Cinema under the stars

It's been a bit of a tradition of mine to watch a film outdoors every year in the summer, since the trend first emerged about 5 years ago it's grown at an epic rate and now you can watch a movie pretty much anywhere. From parks, rooftops to floating in a dinghy you can find a movie being screened in lots of unusual places.

I was lucky enough to be contacted to say I'd won free tickets to the screening of Purple Rain at Rooftop Film Club at Roof East in Stratford. I was so excited by this because since going to Roof East to play crazy golf I had dreamed of going back to watch a film under the stars, and unusually enough I did see a couple of stars in the sky which is rare for London.

We arrived at the top of Stratford shopping centre in plenty of time of the film so we could enjoy a couple of drinks from Spirited Mixers and get food from Rockadollar. For two days I had been fantasising about their amazing fries, their crispy, golden, crunchy little morsels of heaven in every bite. When I went up to order, they were sold out!! I could have had a breakdown on the spot, I had been looking forward to them so much! Sadly I had to settle for nachos instead but the guy from Rockadollar is a top human being and made me laugh so much I felt better about missing out on my much awaited fries.

When it approached 8pm we made our way over to the screening area that is gated off with a cute little picket fence, we were given our blankets and strolled in to nestle down in a rather large deck chair. I loved watching a movie whilst being surrounded by high rise buildings, there is something special about it. It reminded me of my first ever outdoor movie in 2011 on the roof of the Queen of Hoxton which is another perfect, almost romantic spot.

My tips for watching outdoor movies are to wear lots of layers, even though its summer you won't necessarily get a really hot evening and nothing puts a dampener on your time like being really cold! If you go to a park venue where seating isn't provided make sure you take your own in the form of camping chairs or similar. Trust me it's not fun spending the night sitting on the floor on a picnic blanket because you just can't get comfy. Other than that, cosy up and enjoy the outdoor film experience!

Rooftop Film club have viewing still for the next couple of weeks, so if you haven't already enjoyed a movie alfresco you still have time. I really recommend it, especially The Queen of Hoxton because it's a smaller building and is surrounded by taller office buildings which at night provides a really lovely view.