Let's clear up any cross-atlantic confusion before it starts - chips are not little crispy deep-fried potato snacks. No. Those are 'crisps'. Chips are chunks of English spud sliced and fried hard - sometimes twice - served hot in paper with lots of salt (mine need to look like it's snowed) and good vinegar. They're not fries. Fries are thin, mean little things you might get with a nasty burger. We're talking real potato.
Having got that out of the way, one of my favourite things, as I'm sure it is of many other human beings too, is a plate of chips with mushy peas. Served real hot, and a strong cup of tea, they can right all wrongs, dry all tears, soothe all nerves. Some people might prefer gravy. Others, traditional curry sauce. (If you're reading in the US and have never tried the 'curry' sauce of the average British chippie, then why are you not on American Airlines' site now, booking yourself over here?)
I had a birthday party in December at the magnificent Grimsby Fisheries. Allow me to jog your memory: http://inkymole.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/and-small-mushy-peas-please.html
I seem to have many photographs of chips, but I've only drawn them once, for my party invite, based on these willing models:
Anyway. The resulting invite got turned into a print, because people seemed to like it, which then through a series of events ended up as a 3 metre poster on the underground. Our copy is arriving in the post this week - no idea what we're going to do with it! But this is what the big one looked like, at Hyde Park Corner:
I also sent out a large batch of prints of the illustration to clients and colleagues, wrapped in specially printed chip paper (from Tudor Road chippy, ten minutes away), and you can still get one if you'd like one. They're in the shop, or you can email me to ask for one direct.
OMG!! Superb! xx
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