Sunday 4 July 2010

Shopping in Victorian times



Today Shepton Mallet Market Square went back in time to the Victorian days. It was organized by the BBC for a new TV series due to be aired in November. They will go through different eras, giving us an insight as to how British high streets have changed over the past 140 years. Being there today was fascinating. There will be more filming taking place over the next few weeks, the next era to be filmed is the Edwardian period. I look forward to seeing the new shop facades.


Shepton Mallet market square at 9am this morning


Setting up the stalls



Niki's stall looked beautiful as ever. As you can tell, it was a bit blowy!



I let him get away... ;-(( I shouldn't have thought about it. Sadly he was gone by the time I went back for him. I've done that before...I am not a dog person but I thought he was so adorable!




The Somerset Cupcake Company
This cake stall sold out in no time at all! Miss P had the one on the bottom right hand corner and said it was delicious!


I love the red shop facade. It will be a pity when it's taken down.


There were a lot of people with cameras around the square filming the stalls and interviewing people in the crowd.


Yes that is a huge cheddar cheese!






All these items were available to buy


I bought a cabbage and onion loaf of bread and some cheddar cheese.


I also bought a bar of handmade sweetpea soap and a cube of laundry's blue.

Example of a Victorian garden


Sweet peas from the market.

I hope that you've had a good weekend and are ready for the week ahead.

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

41 comments:

koralee said...

Oh thank you for sharing...I so wish I could of been there..so so much fun.
Wishing you a wonderful Sunday my friend...though I think it is now almost over for you!
Hugs for a great week. xo

ted and bunny said...

It's fascinating to see an area that you know well transformed- I'll look forward to seeing the TV series.

Here, we have a model town of Wimborne Minster from the 1950s and in the past 60 years so much has changed.

Those cupcakes looked too good to eat...well maybe not TOO good to eat :))

Hope you have a good week ahead
xx

Country Cottage Chic said...

I will have to confess that I bought the doggy! Couldn't resist!

Pity I didn't spot you there!
Jayne

Guenievre said...

Bonjour,
génial, j'adore votre post d'aujourd'hui. La BBC est très "pro" pour les films TV historiques, s'il en passe à la TV française, je regarde toujours. Tout est toujours bien réalisé (costumes, décor, atmosphère, etc ...)
Cela donne très envie d'aller faire un tour à Shepton Mallet, quel dommage que j'habite si loin :-((
Ahhhh .... les cupcakes, miam !

Passez une belle journée !

Clare said...

What a lovely post Isabelle. We went to the Frome market today instead but after seeing your pictures I wish I'd made the journey out to Shepton. have a wonderful week x

BusyLizzie said...

Thank you for sharing.. I really wanted to be there this morning..BUT still recovering from a horrible summer cold that I had last week, so just did not have any energy to get out of bed early (most unlike me!!!) Lizzie x

The things I like to do said...

I've never have seen such a huge chadder cheese!

loveandlilac said...

I'm visiting Somerset next week - what a shame to miss this lovely event by a week!

Ghislaine said...

That looks so lovely!

Marga said...

It is a beautiful market.
Nice photo's.
Greetings Marga

Cape Cod Rambling Rose said...

Ohhh what a day it would have been to be an American tourist in England... looks like I missed quite a fabulous time! Thank you for sharing!!!

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Isabelle,
It was lovely to see you and the family again today...and I loved ready your post seen through your eyes...After what you said to me, I had a short chat with the BBC's PR girl. I asked what was the position on photos related to the series being on the internet, and she said she'd prefer it if it didn't happen....Of course I have reported on what I've been seeing several times on my blog and am now not sure what to do...I could save them and re-release the blog posts when the TV show goes to air in November, I could just carry on posting, or I could perhaps do one huge post later in the year showing my highlights of the whole experience...tricky, isn't it? There were so many people today clicking away with cameras, that it seems to me that some pics will no doubt end up on the internet. The one problem for me is that I am working alongside all the goings-on, so perhaps it would be better if 'leaks' weren't coming from me? But then I also had someone say to me that they 'Googled' the market to find out more info, and the only thing that came up was my blog post....we need people to support these events for the good of Shepton...can you see I'm in a dilemma and am fast whizzing myself around in circles?!!

Anyway, thank you again for the mention and lovely photos on this post. I also bought some of the same items as you - the cheese is the best I've ever tasted!

Love Niki x

Thedarkerside73 said...

Wow your really have brought the feeling of the market into your post.

It all looks really amazing. I really like that red shop front too.


MBB x

Enitram said...

It' a gorgeous market!!!!!! A real happiness

It's me said...

This is so lovely to see....i enjoy your pictures !!! i wish i could be there today..............thanks for share..............love Ria......

Anonymous said...

Hi Isabelle,

Thank you for including a picture of my cake stall on your blog ! Today was a really good day wasn’t it? I was a bit worried beforehand that I may have taken too many cakes – so couldn’t believe that they all sold out so quickly. Watching all the goings on with the TV programme was really interesting also. I’ve just spent some time looking at your blog – It’s a really good read. Both my husband and I are lovers of all things vintage so I’ll be following from now on!
Thanks again & best wishes, Caroline

June said...

