Episode 324 – Market Day – Rose and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Episode 324 – Market Day

The sun is shining. A breeze is blowing. The temperature is perfect.

And it’s Saturday!

So why not go to the market?

After almost 300 years you wouldn’t think directions are necessary, but since I had the opportunity presented, those who know me know I love directing people!

We’re not talking fruit, vegetables and fish, but rather Greenwich’s two iconic outdoor retail markets: The Greenwich Market, with its dozens of “street food” options among the 120 stalls in total of arts and crafts, fashion, antiques, organic beauty products, and more; and The Greenwich Vintage Market, which is a smaller combination flea/antique market.

The market dates to 1737, but this particular entrance was only erected in 1831. There are four entrances, one of which has the “arch” usually seen in tourist photos.

Both markets are open-air, and both are great ways to mingle with local Londoners and check out the “deals”.

Just OMG. Buttermilk fried chicken, fish and chips, sausages, Scotch eggs, Thai, Jamaican, Ethiopian, Lebanese, Italian, Mexican, Japanese, vegan, wraps, burgers, pizzas, noodle bowls, ice cream, donuts, macarons … and lineups almost everywhere of people waiting for their favourite.

In the end, we came home with a slab of amazingly creamy and delicious chocolate-orange vegan fudge made with hemp seed milk (neither of us are vegan, but this stuff is SOOOO good!) from the large market, and while there I enjoyed a delicious jerk-chicken Jamaican patty from Doreen’s patty and rum cake booth. It was as flaky, spicy, and delicious as I remember my first one being back in 1979 in Ocho Rios.

The young staff at The Fudge Patch were friendly, funny, and generous with the “free samples”! Doreen was chatty and delightful, and mentioned that the market today was the quietest it’s been in weeks, despite what Ted and I thought was a pretty good crowd.

At the Vintage Market I picked up a £1 strand of green glass beads to match my £8 Italian-made blazer from the Greenwich Hospice Charity Shop. I’ll be wearing both those finds to the Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End on September 27th, where we’ve splurged on a fantastic night out. I can hardly wait!

It was another fun, low-key day. Our pacing so far here in Greenwich is feeling very much like simply being “home”.

3 comments

Rose and Ted- We are cruising the Viking World cruise this winter. How did you set up your blog, we love it and have loved following you. I’m trying to decide how to best chronicle the trip- an app or a blog site? What is your recommendation? Kathleen and Jim Besson Charlotte, NC

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Rose Brooks says:

September 5, 2022 at 12:27 pm

On the advice of my eldest son, I signed up for a free WordPress blog site and played with it for a couple of months. Once I decided I liked it, I upgraded for more media storage space and my own domain name, and have never looked back. There IS a learning curve, so I’d suggest trying it while you have time, well before you “need” it.

My other hint would be to do your writing in Notes (on an ipad) or in Word, and then copy, paste, and tweak, rather than trying to write directly in the blog…. At least until you’re completely comfortable with it.

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