Adventures in Chicken

So I'm in Millenium Chicken on a Wednesday night, swaying slightly while Shiva throws together a tasty piece of fried foul for my drunken pleasure. There's a tall black guy playing the fruit machine in the corner, wearing a dirty tracksuit with the hood pulled up and looking slightly shifty. In fact, if David Cameron had been in that chicken shop with me at 1 o'clock in the morning it would have been the ideal time to find out how serious he is about his 'Hug A Hoodie' scheme...

No change there then. All walks of life come through this chicken shop, it's one of the reasons I love the place. The guy on the fruit machine turns around and asks me for a light, so I reach over and light the tightly rolled fag hanging from his mouth. It occurs to me that I didn't think you could smoke in here, but I make a mental note to start doing it. Just then, Shiva starts laughing, and implores the hoodie-guy to open the door at least. It's then that I smell it - that little roll up is filled with some seriously strong hash, and the heady scent of it is mixing pleasantly with the smell of burnt grease.

I prop the door open slightly with my foot, while hoodie-guy starts laughing and offers Shiva a drag, "Come on man, it'll make you relax a little..."
"No sir, if I am smoking this I am sleeping while I am working!", Shiva giggles. All three of us are chuckling now as I pick up my food and start to leave.

And as I leave, I can't help thinking how nice it is to live somewhere with a friendly chicken shop and a relaxed attitude to the law. And how no number of Conservative policy statements will ever be as effective as a giggle and a burger.