House
Winter hours settle in on Parke Street
Every year the hall changes its habits a little when the cold arrives. The hours stay the same, but the evening feels different on Parke Street.
Seasons
The first night of the heater
There is a day each year when I come in and the dining room is simply too cold to be borne. I send for the man who sweeps the flue, we light the slow-combustion heater, and from that moment the room is a different place. The tables nearest the heater are booked a week ahead.
The hours do not change with the season, since Tuesday to Sunday suits the street all year. But everything else does: the lamps are lit early, the front window steams, and the baker across the road leaves a loaf for the kitchen on the step.
What changes in the cold
On the floor
Guests arrive in coats and scarves, and the coat stand fills by seven. The staff wear an extra layer beneath their aprons, and I move the long table a little farther from the door to keep it warm.
In the kitchen
The menu leans toward pies, soups and roasts, and the pudding board grows. Clayton Richards says he can feel the town wanting something warm by the end of the afternoon, and cooks accordingly. The tea urn is filled twice as often.
Upstairs
The casino room is the warmest spot in the building, since heat rises. Players take their jumpers off before the first hand and put them on again at the door. The croupiers say the cards feel different in the cold, and I believe them.
The season runs until the town warms, and then the heater is let go cold with the same small ceremony. Until then, you will find us warm, lit and open from five.
If you have not visited in the cold, it may be the best time to begin. The windows glow from the street, the heater ticks, and a pot of tea arrives at the table before you have finished taking off your coat. I would be glad to show you the room myself.