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Woman On A Crusade To Get Walkers To Bring Back Ready Salted Chipsticks

Woman On A Crusade To Get Walkers To Bring Back Ready Salted Chipsticks

Not all heroes wear capes

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

One woman is on a mission to restore an important part of British culture to us. No, it's not the expensive renovation of the Palace of Westminster. Nor is it the re-opening of historic town markets.It's much more important than that.

Gill Winestone wants to bring back ready salted Chipsticks.

Everyone loves Chipsticks, don't they? One singular crunchy rectangular bite transports us all back to a world of Sundays in the pub as a child, a world where things were so much simpler and we were happy with a bag of crisps and a small Coke.

Those days are gone, my friends, but we could still go back there in spirit if Gill gets her way.

You see, Gill started a blog back in 2016 that is dedicated entirely to ready salted Chipsticks or - as she calls them - 'the best crisps in the world'.

Most blogs, as we know, are terrible. But this is one we can all get behind.

On top of that, she's started a petition and sent multiple emails and tweets to Walkers, as well as some supermarkets.

The petition has several thousand signatures.
Change.org

In case you're confused - you're not alone - Chipsticks are made by Walkers but are sold under the brand Smiths. That's all.

The ready salted flavour Chipsticks were scrapped in the early 2000s after a period of declining demand. However, there are those for whom the flame still burns strong.

Gill Winestone is at the vanguard of this movement.

Her blog contains not only her plans to rectify the situation, but also precious memories of bygone times with her favourite snack.

Chipsticks in happier times -
Smiths

In one blog post, she wrote: "Any time that I was in the vicinity of a Co-op, I would pop in and buy somewhere between three and fifteen bags of ready salted Chipsticks,

"This was just before a movie night at a friend's flat, so when I walked in with my tasty snacks (ten bags this time), they mistakenly thought that I had brought a bag for everyone.

"I stopped mid-step, hesitated; I was wondering how to politely refute this, while still being able to keep all my ready salted Chipsticks."

Gill is constantly motivated by the fact that - no matter how hard she tries - she can't fill the void left by ready salted Chipsticks with any other snack.


She's hoping that if enough people support the cause, Walkers will be forced to start making them again. Gill told Metro.co.uk: "Walkers have said it's a lack of demand that meant they were discontinued so hopefully this petition will show them there is demand and that they should reinstate them,

"I started the petition about three years ago. It was quite a slow burner to start with, but it has really picked up in the last year or so and now we're at more than 3,000 signatures.

"Recently it has gone up again with Matt Lucas signing and retweeting the link. It's been a really great thing to get his support."

Matt Lucas supports the petition. Twitter
Matt Lucas supports the petition. Twitter

"I don't like vinegar flavoured ones, so there's no other option for me.

"Honestly there is no other readily available alternative out there. It's hard to pin down what makes your favourite of anything, but taste, texture, and the general yumminess of them.

"I do miss them so much!"

Godspeed in your quest, Gill. We stand with you.

Featured Image Credit: Smiths

Topics: Food, UK News, Weird