FISH AND CHIP SELLER

Evening Star, Issue 23372, 15 September 1939, Page 3

FISH AND CHIP SELLER

OFFICIAL HOST TO ROYALTY Should a fish and chip seller he the official host to the King and Queen? This was the vexed question which faced the city council of the ancient cathedral city of Salisbury in selecting a mayor for next year. I3v customary right of precedent, Mr Alfred Courtney, a modest little man, who peels his own potatoes and serves fish and chips over his counter, should be the mayor. The Royal Show visits Salisbury next year. The council elected a special committee to appoint ‘‘ a fit and proper person ” to he mayor, one whose duties wouldl ho to receive royalty. An immediate outcry followed in the city, the public protesting against “ the downright snobbishness ” of the council. Many burgesses came to the shop to express sympathy to Mr Courtney. Mr Courtney’s triumph came when in silence the chairman of the select committee handed the mayor an envelope, from which he drew a slip of paper bearing only the name of Courtney. “ I accept that offer,” said Mr Courtney, his face wreathed in smiles. Busy in his fish and chip shop, he said later that he was most satisfied with the way in which the committee had dealt with the matter, “ I expect I will have to make speeches at dinners and other functions, and even if I make mistakes I will improve in time. I probably will have to get up earlier in the morning to fillet fish and chip potatoes when there is mayoral work to be done. “ The wife is mighty proud, too, and she will make a. first-class mayoress.” As Mr Courtney stooped over the sizzling oil. he remarked with a chuckle that it was a victory for democracy*