Cafés

Writing about cafés is a bit of a problem because I don’t really know where to start. There are so many places I love going to and a few I wouldn’t go within two hundred metres of again (especially that one in Middlesborough).So as I said choosing one particular café for this blog seemed a bit unfair to all my other favorite cafés. Then I had an idea. I could choose one that I can visit at any time and why not make an actual visit today. So I strolled up to the station and got the 0903 to Carnforth, or Milford Junction, as it is known in Brief Encounter. I have visited the café, or Refreshment Room, by way of the film many times over the years. I have also had many a cheese scone or bun there in person as well.

Milford Junction today

I presume most people have seen Brief Encounter but here are a few reminders:
The 1945 film stars Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard in lead roles, alongside Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond, Everley Gregg and Margaret Barton. It tells the story of two married strangers living in pre-World War II England, whose chance meeting at a railway station leads to a brief yet intense emotional affair disrupting their otherwise conventional lives.It received three nominations at the 19th Academy Awards for Best Director (Lean), Best Actress (Johnson) and Best Adapted Screenplay. Many critics, historians, and scholars consider Brief Encounter as one of the greatest films of all time. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked it the second-greatest British film of all time. (The Third Man was the greatest and I’m not arguing with that).
Much of the film was shot at Carnforth railway station on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Although it was a busy station, it was far enough away from major cities to avoid the blackout for film purposes, allowing shooting to take place in early 1945 before World War II had ended. At two points in the film, platform signs indicate local destinations such as Leeds, Bradford, Morecambe and Lancaster, even though Milford is intended to be in the home counties. Noël Coward provided the station announcements in the film.The role of the Refreshment Room is key to the film as it’s where the couple share tea, conversation, and hidden moments. It represents a safe, yet public, space often contrasted with the mundane chatter of other passengers or the intrusive interruptions of acquaintances and that room is both the emotional beginning and final separation of the couple.Carnforth station retains many of the period features from the time of filming and has become a place of pilgrimage for fans of the film. When I was there today it was packed and by chance a steam train was passing through when I was having a cup of tea. It was wonderful.
It has to be said that the Refreshment Room was recreated in a studio but it really does look like the real thing.

the Refreshment Room (studio recreation)

That place of pilgrimage now houses an award-winning Heritage Centre and the volunteers were just finishing off extensive refurbishment work ready for opening again the next day. It houses various exhibitions, a vintage mini Cinema (mainly playing Brief Encounter for free), a gift shop and a curios and railway collectables shop.By the way, I actually think it is a happy ending.As previously stated I have been going to Carnforth Station for ages.Carnforth Station
Putting my gloves on the table
I was glad I’d made time for tea
The half past five’s always crowded
And not quite the right company
The bookshop in town was quiet
I spent more than I really should
But there’s just enough left over
For those buns that Ann says are good
There’s a nice couple sat in the corner
I think that I’ve seen them before
When suddenly out of nowhere
A steam train roars by the door
But the girl behind the counter
Just smiles as she gives me my tray
And didn’t mention memories
Which is worth the tip when I pay.
(First published in Purple Patch, 2007)

Stanley Holloway and Myrtle Bagot in Brief Encounter

Thanks for reading, Terry Q. Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to Facebook