"But What a Lovely Way to Burn"

(Image of Fargate, not mine.)

More often than not, a routine trip to downtown Sheffield will produce a vibrant and exciting experience, as the city center comes alive for a festival, carnival, or marketplace. Today was no different as I ventured into Fargate, a popular pedestrian destination filled with high street shops. The goal of my trip: purchasing gel inserts for a certain young man's hiking boots. About an hour after entering Fargate, I finally reached Blacks, an outdoor store. Within this elapsed sixty-odd minutes of my life I distractedly roamed vendor pavilions and market-like food stands which had sprung up seemingly overnight. Visitors thronged the offerings while smells of sausage, roast, and sugary sweets washed over us all. Mixed with the brand-new-retail aroma of the high end shops, it was almost intoxicating. Adding to the ambiance was a green-haired saxophonist from some corner of the world playing "You Give Me Fever" on a continuous loop, only broken occasionally by "Moondance."

Kicking myself for not remembering a camera, I took quick mental notes of the scene. Dutch pancakes; Bavarian cured meats; Greek olives; French cheeses; oodles of colorful gummy candy in large bins; broad German flags blowing in the rainy wind; hot British roast wagons; and could it really be...yes, an entire pig on a spit. Besides food, there were also flats and flats of cheerful plants and flowers; jewellery, jewellery, and more jewellery; scarves; lawn ornaments; two annoying market researchers (both of whom now believe I do not speak English); and a partridge in a pear tree. My Inspector-Gadget-like detective skills led me to believe this must be some sort of international festival celebrating the deliciousness that is Europe.

A quick trip to Wikipedia confirms my suspicions. Fargate apparently hosts a quarterly Continental Market, where European vendors grace Sheffield with cheeses, meats, confectioneries, clothing, plants, and jewellery. Additionally, Wikipedia supplies me with the creepy fact that mass medieval graves can be found underneath the whole of Fargate. I wonder what they think of Marks & Spencers new fall line and H&Ms fantastic pre-winter clearance.