We’re not proud of this, but since The Event took hold in March we haven’t darkened the door of Oval Farmer’s Market. After a brief period relegated to a community hall it’s been back in St. Mark’s Churchyard for a while now, and for obvious reasons is much more spread out, basically wrapping around the whole of the church. 

If you haven’t been to the Market in a while all of the old standards are still on offer; olives, biltong, a range of gluten free things, cheese stalls, fresh fish, coffees, organic wine, and meats. The large veg stall that used to be there is no more, but the proliferation of smaller ones compensate for it. There was also a French/Caribbean food stall that looked pretty delicious and had the buzz. 

Even if farmers markets aren’t your cup of chai, it offers folks a safe way to feel somewhat connected to society again and is a nice place to stroll around. For those still a bit queasy about larger crowds the market also provides a click and collect service.

Afterwards we revisited an old favourite,  Mimis Deli, which we reviewed earlier this year after eating a sandwich there the size of a childs’ leg. The former seating area at the back has been converted into a very tempting Italian food market/gift shop scenario, which is more experimental than Italo Vauxhall. We ate our mighty ciabatta wrapped sandwiches snugly in Kennington Park in the company of runners who had obviously never eaten a child leg sized meatball marinara sandwich in their lives.