LICENSING magistrates have turned down York City Screen's request to allow alcohol into the auditorium. It was the right decision.

York is not short of drinking venues. A flurry of new bars, added to York's traditional pubs and, of course, the Micklegate Run, ensure that revellers have more than enough opportunities to relax with a tipple. In a city centre awash with licensed premises, the cinema provides what might be termed a dry oasis.

Anyone who cannot survive the length of a film without a beer should rent a video. Film buffs will be content just drinking in the culture.