Thrill of the silver screen returns to England as lockdown eases

LONDON: Londoner Sam Poch was anticipating the thrill of the big screen lighting up as he waited on Monday to enter a cinema on Leicester Square - a once routine experience that has not been possible for months because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The 31-year-old content producer was among the first arriving to watch a film the old-fashioned way as cinemas in England reopened their doors as part of the latest stage in the government's phased lockdown relaxation plan. "I missed it a lot. It's just the whole experience of going out, sitting down in (front of) the big screen and just the feeling of being in a cinema - it's just something I've missed for the past year," Poch told Reuters before his screening.