Mass Observation and Third Place: Social functions of a greasy spoon Siôn Marshall-Waters

!1 Introduction

This research project was carried out at the House Café in Withington, Manchester. It arose from an interest in notions of place, social class and taste within the context of ‘greasy spoons’, a form of café that put simply, serves cheap, fried foods. Perhaps unsurprisingly, traditional greasy spoon cafés have been in recent decline. The rise of corporate coffee chains has resulted in higher rents and greater competition that have directly affected small independently run businesses, especially in more deprived areas.1

More broadly however, this decline may be considered within the context of the breakdown of community in post-industrial societies. For example, what is perhaps most distinguishable about greasy spoons from other cafes is, aside from their menus, their broader social function as sites of ‘third place’. That’s is, for Ray Oldenburg (1989), an important space of community - rather than personal - interaction that is neither public nor private. However, the mass corporatisation of these sites – into places such as supermarkets or chained coffee stores - has arguably resulted in a functional change of third places (Pozos-Brewer, 2015). The project thus seeks to explore the social roles of the modern greasy spoon café, as a site of public interaction that may also symbolize particular social identities. Methodologically, the project carries out similar practices to that of the Mass Observation movement, using photography, soundscapes and audio interviews to explore how people engage with and within the greasy spoon environment on an every day level 2.

The project will begin with a brief framing of greasy spoon cafes and contextualisation of the Coffee House Café. Second, it will discuss more broadly the social functions of cafés and identify how greasy spoons may be conceived of sites of third place. Next it will describe and assess the method of recording and representation that was implemented for the project, namely those similar to Mass Observation, before outlining of the actual findings of the project. Finally, it will interpret the findings within the context of the projects theoretical framework, and provide an evaluation its successes and failures.

1 The Guardian, Greasy spoon caffs are crushed by coffee giants, August 2004.

2 Accompanying this paper is a short photo essay and sound piece. !2 Greasy Spoons and The Coffee House Café

As noted, greasy spoons cafes or ‘caffs’ in Britain have been in somewhat of a decline in recent years, but what actually constitutes a greasy spoon is perhaps more speculative. The Oxford Dictionary definition of the greasy spoon reads: ‘a cheap, run-down cafe or serving fried foods’3, whilst Richard Hoggart (1957, xxiii) describes them as a ‘sort of spiritual dry-rot amid the odour of boiled milk’. Breakfast foods form a staple of the greasy spoon: Peter, the owner of The Coffee House Cafe described the place ‘an old British café, where you just get and eggs and stuff like that...But that's what a greasy spoons is, you know where you get a bacon barm and stuff like that.’ As such, the term has perhaps more generally been dismissively associated with working class cultures, poor culinary taste and ‘low-brow’ eating.

Aside from a dominant student population, the area surrounding The Coffee House Café is generally a working class part of the city. The café is unassumingly nestled at the end of a high street filled with charity shops, one-pound stores and fast food joints. In many ways it typifies a traditional English greasy spoon. Outside sit a few plastic-metal silver tables, often taken by elderly customers smoking cigarettes and drinking mugs of tea. The interior is covered in a low-level yellow lighting that softens the whiteness of the tiled walls and Formica tables. The café serves mainly breakfasts foods; fry-ups are £5, bacon barms are £2.20. Drink options are mugs of tea, coffee or canned soft drinks.

The air of the café has a bacon and oil scented humidity that is cut with the sounds of clattering plates, scraping chairs and clinking cutlery. Local Manchester radio comes from a small player at the front of the shop. Voices are loud, welcoming and thick Mancunian. In an otherwise student- dominated area of the city, at lunch the café is generally filled with elderly local residents and workmen on their break. It stands out as a community hub, the staff behind the counter greet the customers by their first names and conversations are made across the room, over and between tables.

Theoretical Framing

In order to contextualise and theoretically frame the research, it is important to understand the social functions of cafes more broadly and expand on the concept of ‘third place’. Whilst eating is

3 Oxford Dictionary Online < http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/greasy-spoon?q=Greasy+spoon> !3 indispensable to fulfilling our physiological needs, it also represents an important space for social relations to occur alongside a symbolic system that translates and reflects a society in its social, political, economic, aesthetic, and religious aspects; and encompasses a system of communication, values, and rules (Sato, 2014: 175). Cafés in particular represent a sphere within which these social relations occur, acting as a principal site where individuals partake in public life. Jurgen Habermas writes coffee houses traditionally ‘preserved a kind of social intercourse that, far from pre-supposing the equality of status, disregarded status altogether. The tendency replaced the celebration of rank with a tact befitting equals’ (Habermas 1989, p36). That is to say within cafes, social status becomes secondary as previous or subsequent roles such as social class are seen to become irrelevant and relationships between individuals within this space are distinct. However, importantly cafés themselves also reflect the specific social and cultural identities of that particular neighbourhood or area. Whilst social relations and interactions within a greasy spoon for example may disregard status, the place itself symbolises a particular identity and accordingly performs a specific social role (Hickman 2010).

