Sunday 5 April 2020

Saturday Market.



Our nearby Saturday market is never a big affair.

Yesterday, I'd ordered three loaves from our favourite local baker, I needed some meat, and also a few Leeks for our lunchtime soups.

Our bread was ready and waiting for us, but I had to join a queue of two outside the butcher.

There were only two stalls in the market itself; the veg' lady, and the wine man. I was very disappointed to see that the plant man wasn't there.

As you might see from the photo, there were only a few shoppers; even so there was a barrier in front of the stall to make us keep our distance, tapes on the ground to make us keep 2 metres from each other, and a man in red trousers giving everyone a squirt of hand disinfectant as we took our turns in the two-man queue.

Frankly I found the whole scenario rather surreal, but if it saves us all from getting ill; then I suppose it was worth it.

31 comments:

  1. I guess I am fortunate that we have several neighbors that do our shopping for us. They tell us that there is a line for everything in order to keep the number of shoppers to a minimum inside the shops. I have not been anywhere for five weeks now other than walking the dog and the ocasional drive in the car just to get out.

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    1. I shall have to go proper shopping tomorrow (Monday). As we did no panic buying, our stocks are now beginning to dwindle. Luckily our supermarket is still very quiet, and there have been no cases of illness in the area (so far). I shall go with my fingers crossed.

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  2. was surprised to see the market still running. What else is still working over there?

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    Replies
    1. It had been cancelled but yesterday they were allowed to open again. All food shops are open, but not much else.

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  3. Replies
    1. No. But worst of all, no plant man. I shall simply have to hope that Gamme Vert will open before the end of April, and supply all my Summer veg' plants.

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  4. No eggs here in the shops, I wonder why. Plenty of toilet paper though.

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    1. Here (South Coast of England) we are back in eggs and toilet paper. However, and I am mystified, dried pasta in any shape and form is impossible to come by.

      U

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    2. No shortages here; for the moment.

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  5. It is surreal, Cro. The city I live in has fallen still. I can roam the parks and the streets and, apart from the very very very occasional jogger, dog walker, parent and kid, as far as I can tell I am the only person alive. Good job not everyone thinks and behaves like you, the Angel says, otherwise the streets and parks would be heaving. To which all I can say is: In which case, obviously, I'd be the one staying in.

    Yesterday, early evening, coming back from a brief outing to our corner shop, and just as I was about to cross a normally fairly busy road (now deserted - you could cross it blind folded and no harm would come to you) when two police men cycled by eyeing me up as to what my purpose to be out and about. I smiled at them, in the knowledge that they were going the wrong direction on a one way road. Anarchy, Cro. Anarchy.

    U

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    1. As you can see by the above photo we weren't the only ones in our little town; we must have counted about a dozen others, all milling about at a decent distance from one another. Actually the town isn't that different in 'normal' times.

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  6. I said to husband this morning, I was delighted to be able to hear so many bee's in our garden, normally there is too much background noise from a busy road a few streets away from us. I have sown all my flower seeds this spring, I can't see anyway the growers can get their plants to the customers, it's another industry being killed by this bloody virus.

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    1. I'm just hoping that the sale of veg' plants will be seen as 'essential' before the end of the month.

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  7. You will have to start doing without some things you want for a little while.

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    Replies
    1. I doubt it. I'm going tomorrow to do my proper shopping.

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  8. I guess we all have to adapt in times like this ...... I have never been one to waste food but I am being very frugal with paper goods, using stalks from vegetables in soups and am making recipes that I don’t normally make to use bits up ! Very make do and mend. XXXX

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    Replies
    1. I hate waste, so I'm much the same. Nothing is ever thrown away.

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  9. Good that the market went on, with precautions...it is vital for the life of the community

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    Replies
    1. Yes, to an extent it keeps the little place alive; although it's pretty dead at the best of times.

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  10. No cheese either. The french we are told have 3 essentials, wine, cheese and bread.
    Our market is still happening but the stalls now have to be 10 metres apart. I presume K's cousin is still selling his greens and oranges and limited vegetables. It is his only income.
    We haven't been in weeks. Our daughters who do the shopping prefer the supermarket though even there most of the produce is local

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    Replies
    1. Cheese and wine are certainly on my list for tomorrow; the bread we now have in the freezer.

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  11. Replies
    1. I think it's much the same throughout Europe.

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  12. We will drive up to our grocery store today and after showing our ID through the window, our grocery order that we put in last week will be put in our car trunk. We were having it delivered but that takes longer. I worry that the surge in cases will curtail or end this service. We will only get half our order but I am grateful for that and will make do.

    I have been ordering my seeds and plants on line. My dining room has become my greenhouse because of all the light. They are all doing well.

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    Replies
    1. No such service here, we buy and carry. I shall see tomorrow how supplies are doing; I haven't heard of shortages.

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  13. Our supermarkets are mostly full, but it is flour and yeast that are impossible to find.

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    Replies
    1. We have both, but I'm really not a breadmaker. Maybe I will start again, my first attempts weren't too bad.

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  14. That looks very much like the 'market' at Charroux near the lieu dit where I used to stay with friends. The difference was that every so often the mobile hardware store came too.

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    Replies
    1. We do have a very big mobile hardware truck that turns up every so often, but not on market day.

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  15. I've heard that our farmer's market is still open, and I'm thinking of making a run out there early next week. We could use some veggies and fruit.

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    Replies
    1. If they're there, you should take advantage. It also keeps them in business.

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