Prompted by the final demise of the Jug Of Tea, I thought I'd have a look on Googlemaps at the site. Happily, the aerial shot is so old it shows the Arena Funfair prior to its closing, rather than the bleak expanse of concrete it is now. It's a late summer evening with the last of the days visitors pottering around. Some of them will have been to Brucciani's café, which is nearby.
Brucciani's has been open since 1939, and is just about the only place left from the days when Morecambe considered itself a cut above the brashness of Blackpool further down the coast. The interior is completely unspoiled by progress, although the exterior has had a rubbish makeover. There's a picture on This link which shows it as it was until recently. I doubt Brucciani have ever sold tea by the jugful.
2 comments:
I am ashamed to say that I have neglected Morecambe - took the kids there some aeons ago, and that was that. Then there was a tv prog on Urban Splash's restoration of the Midland Hotel - and as I distrust Urban Splash, I wrote Morecambe out of my mind. Thanks to your championship of it, I feel I must go back there (not sure whether they'll like that! Can I get a good pie there?).
It's the rundown charm that appeals to me, especially in winter. It did used to be very scruffy indeed, but it's looking much better these days. My dad made the patterns for some of cast iron seabirds they've got along the promenade. I hate to say it but on a recent visit it looked less knocked-about than parts of Scarborough, a place I adore and that never really looked like a decaying British resort. This time I was shocked by the amount of boarded-up shops and Eastborough was full of people so drunk they could barely stand - at lunchtime.
Urban Splash have made a good job of the Midland. I visited before it closed and it was really struggling. The foyer was full of mis-matched dralon armchairs and had the atmosphere of a day centre. How viable it is as a hotel remains to be seen.
Don't know about pies, but Atkinson's chippy has been feeding our lot for generations. Good place for potted shrimp, too.
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