Scandinavia in London

[patricklondon]

Is it my imagination or have I just been able to avoid the over-early signs of Christmas this year? Until this weekend that is: a Scandinavian Christmas market in Rotherhithe, on the other side of the river from where I live. Not so out-of-place as it might sound to a Londoner, because from the days of the docks, there are Norwegian and Finnish seamen's missions established close together and almost within sight of the river. So this unremarkable street in a slightly out-of-the-way district found itself taken over by a combination of the two churches' Christmas markets with a series of commercial stalls along the street between them, to make an all-Scandinavian event.









Plenty of the traditional Christmas, of course:



but instead of Santa's sleigh a pair of huskies (not that many seemed to be paying for a ride in the sled - there was hardly the road-space for that, for one thing):



There was also plenty of what you might expect from Scandinavia at any time of year.

For example, bright design:









bakery (saffron buns or chocolate honey cakes, anyone?)



smoked foods:





warming drink (and more bakery):



warming knitwear:



Moomins:





and sweets with names that mean something else in English:





But those were Danish; Finnish being such a singular language, the chances of unfortunate similarities to English are rare. Along the shelves of the temporary supermarket in the Finnish church, even the most ordinary sorts of foods appear mysteriously exotic:





What about some makkara and hernekeitto with a Lapin Kulta for lunch? Don't worry, that's sausage, and pea soup with a bottle of beer.

Oh, and even in Finland, would you expect to see a sauna in a church? Well, there's one here. I suppose it's one way to celebrate a hyvää juolua.

www.flickr.com/photos/patricklondon/8213289009/in/set-72157632085459615

[lola]

Fun, Patrick.

I'd be tempted to buy a Moomin mug for my sister, who loves them.

[Deleted]

Ouch, the poor bunnies! So, if the market is near the relevant churches, I imagine that the main target audience would be the Swedish-Finnish communities of London, no? Although of course it is always nice when other people wander in by accident. They can probably thank the Ikea grocery section for making people much more familiar with some of these items than if they had never bought cheap furniture.

[patricklondon]

The churches themselves were packed out with stalls as well as people, but there were plenty of locals just intrigued/passing by/checking things out (not necessarily buying anything more than small things, at Scandinavian prices!).

[bixaorellana]

Hey ~~ another great thread that I missed seeing when I went out of town! Well, I don't know how long it will take me to recover from the surprise of Winter Wonderland in a language from a wintry land. Thanks for the øret-orm.

Speaking of winter, it looks as though there was miserable weather for that apparently well-attended event.

Moomin, huh? Never heard of them before, but they're rather lovable -- sort of Scandinavian schmoos.

I quite liked the throw pillows as well, although as you point out, everything is awfully expensive.

Scandinavian kids must be bursting with non-sugar-soaked health, as that's the least tempting junk food packaging imaginable, even without the unfortunate double meanings. Designers must all be busy elsewhere, producing sleek furniture and rustically sophisticated fabrics.

Patrick, you turned out some killer pictures to report on this event. So many of them are stand-alone great photos, particularly the beautifully composed limited palette ones: the richly bleak opening pic, the huskies, the bunnies, and the mom & kids/red & gray shopping shot.

[mossie]

I didn't know Rovverive was going Scandinavian. Where do you actually live Patrick?

[htmb]

Very nicely done, patrick. I would have enjoyed a wander through the area, too. Were people receptive to having you take pictures of te displays?

[patricklondon]

Thank you for the kind words. Sorry I missed them earlier.

I actually went on two days, the first (all bright and sunny) in company, when it wasn't that crowded, the next day alone to pick up on some pictures I'd missed, when the weather turned foul but the crowds turned out. No, on the whole the stallholders seemed perfectly OK about photos, as long as I didn't get in the way of paying customers.

FWIW, I live over the river on the Isle of Dogs. Rotherhithe is similar in some ways, as a former docks/industrial area now become wholly residential, but its public transport links were a bit limited until recently, so it feels a bit downmarket, or at least less likely to attract the flashy sort that cluster round Canary Wharf. It's never struck me as visually all that interesting, but the remains of its history do suggest a peg to hang something on: I'll give it some thought.