dtaai-maai wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 11:41 pm
Come on, caller, you're a Londoner about my age, cast your mind back, what did you call them?
I honestly have no idea. When I was young, the only fish and chip shop was a 30 minute walk away (my Dad never drove), I recall being given chips while we were waiting for the order, but never 'scraps'. When we got back they would go into the oven to be warmed up.
My first wake up call about the fish and chip north south divide was in Leyland when I was 20 and attending the wedding of the then girlfriends brother. In London, we obviously had 'rock', but also skate, plaice, and the usual cod and haddock, all at different prices. So for the pre-wedding day fish and chip dinner, I was pleased to see that all 'fish & chips' was just the one price. It was only when I ordered 'rock' that I got a blank look and told that the only fish available was cod!
Rock was always the cheapest fish available with Cod and Haddock normally on a par, with Plaice and Skate the more expensive. Around the early 1960’s, a standard fish and chips was usually 1s/6d (7.1/2p) - those were the days!!
Again, being a Plymouthian, Rock was never an option. My parents used to tell me about it, and the fact it was a dirty fish. However, in my fishing years, dogfish was plentiful in the Plymouth area, but if we caught one, it never went home to go into the pot; it always lived to fight another day.
Hmmm...... are we drifting from History Challenge & Journal?
Big Boy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 1:35 pm
Hmmm...... are we drifting from History Challenge & Journal?
Not really, this is social history and I find it fascinating!
Dannie Boy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 1:01 pm
Rock was always the cheapest fish available with Cod and Haddock normally on a par, with Plaice and Skate the more expensive. Around the early 1960’s, a standard fish and chips was usually 1s/6d (7.1/2p) - those were the days!!
I remember not liking rock (I always thought it was rock salmon, but maybe that was just to make it sound better!), mainly because it came with the backbone still in.
Coming from Hull, I was brought up to avoid 'rock salmon'. "Only sold in the south as the people there are gullible".
It certainly wasn't available in Hull. Dogfish or shark. The name 'rock salmon' was a 'cover-up'.
A Scottish lad I know went to a fish and chip shop in Brixham and asked for a fush supper, they asked him to repeat it 3 times before he walked out in disgust. I never knew it as a "fish supper"
RE: "Scraps" - was certainly known by the Chippies near Bristol (Saltford/Keynsham) during the years I lived there. "Scraps" in South Wales were more of the violent type......
As for Dogfish, we lived in Porthcawl and were lucky enough to have some great fresh seafood - Dogfish were normally used for bait if caught and never for the dinner plate. However, a few local fishermen used to keep one or two for "Rock Scampi"..... You had to gut then soak the fish in salted water for at least 24 hrs (that was a must) - then cube, breadcrumb and fry - absolutely superb!!
That for me was back in the late 70's/early 80's, so is historical
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - We Now Start a New Chapter - Pennod newydd
I used to go sea fishing a lot, always the first fish caught we ate, there were only 2 of us. One day The first catch was a huss also known as rock. MY mate nailed its head to the small mast and stripped the skin off, straight into the frying pan, then into a crispy bread roll., one of the best meals I have ever had. Any fish straight out of the sea has a different flavour, now I know a couple of commercial fishermen, who go out most nights and if I fancy a fish dinner I go down and see them come in and buy it fresh off the boat. Fish that has been frozen does not taste the same.
Woke up this morning breathing that's a good start to the day.
When I was young, I preferred rock because it had no fiddly bones, apart from the spine running the length of the fillet, being a member of the shark family. It has lovely firm white flesh and a sweet taste. I ate it all the time. My mother would often buy it for me and shallow fry it, with a very light, crispy batter - heaven.
When I moved from London, Hake became my alternative. Same family as Cod, but cheaper and I thought nicer.
I have never eaten fish and chips in Hua Hin as I am a little suspicious of the prices and suspect river fish is used. Although I know Zebwar offer cod and haddock and priced accordingly. But I do eat it in Bangkok, which I really enjoy.
Fish and chips first appeared in the UK in the 1860s, and by 1910, there were over 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK. By the 1930s there were over 35,000 shops, but the trend reversed and by 2009 there were only approximately 10,000.
The British Government safeguarded the supply of fish and chips during the First World War and the Second World War and it was one of the few foods in the UK not subject to rationing during the wars.
A holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II was executed.
Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.
To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. This priest, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When the priest’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. He was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off.
are we drifting from History Challenge & Journal? 
