Gazing through a veneer of grease on the window this week, memories of the early 1960s came rushing back. A true Earth mother long before the term became fashionable, she nourished a neighbourhood where cheap, tasty sustenance was much in need, especially during the winter, when there was no seasonal work The very thought of this would have appalled Chippy Anne, a purist who wouldn't even sell cod, because she thought it of inferior quality to the haddock, halibut and plaice she had delivered each morning, fresh off the boats which docked at nearby Fleetwood.Īnd Chippy Anne Henderson was a local legend. Having passed through several hands since the family sold it, in the late 1970s, its last incarnation was 'Top Fry', and - pandering to diversified modern palates - it sold everything from burgers to kebabs and Chinese food. But back to Henderson's, a magnificent institution which stood on the corner of our street, a gull's cry away from Morecambe Bay. This is creating ructions in the industry, as I'll explain. Tucking into your traditional takeaway, you will probably be unaware that up to 40 per cent of all the cod and haddock sold in British chippies is caught by Russian trawlers, in the icy waters lapping the Arctic Circle. The frying range where 'Chippy Anne' Henderson crisped the finest haddock in town is empty and cold, writes journalist David Jones (pictured outside the closed Top Fry Fish & Chips shop in Morecambe, Lancashire) The wonderful old fish and chip shop of my boyhood lies abandoned now.