Meeting Ken Austin

On 22nd March, Ken Austin came over with his lovely wife Anne, and his son, John. Ken (78 years young) is the grandson of the man who built the Kensington (Percy Austin), and son of the Manager, John Austin. Ken was the lucky kid who could watch every film for free and could sneak his mates in too!

Obviously much has changed since its heyday. The main doors have gone. The beautiful brickwork has been whitewashed, the middle of the building has been covered with a neon sign and a big ripped cloth canopy. And the insides have been completely gutted. Ken told me somedays he wishes it would be gone, and still wants more than anything to see it still standing.

He told me about the ‘panatrope room’ which is where the kids play room will be.

He told me about the ‘mercury arc rectifier’ which must have been the scariest thing in the world, which lived in the basement. It converts AC into DC but looks like it changes good into evil…

The Cafe that some people remember / don’t remember was the first floor offices. The actual Cafe did exist but only for a short time, but the room was always called the Cafe, much like the Panatrope room, which Ken doesn’t even remember seeing as it got replaced by the Western Electric Sound System.

He brought some pictures for me, and we got snapped by the local press as well.

I showed him how our plans were progressing and they seemed to like them (I hope!).

It was a very emotional day, and it really made me feel like I was part of a bigger story. I hope that I will give the building a new lease of life, and continue this story for both our families.