Goat’s Head Soup

Aren’t we a bit romantic about markets in this country? After all, we don’t live in Marrakesh do we?

On the whole, I like them. I don’t normally buy anything other than fruit or veg as I’m a bit of a clothes snob and so I think everything they sell looks a bit cheap and nasty, although I did buy a stripy cotton scarf for £1.99 from Green St market the other day (West Ham) which I thought was an astonishing price and the market did have a sense of buzz about it which made it a bit of an event, certainly considering the grimness of the surrounds. I don’t normally venture further east than Victoria Park, which is where I live. When I do go east I always have a reason to go there, a job interview or a course to attend. I never go there to socialise, (does anyone)?

This market, if you’ve ever been, is the place to go if you want fabric. When I was teaching I bought nice drapes there to decorate the reading corner, for example. Fabrics aside though it’s pretty standard and typical of every other food and home products market.

The ‘fresh’ meats section is a horror show (yes, these are real pics snapped on my phone). What do you do with a goat’s head (or is it a sheep’s head)? I don’t know as the stall was unattended, apart from the odd fly buzzing around the greying tongues on sale. If you’re going to sell animal tongues, should they be grey? Should they be coated with flies? What dishes would you make with tongue?

I found the place weird, but I guess that’s part of the charm of an east end market*.

*I don’t mean those overpriced Spitalfields type affairs but a proper market where the disenfranchised may frequent.