GOOD news last week there will still be a fish ‘n’ chip shop at the bottom of Broad Street in Worcester now Greek Cypriot couple Andreas and Christina Vasiliou have taken over the emporium.

The chippy trade has produced some rich characters in the city over the years and Rose Lewis, who ran the Broad Street business in the 1960s and into the 70s, was certainly one of them.

She was not very big, but her motherly appearance belied a “No Messin’” attitude to any inebriated customers who staggered through the doors late on a Saturday evening looking for a bagful of fish ‘n’ chips to soak up a bellyful of beer.

One of Worcester’s best known chippy owners was “Honky” Fletcher, who had a shop in Lowesmoor for more than 50 years until he retired in 1985. He would cheerfully recall Saturday night stories like ejecting a recalcitrant customer from his premises straight on to the bonnet of a passing car, much to the surprise of the driver, or throwing three drunken Norton Barracks squaddies into the back of a convenient police Black Maria as it pulled up for the driver to collect the order for the Deansway nick.

Of course “Honky” was not his real name, that was George, but he was given it as a lad when he delivered bread at night and would drive round the city streets shouting “Honk, Honk, Honk” because his van hadn’t got a horn. “Honky” Fletcher was so well known he is probably the only person ever to have an “anti-obituary” carried in this paper.

That happened when he went into hospital for a serious operation and a well meaning friend reported him dead. The news soon spread like wildfire, leading his wife to take out a notice in the paper to say that in fact her husband was recovering well, while another in his chippy window said simply “Honky’s OK”.

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Despite becoming a British tradition, fish ‘n’ chips actually has its roots abroad, with both Belgium and France claiming to be the birthplace of the chip, which may have been invented in the 17th century as a substitute for fish, rather than an accompaniment. When the rivers froze over and nothing could be caught, resourceful housewives began cutting potatoes into fishy shapes and frying them as an alternative. Around the same time, fried fish was introduced into Britain by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain.

The actual birthplace of fish ‘n’ chips as we known it is a matter of controversy. Some credit a northern entrepreneur called John Lees.

As early as 1863, it is believed he was selling fish and chips out of a wooden hut at Mossley market in industrial Lancashire. Others claim the first combined fish ‘n’ chip shop was actually opened by a Jewish immigrant, Joseph Malin, within the sound of Bow Bells in East London around 1860.

Whatever, the original takeaway has contributed greatly to Worcester’s social fabric over the years and here are some of its familiar faces.