It’s Friday, so I want to go see the Borough Market. This is in all the guidebooks as a great farmers’ market and shopping area, and it’s only open Fri-Sun. So today is my day. The weather is clear, actually hot.
[Okay, a brief aside about the weather here. It’s crazy. That’s the only word for it. Or unpredictable. Or extremely varied. When I first got here, it was 52º and raining. Got cold at night. That lasted off and on for the first two weeks. Since then Spring has been attempting to come on. Some days have been warmer, and we did have that one hot weekend where it was in the high 80s (that was when I was in Manchester, which of course was the hottest city in the entire country that weekend). Mostly it’s in the low 70s. If the Sun breaks through and it’s clear, it might get into the mid-70s. If the clouds are thick and low, it’ll be closer to mid-60s. It can go back and forth many times within the space of a day, with drizzle an almost constant threat. When it changes, there’s a stiff breeze, and some days we even have fairly intense wind. So it’s pretty hard to figure out what to wear. If you dress for the chill and rain, you’ll get hot when the Sun comes out. If you dress for the heat, it’s bound to turn chilly and drizzly on you. I try to layer, at least with tops, and there are days when I’ve got more tied ‘round my waist than I’m actually wearing. End aside.]
One of the tube lines I mean to take is closed, so I have to do some quick re-routing. Usually I check online to see if the lines I want are “experiencing delays,” but of course today I didn’t. Now if only I could use the app on my phone that alerts me to problems, I would’ve known all about this closure, but because of AT&T’s greediness, I’m not really able to use all those cool apps. So I’m at some station I never meant to go to, and figuring out a new route. It’s not too hard really, and I don’t actually have an agenda, other than to get to the market sometime today, so I’m not too bothered by it all.
I get to the correct station, stop at a cash machine, and then head down the road, following the hordes of other people that are headed that way. (I do hope I don’t end up in a football stadium…) There is a lot of construction going on, and the streets are a maze of confusing little alleyways and unlabeled “paths,” but I just keep following people and figure I’ll ask someone how to get to the Tube when I’m on my way back.
Suddenly we’re there. There are hundreds and hundreds, if not a thousand people milling about. There are market stalls lining the streets and pathways, there are special buildings that have more permanent stalls, and there are pubs, dairies, cheese shops, bakeries, alehouses, cafés, and restaurants. It’s hu-uge.
Borough Market is the oldest market in all of London. There are documents dating back to the Middle Ages showing fishmongers, butchers, livestock traders and flower sellers here. It’s very close to the theatres where Shakespeare, Marlowe and their contemporaries acted.
I wander around, drinking in all the sights and sounds and smells. It’s amazing. Certainly the largest farmers’ market I’ve ever seen. There are entire buildings for vegetables and produce, others for meats. And still others for fish. But it’s not completely organized. There are stalls devoted to very fine and expensive ham right next to ones that sell freshly made bread or sweets. You can imagine me, then, wandering around, trying to remember where I saw the interesting looking fish, or attempting to work my way back around to the pastries.
The meats were really interesting. There were many butches, some who just did poultry, others who did beef, lamb and rabbit as well.
Poultry, Lamb and Pork Butcher
Here’s a stall selling rabbits. I’m somewhat shocked to see that they’ve left the heads and the eyes on the carcasses. Doesn’t make me keen to cook rabbit, but it’s too hot to stand at the stove anyway.
Closeup of Rabbits at the Borough Market
There’s even an exotic stall that sells ostrich. Ostrich meat, in burgers and in parts like legs, etc. They have ostrich eggs and even dusters made from ostrich feathers.
Ostrich Stall at Borough Market
Ostrich Feather Dusters and Eggs
There are entire sections of prepared foods. Everything from sausages on buns, to tortilla wraps to Indian curries. Tucked away in a different section, though, is a stall that has giant woks full of different food. One has Thai seafood curry, one has Caribbean stew, and one has Malaysian Chicken Curry.
Thai Seafood Curry in Giant Wok
Malaysian Chicken Curry in Giant Wok
I spot a stand selling British meat pies. I have to say, I’ve become quite fond of them. What with the chilly weather and gray days, and the fact that I’m usually starving when I get home from touristing or an all day class, I find the pies a quick and convenient meal. They come in all flavors, my favorites being the ones with pork or lamb.
Meat Pie Stall in Borough Market
Notice the sign at the bottom of this photo? Some of the pies are made from wild boar or game (pheasants, wood pigeon, ducks, etc.)
Meat Pies with Game
Here’s a shot of bright, beautiful flowers at one end of the market.
Flowers at the Famers’ Market
And here are spice stalls and interesting fruit at a produce stand.
Spice Stall
Fruit at a Produce Stand
I find a bit of a break in the crowd and take a photo of people milling about.
People Milling About at the Borough Market
Many people who got prepared food to eat walked over to an adjacent church to sit in the yard and eat in the Sun or shade. It reminds me quite a bit of eating at the Thai Temple in Berkeley on Sundays. But this church is very much older than anything in California, and probably anything in most of the US.
Eating Lunch in the Churchyard
It’s too hot for me to eat. I buy pies and look for local honey. Unfortunately, the woman who usually sells British honey isn’t here today, so I make do with some lavender honey from Provence in France. Life is so hard, don’t ya know.
The next stop is the fish areas, to see if I want to bring any home for dinner. I see some beautiful scallops:
Scallops on the Half Shell
I’ve never seen orange parts of scallops before, but they all have them here. They’re tempting, but it’s too hot a day, and the trip back home is too long for me to risk buying them. I do end up buying some rather expensive smoked eel, just for the heck of it. There are other fish there that look pretty intimidating, even dead.
Fish at the Borough Market
The last part I visit is a hall of sweets. There are delicacies of all kinds, including bakeries with cakes, cheesecakes and brownies.
Cakes on Offer in the Sweets Area
One stand has these huge wooden bowls filled with candy truffles. There are all kinds of flavors, from the normal chocolate ganache to tobacco (?!).
Truffle Bowls
One place had the largest meringues I’ve ever seen.
Huge Meringues Pile Up in the Sweets Area
I’m very good though, and don’t buy any sweets at all. On the way out I stop at a produce stand and load up on vegetables. I think I’ve got enough to last me for a few days, and I’m really glad I got to experience this marvelous market.
I have to ask directions numerous times to find my way back to the Tube station, and it’s totally packed. We’re squeezed in like Tokyo subway riders, and it’s fairly hot out there. I make it home and decide to eat the smoked eel. It’s okay, but definitely not worth the price. I won’t be buying that again.
All in all, it was great fun to go to this huge, and long-lived farmer’s market that dates back from medieval days.
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