Episode 4

Available for over a year

For this week's Sunday Lunch Hardeep Singh Kohli visits a beautiful valley in Lancashire to meet the volunteers who run Clarion House. With it's red flag waving and a sign outside saying 'Socialism Our Hope', Clarion House is the last Independent Labour Party socialist tea room in the country. Visited several times by Keir Hardie, the tea room was set up at the end of the 19th century to encourage mill workers into the countryside every Sunday. Over pint mugs of tea, visitors were encouraged to make friends, discuss the issues of the day and spread the message of socialism. And as Hardeep finds out, today Clarion House still attracts lots of cyclists and walkers every Sunday in search of a pint of tea and a chat even though the social message is diminished. Producers: Dawn Bryan Amanda Hancox.