Isabelle this is fascinating! How awesome to see this and to know that it will be changing again and covering the last 140 years. How fun this would be to be able to walk around and take it all in. Thank you so much for taking us along...I loved every picture! Oh my, that is one big cheese!
hugs

Flaviana said...

Hi Isabelle
those photos are fascinating, the village looks like it belong to centuries ago , truly beautiful.
The stalls are really inviting, especially the cupcakes one ;-)
Happy new week to you!
xxx

bellaboo said...

Oh,no! What a shame you missed out on that adorable little dog! I've done that too and uumed and aahed over things and wish I bought them at the time.
I picked some sweet peas from my sister's garden yesterday..arn't they gorgeous?...one of my favourite flowers.

Bellaboo ;0)

Lisa said...

I'm looking forward to that series already, thanks for sharing, hope you had a great day out. What was the bread like?
I wonder if some of the shops will want to keep some of the old facades?
Lisa x

Victoria - Florence and Mary said...

This post was almost as good as being there!

Victoria x

Unknown said...

Hi Isabelle! The Market is so incredibly in its Victorian look!
and the stalls are full of beautiful things! My faveourite is the cupcakes ones!!!

Have a nice week!
Hugs!
Mara

sylvia said...

hei.
oohh so lovely ,I love this time,so beautiful..
and thanks for visit my blog.
big hug from sylvia

menopausalmusing said...

I don't think I could have resisted buying the laundry's blue either..... love the look of its packaging. Cheese would definitely have been on my list too.

Helena, The Swenglish Home said...

Wow. And WOW! How I wish I had popped in to see your blog on Saturday, to find out about this amazing event! We are about 45 minutes away from Shepton Mallet, and that would have bee an easy distance to manage for a peek at this beautiful vintage set.

On the other hand, I have got a feeling I would have spent more money than would be healthy for my wallet, so we were perhaps better off visiting the Naked Gardeners in Malmesbury that day... ;-D

Wishing you a lovely summer,
Helena, The Swenglish Home

Carole said...

Love the costumes and wished we could see that series here.

Good luck with your online shop!
xx
Carole

Simone said...

It all looks so wonderful! I love the sweetpea soap and the lovely things on sale. It must be fun to be at such an event. x

maría cecilia said...

Dear Isabelle, being in your blog so many times so far, I have a question... why didn´t I was born in England?? You have so much fun around, culture is everywhere!!!wonderful history, wonderful treasure finds, wonderful people and flowers!!!!...
many hugs to you,
maria cecilia

rosenresli said...

Dear Isabelle,

such wonderful pictures - I love the old nostalgic flair. Two weeks ago we went to a very old little town in france and it was only fantastic too see all the old houses.
The cupcakes look very delicious (sometimes I make them too) and the little jar on your last picture is so adorable. I bought one via ebay in england but it is not so pretty.

Have a good time,
Tanja

Anonymous said...

It is so beautiful it almost makes me cry! I have been wanting to visit England since my teens. I am almost 50 and I hope one day to be able to get there. Your pictures make me feel like I am there. Thank you.

Patti Smith
USA

Michala Gyetvai (Kayla coo) said...

I would love to visit your part of the world.
Lovely,interesting photo's.

Fabulously French said...

Wow so exciting, thanks for sharing such a wonderful experience with us - it is like being there. Love the old shop facades - it is such a shame that they have to come down.

Bon week-end a toi,

Leeann

p.s loved your comment about leaving France when the weather turns hot and sticky but unfortunately this is the time that we make all our money from the Chambres D'hotes/appartements :-)

Sandi said...

Wow...this looked like a very fun day! I wish we had something like that over here. It would be amazing!

Those cupcakes look delicious and I imagine that they didn't last long. Yumm!!

The gardens, the bread and other food...pretty pictures!!
Blessings~

Unknown said...

Tack för din kommentar..Jag älskar oxå indianernas sätt att leva och deras tro på den heliga ande och moder jord..Jorden skulle må mycket bättre om vi människor levde så...Ha en fortsatt härlig dag och kväll../Annelie

Pansy Cottage Girl said...

Hi Isabelle~
I love this post! Everything is so lovely. Thanks for visiting me:)

Little Emma English Home said...

Hi Isabelle, I must repeat myself but each time I pass here I find exciting tips of a true english life!!! This shooting is exciting, who are the actors, are they famous??? I love bbc films....

I wish you a lovely weekend, xx

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

Hello Isabelle! Thank you for your visit and comment! What a wonderful and interesting blog you have here--I'm looking forward to your new blog as well. I'm a textile lover too! Jacqueline

Vintage Home said...

...amlate getting to this ppost ...but wow..wish Iwas there..!

Aussie Maria said...

I have just found your blog today and when you mentioned Shepton Mallet it caught my eye. Thanks so much for sharing the photos of a time period when my hubby's relo's would have been there
And that is not the reason I found your blog

Elaine said...

What a fabulous idea to transform the market into another era. I bet everyone had a wonderful time. We have something in Melrose called the Victorian Fair but there's nothing Victorian about it.

Anonymous said...

What an absolutely wonderful blog you have created. I love it. I also checked out your new blog. What a nice way to remember your family. I will stop by often. You are so very sweet and for being 44 you look maybe 25. How fortunate for you.