It’s Thursday. I’m sitting in my favourite café once again, surrounded by the morning’s achievements in overflowing shopping bags, spread all around me. The sun is shining but there is a sharp, cold wind blowing and I am ready to give up now and settle down to a big frothy cup of café latte. The waiter sets it down beside me, as I write feverishly at the big table, and smiles indulgently – it’s that lady-who-writes again!

The wind may be cold but, outside in the market, business is brisk as usual. The stalls are overflowing with tempting produce of all kinds – juicy pineapples, huge red strawberries (Dutch strawberries in April!) and all the usual array of apples, pears, mandarin oranges and the like. Cauliflowers are beautifully round and white; fresh spring greens look tempting. The flower stalls are bursting with colour, upholding the Netherlands’ well-justified reputation as a major player in the world’s flower market. Neat little pots of marjoram, thyme and basil sit side by side on the shelves, encouraging me to replenish my own kitchen garden, somewhat ravaged by the winter snow and ice. Fresh herb plants always look so much nicer than the ones I have left in my garden from last year!

What is it about markets? The Dutch love them. It’s a tradition and an outing to look forward to. Some of the older women still even proudly wear their national costume. Thursday and Saturday are market days in Delft. In the rain or snow it makes no difference. The market is full. Only the forest of dripping umbrellas are obstacles to the weekly pastime – bargain hunting! A pragmatic people, with an eye for a bargain, the Dutch love markets. So do I, but not just for the bargains. I love the colour and the sense of joy in the air. Everyone’s having fun. Customers think they are getting a good deal. Stallholders know they are! It’s a game where everyone wins and at the end of the day, if the price drops low enough, we can clear the stalls of even the rubbish and everyone will go home happy!

I glance up from my writing. It’s just started to rain outside and the umbrellas are going up, reminding me of a Renoir painting. It reminds me too of a short break for two spent in the French Channel port of Dieppe some years ago. Our hotel, idyllically, overlooked the market on the harbour side and we woke early on Saturday morning to the sound of the market traders. Fresh fish, cheese, pate, fruit, flowers and more was on offer – all the gourmet delights of France! The only problem was that it was teeming with rain! We waited, patiently, watching the shoppers, waiting for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. It didn’t. No choice – just get your raincoat on, put up the brolly and join in! And in the end it was such fun – splashing around in the puddles like everyone else and bargaining at the stalls. Despite the rain, and a subsequent lightning strike by French ferry workers, we had a ball!

Finally, the sun did come out and we rushed back home with our purchases of French bread, cheese, pate and, of course, a bottle of wine. We moved the tiny breakfast table out onto the balcony of our room. Lunch time! How romantic! Markets are special. Eventually, the ferry workers went back to work and, reluctantly, we went home, with some happy memories and a few French souvenirs.

Sitting here, sipping my coffee, I watch the enthusiastic Dutch shoppers, undaunted by the shower, and think how much more romantic it is to shop this way. The results are the same as a trip to the supermarket but the feel-good-factor is so much better!
 

Julie Duke

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