LETTER: Memories of ‘the Gods’ at Burnley’s Empire Theatre

Way back in the early 1950s I remember sitting in “the gods” with my elocution teacher Miss Frances Parker. The seating was extremely hard and we had to lean precariously to see the stage.

The event was the final evening of the Burnley Music and Drama Festival, when the cups were handed out. How I longed to win a large, shining cup! I had previously won silver medals for elocution but the sight of all the lovely, glistening cups and Rose Bowl made my mouth water.

I did win a cup later at the Methodist Festival and, naturally, I was delighted - but where to put it and who would clean it? The cup has long since gone but I still have my medals, which I still wear with pride.

There is a moral here somewhere. “Thou shalt not covet.”

Kathleen Riley

Burnley

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