To market, to market

Just inside the gate, before the procession of plant, book and hardware sellers, there’s an ageing television actress behind a table offering tarot readings. Small kids bounce on a jumping castle, a Wiggles CD blaring from speakers. But further in is what we’re all here for – the farmers and their food. There’s lots of fruit and vegetables, organic and otherwise, and lots of bread. There’s goats cheese and free-range eggs, extra virgin olive oils and plenty of meat, from saltbush lamb to German sausages. There are exquisite quiches and tarts, and bagels in a dozen varieties. A few vendors will make you a fresh coffee, though you’ll have to queue, and if you’re hungry for something to eat now, you can have Turkish gozleme, Malaysian street food, Chinese dim sum or the best bacon and egg roll in Sydney.

I’m wandering the aisles of the Leichhardt Organic Farmers Market with a baby in the pram and another strapped to my chest. The pram is doubling as my shopping trolley. I shove juicy red tomatoes and strawberries into the basket, then a tub of fresh goats curd and a loaf of ciabatta. Half a dozen eggs follow, then four cobs of home-grown corn. The woman behind the stall selling baby clothes eyes me hopefully, but I avoid her gaze. Around a corner, I cave in and buy a homemade apple pie and, after sampling one of the Royal Gala apples on display, I grab a bag of those too.

I’ve blown my budget and the sun is beating down a little too intensely for my liking. As I head for the exit, a seller comments on the little creature on my chest and is beside herself when she realises there’s another one in the pram. Suddenly there’s a small crowd oohing and ahhing. A teenage girl tells me she’s going to have identical twin girls one day. Someone wants to know if I get any sleep at all. Another assures me, unprompted, that it will get easier. I smile and move on, grabbing an egg and bacon roll for the road.