We’ve spent the evening of 14 February in the coldness of the Capital the last two years, so as Valentine’s Day 2009 fell on a weekend, we decided to stay warm and celebrate indoors. Two years ago we sat on Primrose Hill looking down at the twinkling lights of the City, while last year we watched the 1945 classic film Brief Encounter projected onto the wall of the National Film Theatre.
We thought that being outside, we’d missed chunks of the dialogue, so decided to watch it again last night. It turns out that we hadn’t missed anything of note at all, although I can’t deny it was much easier to follow being able to hear the sound and see the picture in all its digitally remastered and restored quality and clarity. Even if I did fall asleep briefly at the end.
Writing this post and backdating it allows me to make reference to the ridiculous fact that kissing is to be banned on railway station platforms and communal areas at Warrington Bank Quay station, as it delays train services and causes congestion. Ironically, the first place to feel the affection pinch, Warrington is only a few breathless heartbeats and footsteps away from where David Lean’s classic film was shot.
So while Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard could lean out of the train window or stand on a steam-filled platform for a last-minute goodbye, it seems that 64 years later, in Warrington at least, the rest of us will have to make do with the briefest of encounters elsewhere.
Tags: Brief Encounter, Culture, Journal