The magic of the markets ............. crossing the Continent

Yesterday was a wet day in Varese.

And while today it is dry and sunny the weekend offers up more rain.

So far there is no sign of snow, but I live in hopes.

After all, it will soon be Christmas, and like Manchester, there is plenty of emphasis on the forthcoming festival, which should be accompanied by snow.

But in the absence of the stuff, I am reflecting on a day at the markets.

I have always liked markets, from the one at home in Woolwich, which once upon a time was so busy that the stalls spread out across the square forcing buses to gingerly crawl past them, flanked by traders and shoppers, to the battered old one in Grey Mare Lane and the bigger and busier ones in Ashton and Bury.

And into that mix are added the Christmas Markets, which pretty much pop up everywhere.

Varese has them, and so does Manchester, and here I have to confess to being a little down on them.

I like the idea, and I know lots of people find them fun, and come away with some smashing stuff, added to which there is a magic about wandering past countless different stalls, all lit up against the night, with the promise of all sorts of interesting things.

And there is no doubt that they bring in lots of people into the city centre, who go on to visit the pubs, bars and restaurants as well as the more traditional shops.

So, it all looks a winner, and on top of  this, there is the atmosphere, which reminds me of being taken to see the Christmas lights on Oxford Street in the 1950s

The historian in me wonders just how different the stalls might have been in the early  19th century, when in the absence of street lighting, the markets would have offered their own little bit of bright light, noise and bargains.

Of course I am well aware that the present Manchester Markets are a recent Christmas addition.

But there would have been their Victorian and Edwardian equivalents

And here there is a danger in being too romantic.  Those 19th century traders were forced to stay open late to catch workers, who in turn were late at work, and there was little in the way of trading regulations, with the result that some foods were heavily adulterated, and in the gloom offered by just candles and oil lamps, the quality of what was on offer was hard to judge.

Today, the lighting and the quality of the produce are not in question, it is just that often the products are replicated across the streets, but that I suspect is a small objection, compared to the magic of the markets, here or in Varese.

Location; Varese; and Manchester, 2016, and 2019

Pictures; Varese; 2016, 2017, and the Manchester markets, 2019, from the collections of Andrew Simpson and Balzano

Lights, markets and a November night

Well, we did the markets.

And as you do, we were there for four in the afternoon, and in the course of a long trawl across the different market sites, the night crept up on us.






Location; Manchester

Pictures; Manchester in late November, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Following Manchester's Festive Lights Trail

Now it's that time of year, when the Christmas lights can pretty much dispel almost all those hardened against the glossy side of the festival.

Me? ............ I love them all and have done so since I was a kid, and took the seasonal trip to see the lights on Oxford Street and Regents Street.

And three decades later I did the same in Manchester for our kids.

All of which leads me to the city's Festive Lights Trail, which I found by accident, first during the day and again at night.

I know which looks better.

Location; St Peter's Square








Pictures; festive lights, 2019, Manchester, from the collection of Andrew Simpson