Portobello Road

Welcome to London Life. This week we find out about one of London's most interesting streets, Portobello Road. It is especially famous for its Saturday market. We'll hear from a trader there and look at the language of markets and shopping. You can download the programme script and an mp3 version at the bottom of this page. Here are some questions for you to answer as you listen: 1. What makes Portobello Road different from other shopping streets? 2. What kinds of things can you buy at Portobello Road? 3. Why is it a good idea to get to the market early?  Words and expressions from the programme chain stores big, well-known shops which have stores in many places selling the same products Example sentence These days chain stores own shops in nearly every high-street in the country. traders people who have market stalls or shops Example sentence Traders at the market sell all kinds of different things. merchandise products which are sold Example sentence Shops there have some very unusual merchandise. bric-a-brac small objects that aren't worth much, but that are interesting Example sentence One of the best things about the market is all the bric-a-brac you can find. a bargain something you buy for cheaper than the usual price Example sentence This jumper was a real bargain. to haggle to argue over the price of something with the person who is selling it Example sentence I haggled the price down from seven to four pounds. Extras Programme script (pdf - 21k) Audio - Download 'Portobello Road' (mp3 - 1.8mb)   Find out more about Portobello Road  Original BBC Page here Script Jackie: Hello, I'm Jackie Dalton. Welcome to London Life! This week we find out  about one of London's most interesting streets – Portobello Road, which is  especially famous for its Saturday market. We'll look at the language of  markets and shopping. First, we'll hear from Jonathan, who is a dealer there.  He sells old maps. Listen to him describe what it's like there. He'll talk about  the stalls – small shops with an open front or stands where things are sold.  They sell antiques – old objects like furniture or decorations which some  people like to collect. And junk – things that people don't want anymore and  have thrown out, but others might like to buy. Listen out for those words now.  Jonathan Well Portobello Road is a wonderful place to go if you want to wander round antique stalls,  junk stalls. You never know quite what you're going to find. Every stall sells different things,  there must be well over a hundred different dealers and shops. So there's plenty to see and do  and it's great fun for a day out. Jackie: So what makes Portobello Road special – different from any other street where  you can go shopping? This time, listen out for these expressions:  Chain stores – big, well-known shops which have stores in many places and  tend to sell the same kinds of products. An example of a chain is MacDonald's  or Burger King, they are chains which have similar restaurants all over the  world.  Traders – in this context are the people who have market stalls or shops and  who are selling. Merchandise – is the product they're selling, whether it's food, clothes, antiques,  or anything else. Now as you listen to Jonathan, try to answer this question: What's the  difference between Portobello Road and other shopping streets?  Jonathan The real difference you'll notice is the lack of big chain stores. The area has a semi-protected  status so you get a lot of small traders in there who would never be able to afford to run a  shop anywhere else. So you'll get completely unique shops and stalls selling very, very  unusual merchandise. It's unlike any other street in London and is well worth a visit.  Jackie: Did you get the answer? The difference is it's not just full of big chains, selling  the same things as everywhere else. There are smaller shops, selling things that  are 'unique' – different, unusual.  What kinds of things? You'll hear the word 'memento', which means a small  thing that you keep to remind you of something. And you'll hear the word  'bric-a-brac' – Jonathan will explain what that means.  Jonathan Anything and everything! I mean, there are some stalls and there are some shops which are  very expensive and they will have wonderful furniture or paintings and then there will be a  stall that will be selling what we would call in this country 'bric-a-brac' and that can be  anything from a little cup, to a tin, to a glass, to a toy, you name it! And that is the great thing  about going to Portobello Road, is that you're never sure what you're going to find. For a few  pounds you'll come away with a lovely memento of London and something, probably, that's  almost unique. Jackie: The market takes place every Saturday. Why does Jonathan think it's good to  go early?  Jonathan It opens quite early. If you were to arrive there, say, at seven o'clock in the morning it would  already be there full of dealers and a lot of the stalls would all be up and running and that  would be the time to get the really interesting bargains. Jackie: Jonathan says if you go early, that's the best time to pick up an interesting  bargain. A 'bargain' is something you buy cheaper than the usual price:  Voice: This jumper was a real bargain – it was reduced from 30 pounds to 14!  Jackie: So you can go early to get an interesting bargain. There's another way of  getting a good bargain. Listen to Jonathan again. You'll hear the word 'haggle'.  Try to work out from the context what 'to haggle' means.  Jonathan If you see something on a store and you think 'I really like that, but it's a bit too expensive,'  haggle! Say to the man or the woman 'What's the best price you can do on this?' And if they  want to sell it they'll give you a price.  Jackie: To 'haggle' is to argue over the price of something with the person who is  selling it. In most shops in Britain, you shouldn't try to haggle because there is  a fixed price for things. But in many markets and in some smaller shops you  can sometimes haggle to get a better price for whatever you want to buy.  Well, Portobello Road is certainly one of my favourite streets in London and if  you're visiting the capital city and want to pick up a memento of London or a  good bargain, it's certainly the place to go.