Fox on the pitch!

Brave fox on the pitch at Crystal Palace vs Reading on Saturday!  He didn't seem to want to leave.  Lots of urban foxes around, it's rumoured that they are caught and dumped out in the country - we see plenty out here in the Somerset countryside where our office is, but they seem very used to country ways, so maybe this is an urban myth!http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/

New animals - is this a fishmonger or an animal sanctuary?

New cats this week, from a friend who couldn't keep them - Freddie and Ollie.  And a new hen as company for our cockerel.  And took in a feral cat, but he had to be put down the next day, he had Plasma Cell Pododermatitis or "pillow foot", this seems to be an increasing problem.  His feet were lacerated and he was in great pain.  We have a pet cat with this problem, but she doesn't go places where her feet will be damaged and so far she has escaped any real problems.  RIP Bernard.

Donkeys, dolphins, foxes and fish

Kevin's talking about his life as a fishmonger and about the "animal sanctuary" this evening, to a women's group near Reading.  His talk always ends with his famous story of the dolphin.  If you'd like to hear it, follow this link

http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/A_fishmonger_s_life.html

The dog and the mule

This blog is supposed to be about the joys of herring roe, it's just arrived back at the shop, it's only £4 for 250g, but it doesn't look very nice raw, so I'm going to wait until I've cooked some.  It's very nice on toast (apparently).  Have a look instead at this photo of the mule, I've just put him on our website, together with the dog.  They look much more attractive!http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/The_animal_sanctuary.html

The Best Small Shops in Britain Awards 2012

It's that time again, the Daily Telegraph is asking for nominations for the Best Small Shops in Britain, here's a link to find the nomination form
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/promotions/8776059/Telegraph-Best-Small-Shops-in-Britain-Awards-2011.html
(not asking for nominations, just letting you know where to nominate shops - there are a lot of categories, so don't stop at us!!!)

Cat finds home in fishmonger's animal sanctuary

Just found another blog that mentions one of the cats in the "animal sanctuary" - how lucky he was to have found a home in an animal sanctuary run by fishmongers!  Sorry, can't find this blog again.

http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/The_animal_sanctuary.html

Bring back smoked mackerel - it's great!

Smoked mackerel on offer! Including peppered smoked mackerel. 

Smoked mackerel is often disregarded, but it's a great time-saver, and there is something very more-ish about it.  And if you are in a hurry, a quick lunch or supper only takes minutes - all you need is some fresh granary bread and butter and a wedge of lemon, or make life easy and buy some ready made potato salad.  And if you whizz it in a food processor with some creme fraiche it makes a great starter, we had it once with some smoked salmon pate, the two together looked great!  And there's something about that great smokey taste!  Two fillets, at least 150g, are only £2.75, just for a week. In case you are thinking "they were only £2.45 last week!" that's because we've now started selling them in pairs, because they come to us in nice gold packs! So, two fillets for £2.75 compared to one fillet last week at £2.45!
You'll find it here
http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/smoked_mackerel.html

Seafish recipe!

Seafish has just started a Facebook page, a blog starts on Saturday.  What is Seafish?  It used to be the Sea Fish Industry Authority, so we're glad they changed their name!  There's a great recipe at
http://www.facebook.com/fishisthedish

but we don't agree that the best scollops come from the west coast of Scotland, ours are from Shetland, and they are the best!