There was another strange John Peel moment on the drive from The Farmer’s Market and Andy’s Aquatics. The ipod was on shuffle again and as we left the house the song from the Six by Seven came to an end and John’s voice was in the car again. 

At Andy’s Aquatics we bought gravel for Galen’s new second hand fish tank and talked fish in a dad way with the man behind the counter. “Yes if its bigger see you will need a new pump and a new heater, you need to keep them warm. Bring it in and we’ll have a look at it and we will see what we can do.” God I am so stupid when it comes to tropical fish. Why is that? It all sounds expensive but Galen’s baby fish are getting bigger and they need a new home and if they get a new home then he will need some new Cardinal Tetras as company for the sole survivor of the last lot that we bought.

Reluctantly Galen came into The Farmer’s Market with me as every good son should who has just had £10 worth of gravel bought for him. We got a chicken for lunch tomorrow, 4 quail for me to eat tonight, two minute steaks for lunch and a pack of ox-tails for stew later in the week. I assured Galen that he would like them but I am not sure he was convinced. We also bought bags of dirty carrots and potatoes.

On the way back a new song came on with unpleasant detuned guitars, drum machines and shouty vocals about the lot of ‘the workers’ and suddenly we were listening to The Three Johns and it was 1985 all over again. What was that doing on the ipod?

The steak sandwich was good but chewy.

A long time ago I shared house in Oxford on Green Street with Sue Sharpe. Sue had spent time living in Italy and complained that there was no point going out for an Italian meal in Oxford as it would only be a cruel disappointment after the food she had eaten there.

I think she may have enjoyed the meal we had at Da Piero last night. It was the third year we had eaten there on 10 January courtesy of Mum & Dad’s wedding anniversary. In the discussion after the meal there some who thought there last night had been the best meal ever and for others the thought there had been a slight slip in the quality. Whatever slips there might have been it was still by far the best food to be had on the Wirral, simple and true.

My starter was a crab salad. A great ball of crab meat mixed with mayonnaise wrapped up in two leaves of red radicchio, the bitterness in the leaves cut through the sweetness of the crab. I could have licked the plate if there had been anything left to eat.

Main course was duck with a sweet red onion marmalade. If there was a slip up it perhaps came with the meats. Although they were good they did not bounce off the tongue shouting out just how good they were. But it must be difficult getting that right, as there were only a few people in there and making sure it was all perfect on a quiet night would require some dexterity. The side dishes could have been the highlight, a mix of sauteed mushrooms, chopped white endives with dressing, peas with pancetta and herbs, lentils and spinach. There was not much left.

Not all of us had pudding. I just about managed a cold chocolate dessert and a small glass of grappa.

I am looking forward to going there again in a few weeks time.

Slightly strange experience driving home this evening. As always the ipod was on shuffle and I was waiting for something suitably loud and unpleasant to show up up to drive away the prospect of a meeting next week to discuss strategy and direction. Suddenly the voice of the sainted John Peel was talking to me and telling me about the next session that was to come from Maida Vale. Six by Seven were in the studio and he was asking if any one them were Nottingham Forrest fans because if they were he was going to have to take them up on the something of a thrashing they had delivered to Ipswich Town the previous week.

It was a session I had downloaded from the Six by Seven website some months ago and of course completely forgotten about. There was the usual confusion as to whether the song they were about to play was from their latest or their first album and if that made a difference. After the introductions were dealt with he said “…lets bossa nova…” and they started on their song.

It was good to hear his voice again.

The good news is that a new second hand book shop has opened in Liverpool. It is in the courtyard of the Bluecoat. It is not that new having relocated from Southport but it could be expensive particularly as it is only two minutes walk from Probe Records. I used to be fairly safe when Probe was all the way up Bold Street. It was a good 15 minute walk to get there over lunch. Now that it has moved down more into the centre it dangerously accessible and I am now on saying “Hello” terms.

I had already been to the bookshop on the lookout for Christmas presents and I went back in today. They did not have what I was looking for so I went to browse their small section of cookbooks. There was a beautiful Folio Edition Elizabeth David’s Italian Food in its green slipcase, all clean bright pages and wonderful colour illustrations but at £28 I put it to one side. I will have to continue to make do with the very old and dog eared Penguin copy I have already.

I was then taken by a book called Frying Tonight by Gerald Priestland. Seeing the name on the spine I was half hoping it might be a whole book of cooking around the theme of Carry On Screaming. I was only slightly disappointed to find that it was in The Saga of Fish & Chips, a history of the Friers Trade and our great Proletarian Finger Food published in 1972 with a great many black and white photos of people tucking into healthy looking platefuls of fish & chips. There is a slight folorn photo of a Mr Stratis of Myddleton Quality Fish Bar, Bowes Park, London tucking into a plate of his own wares. The final photo is of the original Harry Ramsden’s kitchen in 1972. I can remember going to the restaurant on a run out from Leeds 25 years ago and sitting on the tables outside to eat our Fish & Chips.

In Chapter 3 Gerald Priestland describes a trip to Leeds to visit the head offices of The National Federation Of Fish Friers and publishers of The Fish Friers Review. Pleasingly there is still a Federation of Fish Friers and if you want they publish an official guide to the country’s to Fish & Chip Shops.

I look forward to reading it.

On good Northern Foods I should also recommend The Tripe Marketing Board who will welcome you with open arms if you join their Facebook page. Looking for an inexpensive and nutritious food that’s rich in vitamins and high in protein – but not too fussy about the taste? Step this way! I have never tried tripe but I am tempted now!