I failed to mention in recent “thoughts of Jamaica” my visit to the building that was once regal theater. My father-in-law jugged my memory this week. He mentioned being a part of the ‘ Chiney man’ posse that used to frequent Regal’s 1:00 pm matinee during the week. There was a ‘kickers’ (karate movie) showing at that time of the day.
I have very fond memories of Regal. On Saturdays my brother and I would head to Cairb for their double bill. In some cases one of the 2 movies would be a “kickers”. Why Carib …. my mother always told us to go there first before we try Regal. My brother and I would be ecstatic if Carib was full and walk up the road to Regal. We loved the kickers there. Drunken master, Drunken eagle, Silver Fox, Bruce Lee, Bruce Li, Jackie Chang etc. As many of you know Regal is gone. It was replaced by a the department store, Azans.
On my visit last month I went into the store. They did not knock building down. All they did was retro fit the building. This is typical in Jamaica. It was weird walking through the store. I kept imagining the lobby where we bought snacks before the movie. I tried to picture where the screens were. It was difficult to imagine it being anything than what it is now…a department store.