When I was working in Oxford ten years ago, I really loved how festive the Oxford Covered Market was, and some of the stalls made it feel very Victorian.
Obviously I have never being to a Victorian Christmas market, I am not that old. However, that concept of what a Victorian market could have been like, reinforced by Dickens, film, and television, meant that when I was walking around the Oxford Covered Market in December I did think I had gone back in time to the Victorian times.
On a recent visit to the Oxford Covered Market, ten years later, it felt a little different. It was still quite festive, but it didn’t feel traditional and Victorian any more.
However quite a few places had changed hands and were now eateries. There were more coffee shops, a pizza place, and other stalls (shops) to get something to eat.
The classic butchers had closed down, there was no fish stall, though there was a really long queue for the cheese stall. The fruit and veg stall was still there two.
This was still the Oxford Covered Market, but I did feel it had lost a little of the magic that had made it so special ten years ago.
