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?

Listen to London Life
	Portobello Road

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.

Programme script (pdf - 21k)

Audio - Download 'Portobello Road' (mp3 - 1.8mb)