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Unlike me and the Village Garage, some people had the foresight to record what has gone, before it went. Paul Kelly made a trio of short films about London’s cafés called Today’s Special – this one is about the New Piccadilly, but the other two which can be found here cover such lost gems as the Copper Grill which was behind Liverpool Street Station, and the beautifully moribund Tea Rooms on Museum Street. The Tea Rooms was always just out of my way so I never got a chance to visit, although I did drop by to take this photo last year. All the cafes featured in Today’s Special are gone – but the shell of the Tea Rooms hangs on like a murder victim propped up in a corner.
Ten-Inch Wheels 
>Vespa and Tea Rooms….great juxtaposition! But you being a good Yorkshire lad: chips only EVER come with gravy and/or bits!
>A-F-A, I’ve yet to find a decent chippy anywhere in London that will let you have bits (or scraps as we in Keighley called ’em). You can get gravy at the Rock And Soul place in Covent Garden though.Wasn’t it Peter Mandelson who was surprised to see guacamole being served with chips at his northern constituency, until it was pointed out that it was, in fact, mushy peas?
>Keighley! Queues on Alice Street for Saturday ‘dinner’….wrapped in newspaper of course. I shall take a photo for you, of what it has become!
>Ah yes – the famous “Leedas”. They did ice cream, too. Isn’t it a mini cab firm now?