At last! Somebody is thinking in the right direction.
Whilst wandering around Hyde on Wednesday morning, it was a
pleasure to see a number of different stalls housed in mini- marquees selling a
range of European delicacies, sweets, fine foods and crafts at a continental
market in Hyde, and apparently, it’s on for the rest of
this week.
On sale were: Stuffed and flavoured olives, Tarts and Pastries, Turkish delight,
Dutch cookies, Belgium chocolates, Chorizo, Italian deli, Turkish dry fruits
and nuts, Caramelised roast nuts, sweets and nougats, Pyrenees Jams , Honey and
mustard, Chocolates and fudges and much more than I can remember.
Ideal for gifts were colourful handmade Children’s winter cardigans,
Scarves, Gloves, Handbags and other leather items, Remedial hand-crafted jewellery,
Watches and cashmere jumpers.
Not only that, the vendors were friendly and enthusiastic; a
far cry from some of the frosty faces that normally greet shoppers on Hyde’s new
shrunken market. There was music, which created a jovial atmosphere. It was
well managed, the products on sale were of good quality, well priced and the
market for once was, reasonably clean and tidy!
Unusually, for a mid-week, the place oozed energy, atmosphere and street
vitality, and if the powers that be could organise some good up-front
publicity, it’s exactly the type of shopping experience that could bring in
people from outside the area!
With such diversity on offer and with Christmas coming up,
its themes like this that will encourage far more people to visit and shop locally. It would be nice however if someone could arrange to empty the bins and sweep away the dog ends a bit more often!
If you’re reading this and find you’ve missed this event,
don’t panic; according to the council’s web site, the continental market is
also expected to pitch-up at Ashton’s Market from 11 to 15 December.
Now back to my irascible, cantankerous self….
It looks good!
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