Portobello Road markets
On Saturday morning, we headed out early to go to the Portobello Road markets – a London institution. I first went to the markets some 44 years ago when I lived not far away in Ladbroke Grove. It was a great place to buy cheap clothes and furniture bits and pieces and antiques (if you had the money). It is much the same today but is more touristy and the antiques are more expensive. The markets start around 9am with some places not opening until 10ish but it pays to be right on time because by 10.30 the street (which is quite long) is absolutely jam packed with people. It is supposed to be closed off but occasionally cars do try and slowly push their way through people. When we arrived it was quiet and not too busy so we could wander through the antique shops without too much hassle. Naturally anything that we liked was too expensive or far too big to bring home in a suitcase.
One beautiful French gold chain I found was about £4000 ($8000) – it was quite unique as I has never seen anything like it. I ended up wandering into a map shop (Bob Dean is to blame for this) and found two lovely prints of Brisbane taken from engravings done in London by JC Armytage the mid 1870s and an old map of Australia supposedly from around 1860. They are probably all reproductions and I probably paid far more than I should have, but they weren’t expensive in the first place and they look quite good.
Kirby and I became separated at one point and by now the crowds were huge and of course, I had borrowed his phone to take a photo and hadn’t returned it so I couldn’t contact him. I spent the next 30 minutes or so walking up and down Portobello Road 5 or 6 times looking for a man in shorts with a blue shirt and wearing a hat. Do you know how many men, of a certain age, fitted that description?
There were more than a couple of red herrings I stalked (well ran after really). It was now quite hot too. I eventually found him and there was some discussion for a few minutes.
By now, we had both had enough so headed back to the apartment for lunch. This shopping business can be quite tiring.
I remember wandering around the Portobello Rd Markets about 20 years ago and seeing lots of tempting treasures. Your pictures and especially the map look very interesting and If you’re happy with what you paid that’s all that matters, I’d say.
You won’t believe this but I have been sitting at the computer looking for pictures for “that” book you asked me to make and I found some wonderful copies of engravings done by JC Armytage – just what I was looking for!!! Great minds, hey??
I can remember walking down Portobello Road in 1978 and loosing Howard in the crowd, just like you lost Kirby…. we managed to find each other too!! Wonderful memories, thanks.