For Ray Oldenburg (1982), cafés symbolise ‘third place’, a social sphere separate from the home and workplace, or more specifically ‘a public setting accessible to its inhabitants and appropriated by them as their own.’ Within these spaces, Oldenburg argues:

‘The dominant activity is not ‘‘special’’ in the eyes of its inhabitants, it is a taken-for-granted part of their social existence. It is not a place outsiders find necessarily interesting or notable. It is a forum of association which is beneficial only to the degree that it is well-integrated into daily life.’ (Oldenberg and Brissett 1982, p. 271)

Oldenburg (1989) further highlights the characteristics and functions of such places. One of their distinguishing features for example is there ‘ordinariness’, by which they are not special in themselves, but rather unassuming, places where people could simply socialise. They also represent as Hickman (2010: 223) notes ‘ports of entry’ for in-movers to an area; ‘sorting areas’ where residents ‘found’ people; identified people they liked and disliked; and, importantly, somewhere that united the neighbourhood. Third places are therefore seen to be of particular importance to elderly residents.

!4 The concept of third space, for Hickman (2010), is more prevalent in working class areas. In such areas, ‘neighbourhood infrastructure’ – cafes, shops and libraries for example - fulfil two ‘key roles’ for its residents. First, it performs a vital functional role, by providing residents with recreational facilities, services, amenities, and ‘‘goods’’. Second, it performs a key social function by providing ‘‘public’’ social space within which residents can interact’ (2010: 222). Third places then have particular symbolic value in such locations, their functions exist beyond simply providing material services, but rather as a specific site of social interaction within community. Bourdieu (1984: 180) also notes how this is particularly evident in working class communities. Unlike in cafes of the bourgeois or petite-bourgeois where tables are separate, appropriated territory, ‘the working-class café is a site of companionship…where he can establish relationships of familiarity based on the suspension of the censorships, conventions and properties that prevail among strangers’.

However, the corporatisation of the high street and the subsequent decline in traditional greasy spoons cafes and more generally community based third places and has led some to critique Oldenburg’s analysis of third place as out-dated. (Pozos-Brewer, 2015) This analysis then, leads to the inquiry of the modern day functionality of greasy spoon cafes amidst changing notions of third place. This next section will discuss how methodologically one may seek to explore this question.

Methodology

Mass observation

The research method for this project adopts similar strategies to that of Mass Observation, a movement that specialised in generating material of ‘everyday life’ driven by, as Stuart Hall (1977: 83) writes, ‘a passion above all to present people to themselves in wholly recognizable terms’ . Here I will briefly outline the approaches taken by Mass Observation researchers and photographers before outlining the specific strategies employed for this project.

The Mass Observation movement aimed at documenting and observing social ordinariness in order to explore and capture how people engage and interact within their surroundings and at an everyday level. The function of the mass observer was to ‘describe fully, clearly and in simple language all that he sees and hears in connection with the scientific problem he is asked to work on’. Third places as such became common sites of interest. Tom Harrisson’s work The and the People (1943) for

!5 example analysed how people interact with and within in Bolton.

Sound and visuals composed an important part of documenting social interactions. Photographers such as Humphrey Spender for example sought to scientifically document the mundane by visually exploring of popular conceptions of life in Bolton during the 1930s. The use of photography ‘ostensibly proved an effective technique for gathering facts about the routine thoughts, habits and activities of ‘normal’/ordinary (predominantly working-class) people, such that Mass Observation could raise awareness about the lives and opinions of persons who they believed were otherwise silenced.’ (Cruzon 2011: 313) Moreover, contemporary photographers such as Martin Parr have adopted similar strategies in exploring ‘the banality of the everyday’. His works such as Signs of the Times (1992) and The Last Resort (1985) explore conceptions of social class and taste in Britain.

Photography

Following photographers such as Spender and Parr, this project has attempted to illuminate the ordinariness and quirkiness of greasy spoon cafes that make them simultaneously very normal yet very obscure places. My methodological approach used participant observation, photography and soundscape composition in order to evoke a multi-dimensional and sensory representation of place. In doing so, the aim is to create a more immersive experience of being present in a certain place and certain time. However, where as many Mass Observation photographers such as Spender sought to embody an ‘unoberved observer’; in order to elicit a greater understanding of the values people place on the café, I considered it important to also conduct interviews with both customers and staff and thus adopt a more participatory observational approach.

