John has been a vendor at Chapel Market in Islington for over 40 years. What he enjoys most? Looking at the girls walking up and down the street.
1000 LONDONERS
This film is part of 1000 Londoners, a ten-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it. The profile contains a 3 minute film that gives an insight into the life of the Londoner, as well as their personal photos of London and some answers to crucial questions about their views on London life. Over the course of the project we aim to reveal as many facets of the capital as possible, seeing city life from 1000 points of view.
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1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films will be both producing the films and providing opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films. Visit www.chocolatefilms.com.
TRANSCRIPT
All eight for a pound plums! Lovely plums eight for a pound! Two for one fifty strawberries!
How long have I worked on the store? On and off, I've worked in this market for 42 years. It was me and my wife. And now it's just me. She refuses to work with me, whilst my mood swings. I usually leave home at about ten past four in the morning. And I get home about a quarter to six. A long hour day, long hour day.
A black chap that works for Islington council, he comes through every morning. He has literally twenty chains around his neck, 100 rings on his fingers, singing and dancing. He sweeps along up the street, really, really funny character. Really nice bloke. All walks of life: rich, poor, all different nationalities, everybody. Traditionally summer was the busier months,but I think it sort of levels itself out now. In the summer, everyone goes to the park now and they go on holiday. Where in the winter months, although it's colder and damp and that, they've still gotta come out and do their shopping.
What changes? Less stalls in the market now. Like when I started, there was probably 30 fruit and vegetable stalls. Now there's only five. The market went from the bottom here right the way to the very end. It was over 200 stalls. There's probably only about 80 on a good day now. Housing and building. Just behind us here, there was like a block of flats. Upwards of 200 families in it. That's gone, which is where Sainsbury's is now. Just over where the N1 Centre, that was all rows of houses. No one lives here now at all. Factories and shops and that. The people 've gone. That's why I think the market is quieter in general than what it was years ago. 'Cause everyone's moved away.
Favourite part of the job? Looking at the girls. 'Cause there's lots of girls up and down all day. The biggest challenge is, not so much the buying of the stuff, it's the selling of it. My most popular items at the moment are probably cherries and strawberries. My hobbies? Going to the pub, playing with my grandchildren and watching football. I don't play golf or anything. 'Cause they're during the daytime, isn't it. I don't go to work, I'd sit at home. I don't do gardening, I don't Do It Yourself, so I'll just sit at home. So I'll work as long as my health lets me. You know, you have got the weather in the winter and that. The cold, the wind, the rain. My bones do ache a bit now. I've got a bit of arthritis. But that's like years of being up here.
No, I don't like being told what to do. Only my wife, she's the only one that tells me what to do.