Directly opposite the HMS Bazaar is a long-established traditional family butcher, where in stark contrast to the primarily pre-packaged and limited butchery operation at Sainsbury's, joints of meat can be stringed (along with a few yarns), in front of the customers. Princess Diana gazes down at the elderly customers who can ask for a single pork chop or one of many other items of meat cut into portions suitable to the solitary cook. Prices are reasonable, including pork belly chops for only one pound eighty per pound.
Terry is a butcher who quotes in kilos and pounds, but I bet he doesn't sell in metric very often. As well as Princess Diana, of whom I have no evidence she was murdered by Prince Philip, the sales are graced by the presence of a plastic Tweety-Pie in a cage.
Customers can't leave Terry's without acknowledging the importance of two seminal events in the life of Walthamstow in modern times. The 2012 Olympics, the bid for which he supported strongly if the sticker in the window does not lie; and British Sausage Week, which I had believed lasted from from 15-21 October. Terry thinks that every week is sausage week, which seems like a reasonable attitude for a butcher.
The door also advertises a Hindu festival which took place on 14 November at 7.00pm at the Camden Centre, called Krishnafest. This was an evening of drama, dance, music and food, comprising an evening of spiritual culture. Just inside the door is a poem to 'My Old Dad'.
Terry is great. Always a yarn and a story. It is really interesting watching him cut up a whole side of beef into different cuts of meat early in the week when he takes his main delivery. Not something you get to see in Sainsburys. He always seems just as happy selling the smallest cut to a pensioner as a huge order to a large family. A real gent. One other point of note, I believe he is the only remaining butcher along the entire High Street who is licenced to sell cooked meats and raw meat on the same premises. He tells me that modern food hygiene legislation has made this a much more difficult business so that most butchers have decided to get out of it altogether.
Overall a really great blog on the High Street by the way technomist.