Last year, there was no Farnham Christmas market. It’s normally one of the highlights of the year. Most Farnham streets are closed off, and the town is packed with people and stalls. There’s always a great variety of food stalls and gallons of gin. And dogs. People generally bring their dogs. It’s a happy time. Though not in 2020.
Last year the streets remained open to cars and trucks and faces were solemn and gloomy.
The fact that there was no market last year might be the reason why this year it was so crowded. People were making up for the lost year. Either that or they fear another lockdown over Christmas so figure they should get out and about when and where they can.
Contrary to appearances (in the above photo) there weren’t that many masks in evidence. In fact, the whole event looked normal.
It was also in stark contrast to the Christmas market that Sue went to yesterday which she described as woeful. Or awful. Or terrible. I can’t remember her exact word, but it wasn’t complimentary.
It certainly didn’t remind me of the Christmas market we went to last year where Sara sold her pots and tomtes next to a Vafler stall. And that was it. We felt very sorry for Sara. We also bought some beautiful things she’d made.
Not so sad for anyone today, in Farnham. Everything was fantastic. Nothing more so than the amazing Taiko drummers.
Funnily enough, the young chap to the left looked remarkably like Will Robinson in the latest series of Lost in Space.
Mind you, while we very much enjoyed the drumming as did the rest of the crowd around us, there was one who didn’t. Poor Emma started shaking as the booms rang out. An old lady, who clearly thought we were very bad dog owners, bent down and tried to soothe her. Eventually, Mirinda picked her up. Emma, not the little old lady.
Actually, the girls were very well behaved until Emma spotted the fox. A man, sitting on a high stool, his foot sitting under a very lifelike model of a fox was slowly moving it up and down. Emma immediately started barking at it. She did not like the fox. While it had a lot of people in hysterics, Emma was not happy.
By this time we were heading home, arms laden with lots of consumables including some gin filled Christmas baubles, a tiny Christmas cake and a bottle of the most amazing coffee & hazelnut liquor. I tasted it and immediately bought a bottle. A woman before me, tasted it and, expressionless, said she thought it would be more creamy. I told her she could just put a bit of cream in it, but she walked away, unimpressed.
And, of course, no Farnham street closing would be complete without the closure of Park Row.
It may seem silly, but this is my favourite bit of the Christmas market.
