Proper chips

Today being Omelette Day, I went off to meet Tigger for lunch as usual. Our Italian friends are away on holiday for 4 weeks so we had to find somewhere else for our traditional Friday lunch. We chose Terry’s Cafe in Great Suffolk Street.

We had been there before in similar circumstances and on that occasion, Terry had bid us farewell with the remark “Come again soon.” Even so, I was surprised when, as we were leaving today, he said “Nice to see you again. Come back soon.” Then again, people do seem to remember us for some reason. Terry probably will see us again, just once before we go on holiday later this month.

From the outside, Terry’s is a rather unassuming place, as cafes go. It has a few tables on the forecourt, much to the joy of smokers. Inside, the accommodations are a little cramped and it can take somewhat balletic movements to insert yourself at busy times because it is a popular venue despite there being two other cafes just opposite.

Two things make Terry’s cafe attractive. The first is Terry himself. He is a cheerful, no-nonsense sort of chap who, one feels, could manage his cafe with one hand tied behind his back. The other is the decor.

I don’t know how old Terry is. I would guess a young middle age. It is therefore impossible that he himself collected the items that cover the walls of the cafe because they are far too old. Perhaps Terry bought the cafe from a previous owner or inherited it from his father – maybe I will ask him one day.

There is a vast collection of old black and white photos on the wall. I think most or all of them are unsigned and without captions or explanatory notes so it’s hard to know what they show. I think someone specialized in twentieth century social history would find the display interesting.

Then there are the clocks. Most of them don’t work, so if you want to know the time it may take you a while working out which clock you can trust.

Tigger decided to have double egg and chips but, being a stickler for tradition (well, in some things), I stayed with the omelette. This also came with chips, “proper chips”, according to Tigger, for whom “proper chips” are those that have been chopped from a potato with a knife, big chips, lightly browned and soft inside. Matchstick chips, or “French fries”, the horrible American name by which they are now commonly known, are not “proper chips”.

We lunched at our tiny table (we got the one near the door that seems to be used for storing surplus sugar shakers), keeping an eye on the motionless clocks so as not to be late back to work.

Up the road from Terry’s is Eric’s fruit and veg shop. I discovered this perfect gem of a shop some years back when Tigger was first transferred to Borough. Eric has now retired and his son has taken over. The shop is run in the old-fashioned way, and in one corner is a desk with the books above it on a shelf.

Eric used to get up at 4 am every morning to go to market and bring back his quality stock. Beautiful stuff. His son seems to be carrying on in Eric’s tradition and I just hope he can make a go of it in this age of supermarkets that sell unripe fruit that goes brown the moment you take your eyes off it.

I love these unique little places like Terry’s and Eric’s and it is so sad to see them gradually disappearing.

Tags: Eric's Greengrocer's, Great Suffolk Street, Terry's Cafe