take off, I foresee major problems.
Because if everyone in your road took their TVS into their gardens and all watched different films, can you imagine the nightmare cacophony it would create?
You’d have to pop down to Oystermouth Road for some relative peace and quiet.