A bit fishy

I had red mullet, I think for the first time, at the weekend and it wasn't very nice. I couldn't decide if I didn't like the taste of the fish or if it were just a doubtful piece badly cooked, so I went to the fish shop in Mumbles to get some for dinner today.

They didn't have any.

So I had to buy local sea bass, which is probably my favourite fish, although I'm very fond of hake too. I was a little late getting there so they'd already started putting away the cockles, crabs and lavabread but I thought you might like to see some of the fish on display. Other local fish included Dover sole, slip sole, skate, plaice and trout.

This open-fronted shop has been a fishmonger's as long as I can remember, certainly back to my childhood, when it was run by Mrs Garner, whose husband named his trawler Katie Ann after her. Later her son, Bobby, took over the running of the shop - and it was a source of great excitement in the village when Bobby was seen on television in the crowd dancing on Top of the Pops. No, not TOTP, the ITV variation, um, what was it called?

A few years ago it was being run by a man who didn't seem to know much about fish and his produce was of dubious quality but it's been taken over by a Swansea market fishmonger and now the fish is always delicious.