Medieval Market in Durham

This weekend the Durham marketplace is hosting an outdoor Medieval Market. The advertisement boasted various food and craft stalls, so I went with friends to take a look. What a lot of hype! The market wasn't all that different from what they call International Markets, with Spanish paella, German sausages, and British roast pork sandwiches comprising the food stalls. Perhaps the only one with a medieval claim was the Noodle Bar, which we rationalized was a product of Marco Polo's tour.

Other foodstuffs being sold were honey, cheese and fudge.

As for the craft stalls, there were the usual trinkets from India, Sri Lanka and Morocco, but one exceptional stall was Lumina Jewellery, run by Sara & Picky Saund. The stones were wide-ranging semi-precious and geological stones (a ring made from labradorite) with truly beautiful and creative silver settings. Moreover, the stallkeeper, presumably Picky himself, seemed a knowledgeable and conscientious vendor, phasing out shell jewelry because of the toxic agents used in finishing the shells for mounting. The Saunds don't have a permanent outlet, but they can be found attending various markets in the Northeast.

-Anyway, we ate hog roast sandwiches (be sure to order the small bits instead of the pork slices) and sat in the sunny cold wind in the newly refurbished Durham Marketplace. A jester with a fake ferret was making the rounds, belching in an uncouth (medieval?) manner, while an armored knight was mounted on what looked like a Shire plowhorse, accompanied by a drummer. The banners and signboards were supposed to lend a Medieval air to the offerings, but they tried too hard with the trappings while lacking in content. I hope they draw a larger crowd on the weekend; it was a pretty desultory attendance, and few people, including me, were buying anything.