The Fishmonger Who Collected People

By Jim Vince

Preface

This is the beginning of a memoir built from more than twenty-three years on the fish round. It is not a story about celebrities; it is a story about people, friendships and the remarkable places an ordinary working life can take you.

Foreword

This is not a book about celebrities. It is a book about people.

For more than twenty-three years I have travelled from Grimsby to London and the Midlands selling fresh fish. Along the way I have met thousands of customers. Most were ordinary people who simply appreciated good fish and good service. Some happened to be household names. What surprised me, looking back, is that I never collected celebrities – I collected friendships.

These pages are my attempt to preserve those memories before they are forgotten.

Just a Fishman from Grimsby?

People often ask what it is like travelling hundreds of miles each week with a van full of fish. The simple answer is that it became my passport into thousands of homes and hundreds of lives. I never chased fame. I simply turned up every week, remembered people's favourite fish, asked about their families and, over time, many customers became friends.

Looking back now, I realise the fish was only part of the job. The conversations, the laughter, the kindness shown by customers and the unexpected adventures became the real story.

Please go to the drop down and read the starting chapter:

Graham Taylor - More than a Customer

(click on the name to be taken to the page)

Chapter 2:

Ray Harryhausen – A Hollywood Legend with a Grimsby Fishmonger

Chapter 3:

Frank Windsor - The Coin Box

Chapter 4:

Geraldine Somerville - The Day the Keys Went Down the Drain