The Lexi Cinema truly is the archetypal great litt...

The Lexi Cinema truly is the archetypal great little place. Along Chamberlayne Road, past the gothic splendour of the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration, is Kensal Rise s Constitutional Club. Its old hall has taken on a remarkable new life. Inside is a gorgeous little cinema. With seats for 40 or so, it s hugely intimate and cosy, but with a sound system installed by the same chap who does U2 s tours and crisp digital projection, it s serious about the experience. Dangling from the ceiling is a mesmerising lighting installation by Bruce Munro, fading gently from one hue to another. It s a proper community here half the audience either know each other or know the Lexi staff, and there s a true feel of locals. Everyone chats before the film. The seats are comfy, with candlelit tables at the front, and each film is personally introduced, harking back to an era where you didn t just go and see a movie, you went out to the cinema. There are often Q&As with directors or added bits of theatre here and there; they even do a night where the New York Met Opera is beamed live to the assembled, black-tied, admirers.

What really sets the Lexi apart is its mission. All the profits, from tickets to drinks to popcorn, go to a South African charity called The Sustainability Institute which means they re probably the only cinema in London which actively encourages you to drink wine whilst watching a film. We ll take that. We won t say more, just go.