I had also ordered a pickled egg….
Walking away from the chip shop with piping hot haddock and chips in hand, I head towards the quayside. The gulls scream at me as I saunter over to the Victorian bench and sit. Looking out over the water from Appledore, I can see people entering and leaving the post office on the other side of the river, in Instow. The small boat that acts as a ferry between the two villages is chuntering to the far shore with three people on board……
I unwrap my food….. and doing so a cloud of hot fishy steam emanates from the wrappers. They smell delicious!
I like my chips to be thoroughly doused in malt vinegar with a tiny sprinkle of salt., and I hurriedly pick up a chip and savour it’s deliciousness.
I had also ordered a pickled egg, and mine had managed to wriggle underneath my very large piece of fish……. But there was no escape for it. Picking it up, I devoured the whole thing in one very large bite.
One after another the chips followed………. With the fish looking on( I always save it until last).
Two gulls flew down and sat on the bench next to me, pretending to ignore me and what I was eating. However, knowing them well, I kept my eyes firmly on them. I wasn’t going to let these flying thieves have my lunch…….. OR SO I THOUGHT!
Staring at them, I was too late to spot their flying friend soar down out of the sky, from over my left shoulder. I felt a slight tug on my chip wrapper and saw the culprit take off with a beak full of my food.
Dammit!
I stand up and gruffly shout at the gulls next to me. They smiled, said thank you and took off……… I’m sure I heard them laughing.
I sat back down to eat my fish…… also deeeelicious!
Marjorie, seated on her bicycle attached to an ice cream bin painted brightly in the saddlery of Hockens Ice Cream, was peddling towards me.
I ordered a ‘99’ from her and we chatted idly for a couple of minutes as she scooped my ice cream into the cone and popped the chocolate flake into the top of it. I paid her.
She handed the cone to me and peddled off, ringing her bell, gaily, as she went.
I heard a long and very loud foghorn blare from within the small dockyard walls….. Appledore has been building naval ships for many hundreds of years and although a tiny shipyard today, it once built the famous Golden Hinde.
The shipyard workers started to stream out into the village and head towards their homes and the pub.
The pub!!!…………. Yes, that seems like a good idea. I’ll finish my ‘99’ and go have a chat in the pub.
Today is shaping up nicely.