Goodbye 2019

It’s the time of year we like to take stock and look back at all the market has achieved over the last twelve months.

Thanks to our farmers and fishermen.

 

Thanks to all our sustainable farmers for surviving another year and for choosing to come to Crystal Palace every week:  Brockmans farm, Wild Country Organics, Brambletye, Gill Wing Farm and Hook and Son.   Andrew will be leaving Gill Wing Farm but will still be running the butcher’s stall from his new farm (phew).  Hook and Son have had a terrible year of officialdom but are managing to survive, just.  You can read about their story and how to support them here.  All these farms are 100% dependant on the income they receive from markets.

Next, we want to celebrate our fish suppliers, Veasey and Sons and their boat, Le Belhara, which is accredited by the Responsible Fishing Scheme, so you can be sure of their supply chain.  Thanks to super team Nick and his lovely daughter, Jemima.  We are so lucky to have access to such a range of fresh seafood weekly and thank all those that risk their lives to provide it to us.  

Thanks to our weekly stalls.

 

We have a first class line-up of weekly local stalls, which is what happens when you support local first.  Thanks to them all for being so consistently FAB-U-LOUS.   Brett and Bailey cakes, Comfort and Joy delicatessen, Capo Caccia Sardinian fare, London Smoke and Cure, The Wine Scouts, Palace Culture vegan cheeses, Levain Bakery, Bread Bread Bakery and Pasta di Grazia.  

We congratulate London Smoke and Cure on opening their brand new spanking smoke house in Streatham, and Palace Culture for now trading in Borough Market, Planet Organic and Whole Foods.  And a big thank you to Jakki, who runs the Palace Makers’ stall, which represents numerous local artists and makers.

Thanks to our eco, refill ‘shops’

Next, it’s time to remember The Store Cupboard and Roots and Cycles, along with Images Delmar, who give the market an eco-heart right in its centre, so a big thank you to Laura, Rebecca and Dylan for all their hard work.  More and more of you are remembering to bring your own containers to get these eco refills rather than choosing single use plastic, which is great.  And, this year, these little ‘shops’ are now open at other times in week too (check the times on the links above).

Thanks for our hot food, vegan and snack stalls.

What would we do without our hot food, vegan and snack stalls? – Simply Tay, Zongo, Lucknow to London, Jerky Friday, Return to Shashamane, Afrikoko, Electric Future Foods and Ricochez.  Thank you guys for all the wonderful flavours and aromas.  

Thank you to our olive/preserves/deli and free-from stalls.

The quality and variety of these stalls are so consistent.  Thanks to all of you.

Olives and olive oils – Mar de Olivas (who has just opened a shop in Forest Hill), Yellow Sunshine and Elia Olive Oil.  

Preserves, sauces and delicatessens – Fruition Preserves, Chilli Brothers, Winsford House Produce, and Le Hamper.  We’re happy for Christine of Creative Allsorts, who successfully moved down to Dungeness and is busy trading down there.

Free from stalls – Owl Kitchen and Simply Tay. 

Thanks to our other regulars and our local honey suppliers.

We’re so grateful to have these regular stalls, bringing variety, quality and interest, week in, week out.

Nou Moon (jewellery & clothes), Flore Organic Beauty, ClaraFlora,  Y Kairos (recycled kids clothes), Gemini chocolate (vegan chocolate) and Eat Moringa (CBD oils and more)

Honey suppliers – Mark Stott, P Honey, Bee Crafts, Stuart’s Honey and Bond Honey. 

And let’s not forget our Community Stalls, choirs, buskers and DJs.

 

Community groups use the market to let us know what’s going on locally such as Crystal Palace Transition Town, The Library of Things,  Upper Norwood Library, The Norwood Society, and Crystal Palace Festival, to name a few.  We’ve also been lucky enough to have singing visits from The Welcome Choir and The Acapella Choir as well as a number of buskers and DJs (who are always welcome).   

And, of course, thank you to all those who come every so often or for a one-off, who are just too numerous to list here.  

Thank you to Antenna and the Collectors Market.

We wouldn’t be here without the support of Antenna and the Collectors Market, who allow us to use their car-park and the courtyard. Antenna also lend the market a lovely cafe, with the best coffee, and even supply some of the traders with electricity.   Thank you Antenna team, especially Zac, Matt and Darren.  

It is sad news indeed that the Collectors’ Market is currently closing for health and safety reasons, and we thank you all for what you have brought to Crystal Palace and the market over the years, especially Sue, Glynis and Jerry, who have helped the market weekly.  

And lastly a big thanks to our teenage volunteers

Every week the market needs putting up and taking down.  Laura and I oversee this, but the leg work is done by our team of teenage volunteers.  We are always so proud of how quickly they learn to take instruction, work as a team, look after each other, look after the stallholders and turn up on time.  We find our teenagers are people we can rely on and be proud of.  After starting as shy and/or grumpy juniors, most end up mentoring the newbies and working on stalls, with their heads held deservedly high and a whole bunch of new skills under their wings.

As a customer, by supporting the market, you really are helping either a small, sustainable farmer or a fellow local.  We think that’s how it should be.  Our aims are, and have always been, to support sustainable farmers (to preserve their knowledge and reduce the carbon footprint of the food we consume) and build community resilience (to support local traders, community organisations and young volunteers).   So it only remains for me to thank all of you for coming, without whom there would be no market, and to say, “Long live the market”.