We had quite a family treat on Thursday; we knew the Italian Market was arriving in Salisbury for the first time so we decided we would take the children into town to experience something a little different.
We loved it, although it was quite small, it was special, the Italian flags flying, giving a vibrant splash of colour. The children really enjoyed seeing the huge selection of different pastas, giant pasta shells that looked as though they should have large snails attached to them. Marvellous breads, lots of very colourful nougats, fantastic Italian sausages and the most wonderful cake stall. The cakes were not like our cakes but very small dainty little bite size pieces of pastries filled with creamy fillings. The largest selection of olives and olive oils I have ever seen and it was quite nice that most of the people serving were Italian which made it feel very authentic.
Needless to say my daughter spent a small fortune, and went home to have a wonderful Italian lunch in the sun in the garden with the children leaping about enjoying the different food.
I found it such a great way to introduce different cultures to the children, also very good for Salisbury; we need to keep attracting events like this that pull people into the city. I found it very sad though when we walked along to the Old George mall, that three units which had once housed major shops stood empty and uncared for, made worse by the fact that they were side by side, the city was also very empty considering it is the school holidays. I believe the double dip recession is now really hitting, when shopping in Tesco I found coffee has gone up again, meat is a shocking price, and mince which used to be part of a family diet is now becoming a treat to many families. Families are having to fall back on dishes such as pasta with a tomatoe sauce during the week and planning diets which have very little meat or fish involved. For many people chicken has now replaced the Sunday roast Beef. Health wise I know it is not good to have a diet with a lot of red meat, so that may be a positive, but our children need to be eating fish and chicken, food with enough protein, a healthy balanced diet is not that affordable now. Fingers crossed we see the economy begin to strengthen soon and all our fortunes look healthier.
 

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here