Due to the worrying lack of anything particularly eventful happening in the last week we decided to revisit Mr Allen from Allen’s Chicken and Chips for another insight into the history of Moseley. When people visit Moseley the very first thing that they notice is the tangible sense of community cohesion and tolerence, we wanted to know if this was always the case.
EOM: Mr Allen, has it always been the case that Moseley has always had a tangible sense of community cohesion and tolerence?
Mr Allen: I’d say that ever since I’ve been selling Chicken to the people of Moseley I’ve been conscious of how open people are to new ideas. That isn’t to say we haven’t been tested in the past.
EOM: Really? Can you give us an example?
Mr Allen: Of course many people remember the summer of 1976 as being uncharacteristically warm. What people in Moseley remember is the terror caused by the 1976 Dangerous Animals Act. As a direct result of the passing of this legislation many of the big houses on Chantry Road were forced to release their tigers into the park. Although tigers like to be outside they found the plethora of rules that manage a small urban park to be a considerable challenge.
Food scarcity also meant that one particularly hungry tiger ate the reception class at the St John and Monica Primary School. This was all too much for many Moseley’s residents. Of course, as the principle supplier of fried chicken to the great Indian state of West Bengal I was the natural candidate for resolving the tiger problem.
What many people don’t realise is that whilst the tiger is the apex predator in continental Asia it also has a strong sense of community. I managed to explain to the beast how Moseley has always valued the active involvement of new people in its community decision making on condition that they don’t eat toddlers, this immediately rendered it docile.
EOM: You let a wild tiger join the neighbourhood forum?
Mr Allen: Of course not, that would be ridiculous, whilst tigers might value community involvement they’re also worryingly gullible. No, the people of Moseley were owed a blood debt for the lives of their children, so we beheaded it on the Village Green. We ended up hanging it on the wall in Highbury Hall next to a massive picture of Joseph Chamberlain.
EOM: Horrific