Fish and Chips Day

When I was a child, I did not think there was anything good about Good Friday.  It always had a Sunday feel to it only even more morbid.  Though we had a day off school, we were expected to be quiet and ever mindful of what the day meant in the Christian calendar year.  Even the television shows broadcast on that day served to reinforce this.  They were usually sombre, sometimes consisting of  religious leaders discussing the events of that long ago day, and any movies shown had to be about the Bible or people from the Bible.  I guess they were not very interesting to me because I have a memory of it all being boring.  For supper, my mother would serve boiled potatoes and salt herring.  This would be accompanied by her homemade bread and lots of admonitions to "mind the bones".  She was scared to death we would get herring bones stuck in our throats.  I usually ate mine with a little vinegar and though we all liked herring, she did not serve it often.  I think because of the fear of those sharp little bones. 
This memory makes me smile.  Can you imagine all television stations dedicating all its programming to a single religious event these days?   Can you imagine serving children boiled potatoes and salt herring these days?
When I lived in St.John's, Newfoundland, Good Friday was a fish and chips day in a big way.  The city has numerous fish and chip shops, all serving homemade French fries with the fish.  It is always delicious and I've not eaten near as good anywhere else.  Some of these shops will serve hundreds of pounds of fish on this day and you usually douse the fries in the dark vinegar they still import from England.  In fact one of these shops sells bottles of the vinegar and if you are a regular customer, they give you free refills. 
Oh dear, another story making my mouth water thinking about it!

Meanwhile back in Ottawa, here are Blocks F and G...