I bought the London Caffs book yesterday (fantastic - great photos and commentary, good mixture of 'cafe eras'). And it prompted me to look through Classic Cafes again. (Equally brilliant - lovely shots, fascinating points of view). Both make my own efforts look pretty feeble.
But that's not important now.
These books set me thinking that maybe we could all do more than simply document the decline of these places. Maybe we should try and take all this enthusiasm and knowledge and channel it into something like a Cafe Preservation Society.
It's role could be to keep an eye on the great cafes in danger, lobby planning authorities etc. and/or if all else fails; ensure that the atmosphere of the place is recorded and maybe some of the fixtures and fittings preserved for posterity.
Maybe it's something that English Heritage or the National Trust or the 20th Century Society are already doing, but they must have other fish in the air or balls to fry and sometimes you can't do better than get a few like-minded lunatics together to get something done. (You sometimes get the impression that Adrian Maddox is joined in lonely battle on these issues, maybe more of us could offer some help)
I'm going to write to the great cafe luminaries, see what they think, but I'm quite enthused by this idea. I'd love to get something going. What do you all think? Any volunteers? Who's in? Someone want to build a website? etc. etc.
If nothing else we could have some regular outings to cafes, and preserve them through our custom.
Or am I mad? Or is someone already doing this and I should pay more attention to the world around me?
Comments please.