We step into Kimaya, a small Japanese restaurant ideally located for a light pre-cinema meal in London Road. We are greeted warmly and shown to our table. The décor is light grey with long tables and benches in light-wood create a minimal ambience; a mural of the London skyline across an entire length of one wall reflects mauve and blue colours; it feels cool and quiet and makes a nice change.

I pick up the menu and am immediately intrigued, some of the dishes sound like something Mrs Peregrine would dish out to her peculiar children; from fried octopus balls to seaweed salad! Then again I’m always open to trying new and unfamiliar foods so I let my daughter take the lead and order.

The prawn crackers and Jasmine tea arrive, followed by two hot miso soups, some duck spring rolls and a few varieties of sushi arranged on black rectangular slates. It’s such a light and healthy way to eat and I enjoy using my chopsticks; when we leave I don’t feel uncomfortably stuffed.

Later we stroll down the road to the Odyssey, as we have twenty minutes to spare we order a couple of cappuccinos and sit in bright red armchairs in the booths behind the bar. Every time I come here it impresses me. There’s always a buzzing atmosphere, the staff is friendly and people are in good spirits before the film.

I’d never noticed the glass shelving decorated with fairy lights and displaying framed magazine covers of Picturegoer and Picture Show with famous Hollywood actors on set. I recognize James Stewart, Tony Curtis and Elizabeth Taylor. On either side of the booths, Art Deco lamps of elegant figurines with arms outstretched holding up an orb of light add to the retro feel of this old cinema.

Tonight we’ll be watching a 2018 documentary on Alexander McQueen, one of the most groundbreaking British designers of our time. It seems that his life was a rollercoaster ride and we sit there utterly mesmerized by his bold and outlandish runway collections. Passionately dedicated to his craft, we watch McQueen working in his studio and ‘in the zone,’ designing while listening to the piano of Michael Nyman. By the time I leave the cinema, my head is filled with the colours, textures and lines of his genius. I feel enriched by his creations and find myself imagining what he’d have designed next if only he were still with us today.