Care home sets stage for 'Brief Encounter' re-enactment starring husband and wife

An 81-year-old man with Parkinson’s and his wife of nearly 60 years have re-enacted iconic scenes from the Film Brief Encounter at a care home in Newquay, echoing the night they first met in the 1960s.

Like the central characters in David Lean’s romantic drama, Ron and Renee Mula fell in love after a chance meeting at a train station.

Unlike the unlucky couple in the film, their fortuitous liaison ended with marriage and the successful ownership of a group of hotels across Newquay.

‘She’s a bit of alright, isn’t she!’

Rene, aged 82, was only 23-years-old when she first met Ron. She told care home manager Carrie Newth: “I used to organise parties, and one of my friends wanted me to organise a particular party this day, and then the friend wanted to bring another male friend to the party; which happened to be Ron.”

Ron had just been demobbed from the army, and it was 1961. Carrie Newth says: “They all met at Streatham Hill Station for the party. That’s when they first set eyes on each other.” Clearly, it was love at first sight.

At the party, Renee was dared by her friends to go and ask Ron for a dance. So, she plucked up the courage and sidled over to him in her fur coat and heels.

According to Ms Newth, Ron still remembers this moment very well.

She explains: “Ron said to me, when Renee walked in, his comments to his friends were ‘she’s a bit of alright isn’t she?’

After the party the group of new acquaintances drove to Brighton to watch the sunset.

Ms Newth said: “You could drink and drive back in those days, so after the party they had all gotten back into the cars and drove down to Brighton to watch the sunset.”

Couple move to Newquay after randomly selecting town in newspaper

The evening obviously went well as the pair eventually married and had two children. They were engaged 18 months after the party and then married 18 months after that.

Eventually, the Mulas wanted to get away from Mitcham, to bring up their two children.

The couple took a real gamble when they decided to relocate somewhere more idyllic than South West London.

Ms Newth said: “They were hoteliers and had a few properties and homes and moved around quite a bit. The reason they went to Newquay was they flicked through a newspaper, stamped an area on the page and it happened to be Newquay.”

The couple eventually took time out from running their businesses as it was too 24-7, deciding to retire early and travel around Europe, enjoying themselves on luxury holidays.

In 2008, Ron was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Eventually, the decision was made for him to move into residential care, and he is now living at Anchor Hanover's Kimberley Court

Film shot in home’s reminiscence area

Brief Encounter is one of Britain’s most iconic and highly regarded films, and still makes it onto top 100 lists from critics.

The story is about how a married couple got entangled in an illicit affair after a chance meeting at a train station waiting room. Its subject matter at the time was unusual and shocked audiences across the country.

The film was directed by David Lean, but the controversial script was written by Noel Coward and it's widely regarded as more than just a moral lesson in what happens when people commit adultery.

Although Ron and Renee’s own personal story is very different to that of the characters in the film, they certainly looked the part, wearing original clothes from the 1930s.

The re-enactment was staged and filmed at Kimberley Court as an activity for residents, who helped to produce the event and who also made up the audience.

It was shot in front of a mural of a real train station, which is part of a new reminiscence area in the home called ‘Prosecco Place’. Kimberley Court spent months transforming Prosecco Place, which contains a high street with a bank, hairdressers, a traditional sweet shop with jars of sweets and the train station with a huge clock and a carriage.

Ms Newth explains that working on creating the reminiscence area and the re-enactment had created a real buzz at the home.

Staff, residents and family had all put in many hours to bring both projects to fruition. She says: “The street will be used by small groups or for one-to-one sessions which can help residents who live with dementia.

“Prosecco Place is the perfect location for reminiscence sessions, but residents can also do arts and crafts, painting, gardening, cooking and baking and then go shopping, or have their hair or nails done at the hairdressers – just like they would have done when they were younger.”

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