Tumblr Only Bonus: Roast Ox Crisps
Years ago my life was changed when my big brother and I stumbled onto the local PBS channel showing this amazingly violent (at least for its time) and hilarious comedy from the UK called The Young Ones. Think “The Three Stooges” meets “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” and you’re most of the way there.
The show ran for 2 series in the early 1980s, and was important for introducing me to the band Motorhead during one of the shows at-times random musical intermissions.
One episode has the boys head to the local pub, where Madness is just finishing up a set. Vyvyan is about to go order their food at the bar, and Neil asks for something vegetarian because he “doesn’t abuse my body and the world I live in.” Vyvyan promptly orders a bag of roast ox crisps.
Imagine as a preeteen American, where at the time the most exotic crisp (potato chip) was probably either salt and vinegar or, if you lived near Canada, ketchup. This sounded so preposterous and amazing!
Fast forward to 2019 and I’m travelling with my wife and 2 friends around the SW of England and Wales. I’ve mentioned roast ox crisps and have been told THEY DO EXIST! Well, it took some time and hunting, but finally we found some, and they were every bit as amazing as I hoped!