Barney, the ancient crustacean

My barnacle covered friend's visit to London, then back home again to the bottom of the sea.

My fish supplier had arrived that morning with the usual boxes, tightly packed with long silver bullet-like sea bass, red mullet, crabs and all sorts of other fishy things from the coast of Cornwall. Dropped off early in the boutique Mayfair restaurant where I was Head Chef, ready for a busy lunchtime. Lobster was of course on my menu, the problem being is that they were missing from my delivery. Not available supposedly. A call was made to Tan, the blind purveyor of all things crustacean. He’d fix it. I was downstairs, busy with something when my phone rang. Paul, my long-suffering Sous Chef, (we once worked out that we’d spent more time in each other’s company over the years than we had spent with our respective wives) asked if I could come and have a look at the deliveries, as there was something he thought I might like to see.