Newcastle Markets

We both went for a look at the first Newcastle Market of 2014. It has been six months at least since our last visit. It's rare to attend as we have pretty much all we want at HHF but there are organic growers of beef and lamb occasionally in attendance and it's always good to see what other people are doing. These markets are so popular they are now on each Sunday.

It was an impressive sight. Very crowded with patrons and a huge selection of stalls oriented towards food. There was something for everyone. We even bought some garlic to increase our diversity. Handy after a bad season for us. It's becoming what we imagine the French country markets are like. A big focus on produce from individual growers and producers, some organic some not. The disappointing thing about a lot of other markets is the preponderance of items other than food. You know the books, toys, candles, soaps, trinkets, scrap metal, cloths etc. Every stall duplicated many times with only one or two people offering food ingredients. But not this one. Fine to have some soap, candles and bric-a-brac but not every second stand.

We were talking afterwards on the way home that if we were living in Newcastle what an ideal place to go for the weekly shopping. Fresh bread from from two vendors. Fresh meats of various kinds, Cheeses and some wine to wash it down with. Small growers with seasonal fruit and/or vegetables freshly picked. Mushrooms, herbs, coffee and tea. Sit and listen to the band while sipping a latte or buy your lunch from a variety of cultural offerings. The attraction is it's local produce or at the worst only a short distance of travel from a nearby valley.

Newcastle is very lucky.