Swaffham Bulbeck have a secret…
This is a name that conjures up cream teas, marching bands, hot, lazy Sunday afternoons and cricket on the village green. A name not to be confused with Stoke Bardolph, Steeple Bumpstead or many other similar, fabulous and rather peculiar English village names. My favourite village name is actually ‘Roast Green’, not a ‘Harry Potter’ location but a village slightly south of Cambridge.
‘Tea and Vintage’s’ stall at Swaffham Bulbeck street market took place one hot Saturday in June. Arriving at nine we were directed to a pitch on the village green lined with trees which would later host a cricket match and a cheer leader display.
Hurrah! The new gazebo went up easily compared with our old one. I raced around getting out boxes, watching vintage cars arrive and a few other stalls being erected. It was a fabulous location and not far from Anglesey Abbey. We imagined the village green would be packed with stalls and all the streets around milling with people by mid-morning.
A beautiful Victorian cheese dish took pride of place on the stall among our antique china, vintage pots and retro dishes. By eleven, when the baton twirlers had finished, the village green was still looking suspiciously spacious but there were a few, if not a crowd, of people picking up our vintage hand thrown pots and china.
“Can we get ice cream now?” asked Jake, my ten year old. The place had emptied so we wandered off along the high street towards the churchyard. We passed a tombola, an art stall and a shoe stall. There were a few more stalls in the churchyard too, plus plenty of games and fun for the kids in the school playground.
“Place your bets!” yelled a voice. Aha, this is where everyone was, gambling in the churchyard. A row of model horses were lined up and a couple of children moved them along a miniature track to the numbers on a dice. We couldn’t see ice cream but came away with hot dogs from the barbeque instead.
The same people milled around our stall in the afternoon as had appeared in the morning. Among other bits and bobs we sold the lovely blue and white cheese dish, some little Wedgewood plates, a Royal Stafford jug and a Denby pot.
The streets, though, never really milled with crowds of people, the village green didn’t jostle with stalls – after all Swaffham Bulbeck just doesn’t have that big a population. What it does have is a gorgeous setting with streets of pretty olde English houses.
It was a lovely event. I couldn’t help thinking what a great idea the street market was. What a treat it would have been if a few more stalls and a few more people from outside the village had come.
The street market? It remains Swaffham Bulbeck’s best kept secret.
teaandvintage 