XIII Oceans

The meek inherit Haydock

A brief guide to Haydock’s fish and chip history in the modern era (part two)

The location of Dixon’s was, at the time, prime time, right opposite Haydock High School where all the juveniles, whose parents had already forfeited religion in favour of ignorance before the new enlightenment of the past twenty years, could head over for a healthy 70s style lunch. Sadly these pagans were denied that aspirational lifestyle as Dixon’s remained The Ivy Of Haydock only in the memories of those who had eaten from there. The Sunflower opened in the scruffy end of Haydock, albeit not too far in for the intellectuals of the Grange Valley area and beyond to venture. It was a success as Haydock of the 80s secured a Chinese chippy bringing exotic cuisine to the Kwik Save masses. What is success for those wishing to explore the sweet and sour taste of rice was nothing but a stunning disappointment for fans of chips as huge measures of chips failed to compensate for portions that lacked consistency from visit to visit and from chip to chip, a not uncommon phenomenon in local chip shops.

Following the demise of Dixon’s my taste radar had been forced to venture deeper into Haydock’s Dixieland to seek salvation around the corner from where my mum used to live as a child, Shaw’s. A chippy without the mythical status of Dixon’s thanks to its longevity, Shaw’s delivered the same kind of consistency in the chip department as Dixon’s and it was here in my mid-teens that fish became an occasional meal, replacing the sausage rolls of my primary school years. The quest for quality fish and chips had been re-ignited and so it remained until another dark day in Haydock takeaway history when Shaw’s changed hands and another Chinese chippy, just half a mile inbetween two others, arrived all but killing off the more traditional fish and chips shop. There were of course other chip shops in Haydock, down West End Road (now Haydock Supper Bar) and I seem to remember one on Leigh Road as well although neither were places that I’d frequented when younger.

These were dark days.

Wimpy? McDonald’s? Give me Dixon’s any day!

A brief guide to Haydock’s fish and chip history in the modern era (part one)

From being a child, chippy chips were a treat and as delicious a food as you could get. The birth of Wimpy in St Helens town centre around the turn of the 80s clouded mine and many others judgement as the hamburger arrived in town along with ‘fries’. It would be easy to rail against the corporate machine now but at the time hamburgers were new and exciting and as for the concept of actually sitting down and eating in what is now marketed as a restaurant was such a thrill for a kid. This was followed several years later with the death of Toy And Hobby and the landing of McDonald’s, which didn’t carry the same kind of buzz as Wimpy’s for me, which isn’t the usual “I hate McDonald’s statement”, more “Wimpy tastes better and has been driven out of the town centre by a Yankee clown!”

However good I imagined those Wimpy burgers to be, my love for such waned as my taste buds developed which is probably a similar story to many others. What hasn’t changed is my memory of the chips served from Dixon’s chippy from when I was much younger. Heading down to the chippy on my bike during the summer holidays having sausage roll and chips in those days, the chips were and still remain the best that Haydock has served to the general public in my existence there. The old lady testing whether the chips have been cooked thoroughly be squeezing them with her unprotected fingers, something that should put you off but is strangely reassuring. This was a dynamite of a chippy. Unfortunately during my younger years fish was a bit too much for a then little man to consume and so I never managed to assess their quality. Dixon’s stopped trading and that chip shop laid dormant for what felt like years.