An edition of A fish supper and a chippy smile (2015)
A fish supper and a chippy smile
love, hardship and laughter in a South-East London fish-and-chip shop
By Hilda Kemp
Publish Date
2015
Publisher
-
Language
eng
Pages
261
Description:
In 1950s and 60s Bermondsey, the fish-and-chip shop was at the centre of the community. And at the heart of the chippy itself was 'Hooray' Hilda Kemp, a spirited matriarch who dispensed fish suppers and an abundance of sympathy to a now-vanished world of East Enders. For 'Hooray' Hilda knew all to well what it was like to feel real, aching hunger. Growing up in the slums of 1920s south-east London, the daughter of a violent alcoholic who drank away his wages rather than put food on the table, she could spot when a customer was in need and would sneak them an extra big portion of chips, on the house. With a cast of colourful characters - dirty ragamuffins, struggling housewives, rough-diamond gang members - Hilda's story is one of grit, romance, nostalgia and British endurance.