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The Greasy Spoon

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Originally published: 4th March 2020

Images by gR

An amalgamation of several small cafes plucked from memory that I frequented as a child.

several formica red tables glass shakers of pepper and salt big plastic tomatoes I wanted to squeeze and shaped bottles of sarson’s own malt. netting on all of the windows scratch marks from chairs on the floor ashtrays with notches to rest cigarettes and 'open' and 'closed' on the door. menus upright in a v-shape the 'royals' adorning the wall food through the fog of benson & hedges with no one complaining at all. my past was a foreign country before chains, regulations and brunch places I knew from those misty-eyed times are no more and have all 'gone for lunch'.

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Andrea Dietrich

Date: 5/11/2025 10:12:00 AM

Really like this look at a greasy spoon . Sometimes the best place for tasty food. Congrats here

Gary Radice
Date: 5/11/2025 11:18:00 AM

Thanks Andrea. I'm behind on reading and commenting at the moment but will catch up with your latest works next week. Cheers - Gary

Di11y Da11y

Date: 5/10/2025 2:57:00 AM

Wow! Love this! I adored those tomato sauce containers in the shape of a tomato - the kind of thing I stared in wonder at lol. It's unfathomable to imagine everyone sitting in smoky rooms in every public place and every type of public transport now. I have to confess I've moved on from plastic tomatoes to avo on toast with harissa dressed with pea shoots lol but just love this walk down memory lane :) I think I'll give my first 'bravo' (I am an avocado eater now after all!)

Gary Radice
Date: 5/10/2025 4:54:00 AM

I'll drink a mug of tea with my egg chips beans (drowned in ketchup due to the over squeezing of plastic tomatoes) to all of that D D. Cheers - Gary

Sara Kendrick

Date: 1/21/2025 8:55:00 AM

Ahh!! Don't we all remember those places from long ago when a meal wasn't so expensive and platelet teasing. I like this one and thank you for sharing. Sara K

Gary Radice
Date: 1/21/2025 9:11:00 AM

Hi Sara. Thanks for your visit to an oldie of mine. I’d almost forgotten about it. :) Greasy Spoons do still exist in the UK but health and safety regulations have multiplied by 1000% over the years. Cheers - Gary

Brian Sambourne

Date: 4/6/2023 10:21:00 PM

We have a few small diners here in Toronto with Formica table tops. Shifting demographics, however, have meant a change in taste. Now we often munch on samosas or shawarma. A grand write, Gary, to take us back to lost times. Be well. Brian

Gary Radice
Date: 4/7/2023 9:54:00 PM

Thanks for your continued support and encouragement Brian. Eating habits have changed. People have changed. Nostalgia in my poems hasn't. :) Cheers - Gary

Brian Strand

Date: 10/8/2021 12:33:00 AM

My first job,on qualifying was on Holborn viaduct,near Smithfield & I lunched at a porters'cafe'(standing at counters,rough r&ready but cheap&good basic grub)

Gary Radice
Date: 10/8/2021 2:13:00 AM

Wow Brian..I bet you could write a whole anthology about your time there. :) I'm currently passing through Wigan on an express train thundering towards Blackpool for the day. I already have some ideas for another train poem.. Cheers - Gary

Sam Kauffman

Date: 2/19/2021 5:08:00 PM

Back with congratulations, Gary! This truly is lunch on Memory Lane! So sad to see these hallmarks of nostalgia closing but so happy to see it on the winners list! Here's to the greasy spoons! All the best! Thanks for bringing them back to mind!

Gary Radice
Date: 2/20/2021 4:53:00 AM

Thanks for the congrats Sam and I raise my mug of tea to all the Greasy Spoons of this world. :) Cheers - Gary

Constance La France

Date: 2/18/2021 5:01:00 AM

Gary, congratulations on your win in Brian's contest with your wonderful poem _Constance

Gary Radice
Date: 2/21/2021 12:55:00 PM

Thank you Constance. There are still a few left where you are able to get good food cheaply. In many places nowadays though you get cheap food 'expensively' :) Cheers - Gary

Carol Mitra

Date: 2/18/2021 1:11:00 AM

This took me back to those small quaint cafes...very well written...Congrats on your win Gary :)

Gary Radice
Date: 2/18/2021 4:37:00 AM

Thank you Carol. I'm going to read the list of winners in Brian's competition later today. Cheers - Gary

Beryl Edmonds

Date: 2/17/2021 5:05:00 PM

A superb nostalgic write Gary, what a treat it was in days long past to be taken to a cafe like that. Congratulations on the win... Belle

Gary Radice
Date: 2/18/2021 12:16:00 AM

Thanks Belle. I daresay there are still some around but many of the chains (and Health and Safety) have put paid to them and their conditions. They had an atmosphere all of their own and that's what I wanted to capture. I'm glad you liked the poem. Cheers - Gary

Sam Kauffman

Date: 3/11/2020 12:45:00 PM

Gary, your poem brings back so many memories - wonderful, cozy memories. Thanks for the time travel and congratulations!

Gary Radice
Date: 3/11/2020 4:35:00 PM

Thanks Sam! Just being able to transport you back in time makes me want to say: "Mission Accomplished" :) Cheers Gary

Sonia Walker

Date: 3/10/2020 8:41:00 PM

Gary, congratulations on your placement. Having ate in "greasy spoons" from here to there, your poem made me feel almost at home. All the best, Sonia.

Gary Radice
Date: 3/11/2020 5:01:00 AM

Thank you for your kind comments Sonia. I have vivid memories of places like this from childhood. Some do still exist .. minus the cigarette smoke of course. :)