My first visit to the café however proved difficult in terms of photographing customers. Although having permission from the owners of the café, it remained a challenge to photograph those eating without seemingly appearing intrusive. Many of my pictures were consequently limited to workers and objects in the café – ketchup bottles and food for example. These nonetheless become and important part of creating and defining a sense of place. The plastic red and brown sauce bottles, selection of tabloid newspapers (The Sun and The Mirror) and full-English breakfasts for example all form part of the experience of the café and in part assistant in defining place.

My second visit to the café dealt more with customers on a more personal level. I employed photo elicitation method in order to demonstrate polysemic meanings of the images, highlighting for !6 example how people conversationally engage with place. More over, the text seeks make evident the presence of the camera and the subsequent dialogues between the subjects and myself. Thus, within the photo book I have included text based on further conversations with subjects both during the fieldwork and as well upon returning as part of photo elicitation. These aim to create a depth of character and create a more tangible sense of space and experience. Moreover, photo elicitation techniques provided scope for understanding how the subjects perceive themselves within the café.

Soundscape

The soundscape of the café was built in layers over a few separate visits 4. Throughout the piece there is an ambient low-fi presence of conversation, radio and cutlery clinking that dominates the sonic environment of the café. The intention of this is to demonstrate the persistence of voice and object sounds that play a principal role in situating the café. On later visits, I took different seats in order to change perspective – moving closer to the fryer for example where the sizzling of bacon is an integral part of sensory experiences of the café.

Crucially however, contrasting the impartial and impersonal strategies employed by Mass Observationists, it is important to recognise how soundscapes are affected and interfered with ones own position in the acoustic environment. In a café for example, the sounds of foods and drink that emanate from our own bodily consumption momentarily transcend any ambient sounds, directly affecting our interpretation of the surroundings. As such self-recordings of keynote sounds - knives buttering toast, tea slurping and spoons clinking - were also layered on to the soundscape. Of course, any ethnographic researcher could simply avoid eating but this would neglect the truthful experiences of place that Mass Observations strive for.

The soundscape is also layered with audio-interviews conducted with customers and workers in the Coffee House Café. Following the photo elicitation, the interviews were aimed at understanding further the values that the customers and staff placed on the café. As part of the sound piece, the interviews were all conducted in the café. Aside from this being a convenient location, it followed the notion that sounds are in part a relationship to the physical environment and people’s voices should therefore sit in place.

4 Inaccessibility to microphones and proper recording material at the particular time of research has meant all recordings were made on an iPhone 4. It should be noted that this has affected the quality of certain sounds and audio interviews. !7 Research Findings

As discussed, greasy spoon cafés may be understood as third spaces. More so than other cafes, they also represent social spaces of community and neighbourhood interaction. Speaking to some of the elderly customers in the café, this appeared to be the case. Margaret and Pat for example, along with seven other women of a similar age, visit the Coffee House Cafe almost daily.

Margaret ‘Over the years we know most people, and we just speak to anyone who comes in. It’s just got that atmosphere. Whether they’re young old or different, we just chat and its nice. And a lot of us that are older, we find it quite nice to know that whatever’s happening, you pop in here for a coffee you’re bound to meet somebody that you know. Half an hours chat, do your shopping and you’re on your way home. It breaks your day up’.

For Cheang (2002), group membership in “third place” provides structure, meaning, and opportunities for elderly residents to engage in personal expression. This was particularly evident in Pat and Margaret’s experiences. The Coffee House not only offers them an opportunity to socialise and have banter with familiar faces, but they say it also fills a void in their lives. Pam struggles to leave the house so the daily trips provide her with needed routine:

Pat ‘when I lost my husband I had these lot to fall back on, they came to the funeral and everything. I was married 58 years - I think we knew each other…It’s great, if you’ve had a bad day you come in and tell them about it, anything bad you can tell them about it.’

Margaret ‘It’s a very new experience to live alone and go home to an empty house and it can be very, very daunting. So this helps you because you can go out for a bit and have a chat. We’ve got our swimming group, but that’s not all we talk to, we talk to more or less everyone and you say 'hello love, you alright?' and then you start talking about whatever.

