Sunday, December 2, 2012

Matlock Victorian Christmas Market

Another trip out today with my friend Justin: he's taking advantage of the fact that his mum is in emergency respite care whilst her medical assessment is undertaken.

As the bus arrived into Matlock we could see that the market stalls set up in the park were already busy. We got off the bus and went straight to the toilets, where we had to wait a few minutes to pee - this hasn't happened to me for many years.

First of all we had a look round the stalls that had been set up outside. It was sunny and we enjoyed the experience, especially lingering in spots where we could listen to the organ music or watch one of the displays. A few minutes later we entered the two large marquees where most of the stallholders were located. It was very busy inside; we both felt a bit uncomfortable in the crush, and certainly had to limit our time at the stalls we were interested in because people were constantly pushing to get past us. Justin is slightly disabled and he walks with a stick and has a limp, and at times I was concerned that he might fall over.



Before looking for somewhere to eat we visited the antiques centre on Dale Road. I'm not at all interested in antiques, and never buy anything there, but this is my favourite shop in Matlock. It's a rabbit warren, or Aladdin's Cave,  of interconnecting rooms on different levels, each one piled high with a jumble of second-hand treasures, and a few genuine antiques I suppose, stashed away in dusty display cabinets.

We then found a pub to have a meal; there don't seem to be that many in the town though. I had a jumbo mixed grill, Justin had the steak. We had to wait over half an hour for our meals - the place was packed. The meals were worth the wait though.

For the final hour or so we looked round the shops; mainly charity shops and butchers. I bought three pies; a pork and apple pie which I ate on the bus travelling back to Sheffield - it was delicious: a 'hunter's pie' and a 'fellmaster's pie' [I think] to consume tomorrow and the day after.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds good. I also went to the Victorian Market today but I think you made more of a day out of it. I didn't take many photos but I will be mentioning it in my own blog soon!

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  2. I saw your comment on the Quacking Plums blog, criticising the author's "attitude" to the Work Programme. Just to let you know I think you are an insensitive buffoon, and I hope you never end up in the position of having to deal with petty bureaucracy and ignorance backed up by the power of the state.

    Good day.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Anonymous - a very common name on the web I notice.

      Just for your information I have to deal with petty bureaucracy on an almost daily basis: the jobcentre, the Department for Work and Pensions, social services, Mencap and Autism Plus...quite an impressive list.

      On the Quaking Plums blog I was merely pointing out that the author is doing himself no favours by being totally uncooperative - I wasn't abusive either!

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