I love silent movies and old theatres.

Last night, I took a couple buses over to Seattle to watch a silent movie at the Paramount Theatre. http://www.theparamount.com/ Trader Joe's sponsors Silent Movie Mondays there (this year in June and November) and has for 7 years now, which is nice of them, though I still don't understand why they feel the need to shrink wrap nearly all their produce. But I digress. I arrived about 40 minutes early, but the lobby was already swarming with people. Not only was it free admission night, but Trader Joe's was also giving away free snacks in the lobby. So I stuffed my pockets with mocha chocolate bars and trail mix, then set off wandering around. If you were there, you could have recognized me by the huge grin on my face. There's just something magical about old theatres. I bought a pair of Wurlitzer organ key earrings from the Wurlitzer preservation society (I forget their official name). They're actual keys from an old organ: one says "Trumpet" and the other says "Xylophone." They're dangly, but light, and are my new treasures.

After wandering up to the balcony and elsewhere, I finally settled on sitting in the third row from the front near the aisle, right behind the Mighty Wurlitzer organ. And it is, indeed, mighty. Cream-coloured and gilt, it looks as much like a throne as an organ. They had what looked like close to a full house there, which added to the excitement, and was heartwarming to see that many people interested in watching a silent movie, even if it was free.

Speaking of the movie, it was "Flesh and the Devil" a 1926 film starring Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, and Lars Hanson. It was quite entertaining, with lots of smoldering looks and hearty embraces. I'm already looking forward to the one next Monday, as well as the ones in November.

Now, back to Chapter One of "Nullum." It doesn't have the Grosvenor Theatre in it where Lord Hiorne holds court, but hopefully when I get to that part, I can describe the scenery better since it's based on the Paramount.