Decided to visit the market at Wells at the weekend. If you've ever seen the film 'Hot Fuzz' you will be familiar with Wells, as they filmed it here.

They have a great vegetable grower who sells there.  We bought curly kale, celeriac and jalapenos plants, and were sorely tempted by some great looking grapevines (out of shot) but really don't have anywhere to grow them.

Of course, we had to have our favourite food from here

I asked if I could take her picture, she's so lovely and incredibly pretty, but no, she squealed with laughter and hid her face and begged me not to, so I snapped this shot, she's only just in the frame.

Mmm..chicken panang, massaman curry and homemade hot spring rolls with chilli sauce. I've tried to replicate these dishes at home, but they always disappoint...her flavours are always absolutely stunning.

I love the fact that Wells still employs a town crier and he always arrives around lunch time to make announcements about what's going on in the vicinity.  He's got a good pair of lungs on him!

The archway behind him has a beautiful vaulted ceiling...

...and leads to The Gatehouse and moat.

We were graced with the presence of  a beautiful swan family.  They were on the far side of the moat, but when a little girl next to us started throwing in food (not bread, thankfully) they literally motored over.

They were soon joined by a darling little duckling family and they all tucked into the food provided quite happily.

We decided that next time we visit Wells, we won't eat in the market as usual, although I love the vibe there. We intend to bring a picnic rug, possibly a picnic (who am I kidding, not when panang is being served just yards away lol!). But only if it's sunny and dry.

Another thing that I love about Wells are the street performers and there is always something new. These two were performing reggae as we left.

On the way back to the car, we came across a group of Morris Men and I'm gutted that most of my pics didn't materialise for some reason. I use my phone and can't really see what I'm doing when it's very sunny and bright...UUrrgh.  The only one that came out was the one of these guys heading up to the market.  There were whole bunch of them crammed into a small bespoke beer bar, looking as though they'd had a few ciders.

If you're not familiar with Morris Men, here are a few pics I took last year in Wells,  which show their whimsical costumes.  It's a very ancient tradition, dating back to the 15th century and consists of dancing and the hitting of sticks, although I think this varies, depending which county the dancers  comes from. I know that handkerchiefs are sometimes used instead of sticks,  but traditionally the dancers all  have bells attached to their trousers which jingle as they dance.

I don't know why, but I find the Hobby Horse character a little bit sinister, with the gnashing, wooden teeth that clatter together.

Sometimes there is a Molly dance, which includes a man dressed as a woman, although this troupe of dancers didn't include one. Here's a pic from the internet to give you the idea.  I found it so funny.  He really doesn't look too happy about having to wear the frock...drew the short straw I guess.

We planted up the celeriac plants and some home grown baby leeks on Sunday and had our very first bbq of the year, griddled lime chicken with mixed roasted veggies, oh, and some freshly picked leaves from our troughs.  A lovely end to a pretty good weekend. 

Hope you had a lovely weekend where ever you are!