Likewise, the food may be attributed as corresponding to Hickmens first ‘key role’ of neighbourhood infrastructure. The café is noticeably filled with elderly people eating main meals such as roast dinners or chicken curry. Peter attributes this to the availability of a cooked dinner to those that may otherwise not be able to cook themselves. For others in the café however, eating becomes a secondary function. Margaret for example referred to the food as ‘fairly simple stuff’, and would

!8 prefer to eat in the more upmarket Didsbury if given the option, but it is nonetheless the substance and cheapness of the food allows the café to fulfil its other role.

Margaret ‘Most of us are, they’re older people... They can get a decent meal and somewhere to go out. But it’s not a tremendous amount of money. Unlike Didsbury… this is somewhere you can go out and afford to eat two or three times a week.’

Following Oldenburg then, the café as a third place has particular importance for elderly residents. Moreover Hickman (ibid: 222) attributes third places as having particular value for those that are not economically active, in part due to greater time spent within that neighbourhood and also having fewer time constraints. This would appear to be the case for the patrons of the Coffee House Café I interviewed which provides the residents with routine and structure.

Notions of class were also evident in the cafe. Of the younger men that entered the cafe, most were in yellow tabards and work boots and looked to be on break. Both Margaret and Peter moreover repeatedly contrasted the café to places in Didsbury, a more wealthy area of the city. Moreover, Margaret referred specifically to the function of the café as a working class place, drawing parallels with the pub. Similarly, Peter embraced the greasy spoon label of The Coffee House, seeing it as tied in with British identity.

Margaret ‘You know a lot of working class men go to the pub and talk about football and whatever they do while they’re having a pint. This is, the people round here, this is their place in the day. It’s sort of got the same function if you know what we're trying to say. I think its’ an excellent place and we're very lucky to have it.

Peter ‘I suppose its more of an English or British thing, you know what I mean, there are a lot of these are continental type things. The old greasy spoons are probably more like traditional English cafés’

The café also represents safe and familiar place in the community, and workers see their role as more than simply providing food. On my second visit to the café for example, the number of mentally disabled customers entering the café was quite apparent. One man, named, Andrew, seemed to be a regular.

!9 Peter ‘Andrew’s been coming in for quite a while, and its been the same conversation for a number of years, and you can have a bit of a joke with him now and again. It’s a bit like being a community worker sometimes. Andrew feels safe … There used to be a fella called Steve who used to sit outside shouting, he’s got bipolar. And he'd he been in other places and been hit but he said he was always safe in here.’

What perhaps is most noticeable when sitting in The Coffee House is the relationship between the staff and those eating. Most people are greeted by their first names and orders are often taken as ‘usuals’. Donna, who has worked in the café for six years, said it was almost impossible not to know peoples names as they come in so regularly.

Donna ‘You get a strong sense of community here…There are a lot of old people who come in here every day. You know something’s wrong if one day they don’t show up’.

Nonetheless, Peter acknowledged that, despite the broader role in the community, cafes such as The Coffee House have struggled to compete with other larger businesses in the area. Moreover, he recognised that this was not something unique to cafes, the declining presence of third places also was apparent in grocery stores for example, which are threatened by bigger supermarkets.

Peter They sell bacon butties in the Co-Op now, so they’re doing it. Then the butchers are doing it. Subway, there’s like three just opened on the front just next to each other. We’ve had people coming in here saying it’s the only café they can find, but there’s loads of food places. But, every couple of customers they take off that’s money out your pocket. I don’t know how much longer they’re gunna be about, cafes and things like that.’

‘It takes away a lot from communities. I mean, people of older generations, they used to have a chat in the grocery store, where as now your just in the queue and go through.’

Concluding comments

The beginnings of this research project attempted to document and explore the social functions of greasy spoon cafes. Through photographic and audio representation, it has has explored how people

!10 engage with place, seeking to investigate whether greasy spoons may be interpreted in terms of Oldenburg’s notion of third place.

Consequently, it has been made apparent that, whilst the decline in greasy spoons has echoed a wider change in the role of community, third places still form part of central site of local, social interaction. This is however invariably linked to generational changes. Elderly residents for example, for reasons such as greater need for structure and meaning used the site a third place more than others. Student on the other hand, whilst attending the café, spend little time there and food was more of a convenience. It has nonetheless illustrated that places like The Coffee House may still fulfil an important social function beyond the provision of food, and as such are highly valued by local - especially elderly - residents.

Methodologically, the project adopted has some of the strategies used by the Mass Observation to explore how people engage with that space. Whilst this perhaps proved challenging at first, photo elicitation techniques enabled deeper and richer analysis of people’s experiences. The composition of soundscape has been used to provide a more multi-dimensional understanding of place, illustrating the importance of certain sounds in shaping café experiences.

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