We are very sad to inform you of the passing of our Victorian branch member, Lesley Alexander, who passed away suddenly on Friday January 29th. Lesley was 84 years old, having been born on September 26th 1936.

Lesley worked most of her career at the Village Rivoli Cinemas and at the Village Cinema Centre in the City, with most of her working life being at the Rivoli which she loved.She used to talk about working at the Riv under the management of Mr Macleish as well as Glenys Sampson.

Lesley worked every Saturday night at the Rivoli, when it was a 1,200 seat twin cinema on reserved seating with no computer ticketing system. Lesley was a charming but firm booking clerk who had a series of standard responses to frequently asked questions. “Every seat is a good seat” was a favourite when a patron asked if their seats were good. Of course, the Seating Plan was never available for customers to peruse on a busy Saturday night with queues out the door, it was always “away at the printers!”

Lesley was a devoted Melbourne Football Club member. She had been a member of the club for 67 years, and had only recently renewed that for a 68th year. She was a very vocal barracker, never afraid to take on nearby opposition supporters.

Lesley was a loyal friend to many and very good at keeping in touch with her friends, and former Managers, whether it was a birthday or Christmas card or news of her travels. She has been described as a woman with a fabulous smile and  a sparkle in her eyes, whether that was with friends, or at work.

Lesley was a great lover of friends and loved to attend social gatherings for any reason. She loved travel (although she often complained that she never had enough of it), and as part of the social aspect of her live, she loved trying new foods and new places to eat and socialise.

Above all, Lesley loved film. It didn’t matter what genre of film it was, she would go to them all, be that action or comedy, drama or romance, English language or Foreign language. She was passionate about the good ones and went often. Her final film before passing away was to see the current Australia film “The Dry” only last week, advising that it was a great watch and was discussing going to see it again with her daughter.

Lesley had been unwell for a few years according to her Daughter Kerryn, but her passing was sudden and unexpected.

Our thoughts go out to the family and friends