Meanwhile my grandmother gave me the mortar, with the black pepper, onions and salt. This I had to pound until it was fine and mixed. Then my aunt would season the fries while the flour batter was being prepared. The fries were then placed in the batter and cooked. The whole operation took 30 minutes combined, from sea to stomach.
Nothing can be finer than to be eating batter from the sweet head fries.
In the meantime, the men were on the lookout for the fish. Everybody left the houses and headed for the beach, every little boy and girl, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins by the dozens. All of us small boys were out in the water. The men were out at the back, holding back the cork that's attached to the seine. The women pulled the ropes to get the seine in as fast as possible before the fish got a chance to realize they were a captive supper, lunch or breakfast.