Market folk this week. Portobello Rd would be nothing without the market and the people that are a part of it. The Market is like the coral reef that attracts all the fish. It generates an entire ecosystem around it. Not that you see many fish shopping on Portobello Road..or anywhere else for that matter, they’re not known for their consumerist tendencies or the ability to live outside water if we’re really getting down to it..ok, maybe this was a bad analogy. Truth is I spend a lot of time watching a live cam from a coral reef in Honduras as find it very relaxing so have clocked up so many man hours I think it’s starting to infiltrate the way I see the world (you can see here if you like that sort of thing, altho think evenings only if in Europe, the fish gotta sleep sometime right?).
Anyway nautical comparisons aside, the market is not only a beacon for tourists it is also the lifeblood of the local community. It has created opportunities for them to make a living and generates a ton of business for the area as a whole. It is now busier than it’s ever been and on a Saturday is almost like a mini festival as giant hoards descend upon it in search of..umm, the perfect photo opportunity.
Have spoken to a lot of the market stall holders who say that often the tourists, who are the bulk load of their footfall, mostly just take pictures and don’t buy anything except for the touristy London trinkets like the man above is selling which seem to go by the truckload. This seems a bit sad to me because you can get that shit anywhere but I guess if there is demand there is supply. And who am I to talk about people who just take pictures? Honestly, glass houses mate..
You can still find lots of amazing random unique stuff on the market but for me, as you can probably tell, it is the market stall holders themselves who are the real attraction. They really are an amazing bunch of characters. Old school cockneys, members of the local Carribbean community, immigrants from all cultures and even Chelsea type poshos. Just as the coral reef attracts all types of fish (yes we are back on that) so does the lure of the market bring all manner of men and women.
Most of the transient population of Portobello are there for recreation but the foundations of which everything is built are the traders and they work hard for a living. They have to get up at the crack of dawn, and peddle their wears through rain and shine and have to be always on their game to catch the passing fish (yes one more, why not?) so they themselves can survive. Spare a thought next time you strolling down..
