Earlier this morning, the annual Christmas Eve auction took place at Smithfields. Once a necessity to clear out unsold stock before the days of refrigeration, today a much loved tradition maintained by the market that brings in an ever increasing crowd of people looking for a fun morning, and a bargain.
As always, meats are paraded, a low price announced, and with a roar, money is waved in the air to catch their attention.
People cheer as a huge chunk of meat is handed over and they turn to friends or family with a huge grin of victory on their face.
When your correspondent first attended the auction, it was a small affair mainly of people turning up to fill a freezer for the months ahead, but today the crowds are far larger, but it’s also a lot more fun as people seem here as much for the joy of the event as to get a bargain.
