Just get some black clothes, get dressed, and come with us

Tonight was a red letter day in the history of the Posse doing possibly quite silly or stupid things, to break the norm up a little.

Virginia suggested that we steal a B sign from the soon to be demolished Bingo Hall after they smashed the front fascia off today with a digger. She had seen some one else making off with the 'O'.

Naturally, Paul and I were well up for sneaking in behind the fence and somehow stealing letters from the word bingo. What fun! Just like the old days. So in Paul went first of all (he found a gap in the fence around the back where we could force our bodies through the steel mesh) and sure enough, was able to secure us what we'd spotted from outside - a large wooden panel saying BINGO. One of the older signs (since that hall has been a bingo hall several times in it's use).
Ginyar scarpered as soon as she saw Paul on the other side of the fence. Paul and I made off with the sign and then deposited it in Paul's house. It was at this stage that two other ideas began to surface in our wild minds ...

Why don't we actually go IN to the building? Better yet, climb it.I then suggested we get Will, too. Paul thought he would be up for it, so we rolled up at his house with michevous grins on our faces.

'What do you want?'

'Just go, get changed into some black clothes, and come with us.'

At once, the entire Jenkins spawn wanted to know what we were planning. We didn't tell them, or Will, until we were out of the house.

It was then we told him that we planned to 'access' the Bingo Hall, despite the 'hazardous' signs and the fence and what have you.

We reached the hall and found our way around the back. A few taxis seemed to have their eye on us, but we actually were not disturbed by any soul as we approached the ill fated structure. Finding our way in again, we tried various entrance points, and found no door was even semi free to be opened in any way. This was quite disappointing, since only the other day I'd seen a teenaged boy on the roof section, so we knew there had to be a way in and up.

Not to be deterred however, I spotted a place where we could scale a low pipe on the scafold that was set up on both sides of the hall, and walk along a plank, then swing ourselves (barely!) over a gap and up onto a low roof section. From there, entering a higher planked walk way of the scaffold, we found a tall ladder strapped up well, leading to a much higher, planked walkway. Up we went, with my Dad's huge 3.5 million candle flashlight strapped to one of our backs. I also had my cellphone with camera and short video camera mode on it, and so began to use it at this stage.

We reached the top walkway and realised the entire roof was off and we could see down onto the inner ceiling, and stuff. That in itself was pretty cool. We reckon the roof was made from aspestos. After trying to 'do the ninja' along the planks, we reached the far end and looked out onto Keynsham beyond. Paul tried a few times to scale the side of the front end, and to get to the place we'd seen this other kid before, but it was too dangerous so he came back each time.

We got some decent footage, and then eventually made our way down. After checking other potential ways in, we decided to just try the main front door, which seemed barred with fallen rubble, wooden beams and the like ...

But it was slightly ajar. Unlocked. After hoping our way over rubble and debris to get to it, we all forced our way through the small opening one at a time.

Then it hit us.

Inside, the place was a total mess, yes. But it was perfectly in shape in terms of a building. There were walls, carpets, seats, a full auditorium area, huge grand ceiling, a bar, a balcony seating area, a basement .... stage ... loos, everything.
It was amazing to enter what we thought would be a dusty, near derilict place full of wood, rotten material and birds. As it was, it was a dusty, messy, smelly bingo hall, still complete with scattered (ransacked?) bingo stuff like number boards.

I started to loot immediately and the others followed suit with various small treats, such as an LED board, beer steins, bingo balls, bank sacks etc.

After some time, the big torch decidedly seemed to go dim. It was getting pretty dark and very late now, so we exited, all chuffed at ourselves. Paul found that 'B' Gin wanted, and we took it back to his.

Then we all agreed once back at Will's sipping tea, that the hall was probably about to be knocked down with wrecking balls. Someone mentioned dynamite but we thought that unlikely.

Therefore, we needed to go back in there and get footage on a real video camera. Mine and Ken's of course has night vision also, so we headed up to my place to get it. However, we did arouse Ken doing so. He gave me the camera in the end though, complete with fresh tape.

So back we went, intrepidly determined to frame this moment in history. By now I also had a bag, and had changed into jeans.

This time we got in again, though I almost tore my jacket doing so as with the added width of the bag and camera, I could barely fit through the door. Once inside though we started to film, having previously done a run in section as we approached the site.

It was *awesome*. You can see it since we have it now all on tape. In the darkness, the two powerful torches (we'd collected one from Will's house also) along with the night vision used optionally at some stages really picked out the atmosphere of being inside there, and the details too.

You'll have to see the tape, it's wicked!

However .... disastar struck. The torches both now were distinctly getting low. We realised that they were basically going to dim and eventually go out rather quickly whilst at the front and top end of the cinema, up high where the birds were living. Panic struck to a certain degree, and since I had the camera, I then proceeded to walk into several steps and other objects trying to escape from the darkening shadows, until we came up with the idea of one torch behind and one in the front, with the torchless one (me) in the middle and therefore still able to see the floor in front of me!

Needless to say, we all made it out alive and in one piece ;)

But it was quite the adventure. I hope you all get to see the pictures and video(s) soon.