WHATEVER happened to intermissions, those welcome breaks that used to help both the bottom and the circulation during an extraordinarily long film?

The thought occurred to Spectator on Sunday after seeing Lord of the Rings - Return of the King, arguably the best and most consummate of the trilogy that has catapulted New Zealand and its scenery into the limelight as a centre of film making.

Spectator reckoned that asking even adults to sit still for almost three and a half hours without a chance to recharge their mental batteries, given the complexities of Tolkien's stories and the fact that cramp was coming on, was a bit much.

It proved even harder for a row of children in the row immediately in front. When the film temporarily abandoned comic book action for meaningful conversation between Frodo and Sam some of them started chattering among themselves, perhaps reinforcing the need for an interval so that their parents could be pestered into buying still more popcorn.

That said, Spectator is pleased to have seen all three films in their natural cinema surroundings rather than on television, video or DVD, where their stunning effects would have been completely lost. Now, he supposes, he had better start reading the books to try to make sense of it all.

A prediction

The spectre of George Reynolds continues to hang over Darlington Football Club, despite the former chairman having no day-to-day influence over the running of the club's affairs since the administrators took over.

It became clear this week that he is not prepared to walk away from the debt-ridden club. Seemingly not prepared to accept any responsibility for the trouble the club finds itself in, he wants his pound of flesh from the ruins he undoubtedly helped to create.

The idea that he might even have some say about the future ownership of the club and, further, that he could have some involvement in a successful consortium bid will send a shiver down the spine of the average Quakers fan - some of whom may not have dried or thawed out from attending the last two make-or-break games at Neasham Road.

Having attended both those tremendous occasions and heard the talk among the hopeful fans at the Reynolds-less Arena, there is one thing Spectator can confidently predict. If Mr Reynolds is involved in the future of Darlington Football Club, the fans will vote with their feet and stay away in droves. Once bitten, twice shy.