The Girl Can't Help It!

My usual routine on Saturday mornings is a walk along the Church street market to get fresh vegetables, and essentials for the week ahead. It has always been nice to stroll along open markets with people trying to sell fancy footwear, discounted clothes, varieties of cheese, chocolates, oils, pungent perfumes, colourfully laid out vegetables & fruits, grand though economical carpets, day-to-day stuff like cleaning liquids to shower gels to bin liners to tissues. One can also pick plants & flowers from these street shops or any other decorative items for the living room. There is a complete buzz about this place as you can see vendors calling out for
passers-by to pick the big deals they have to offer...for those whose taste buds go active on the smell of food can have a bite at the burritos & kebab stall.

The street would routinely turn into a pedestrian zone and one can see the vendors coming in vans, carts to build their make-shift shop for the day. Then, they would meticulously lay out their goods for display and start their day. The steps are reversed at pack-up time..... Imagine doing this everyday - I would not be successful even for a week. Kudos!!! to these guys who do it day in and day out.


Another important characteristic of this place are the antique shops here selling furniture, mirrors, clocks, vases, jewellery, clothes, rugs, carpets, decorative items and so on... The Alfie's Antique market is a world of its own. One of the shops which really caught my eyes was the store called 'The Girl Can't Help it' - wow! What a name and it stood for what it had….. there were hats, dresses, footwear, glasses, jewellery all from ages long ago....I couldn't relate to any of the clothes there but well... it took me back in time…...it definitely gives you the idea of the
styles that existed and a piece of the glamour world back then....

All this put together..... Starting from shopping for essentials, for day-to-day living, to the fancy side of things like antiques...it shows direct proportionality about the girl, the lady, the woman who really can't help it!!! - can't help but shop!!!!