A 1966 World Cup Winner, Borough Market and Muisjes

Having once bumped into Bobby Charlton, at a hotel near Watford, today it was his brother Jackie's turn, this time at Borough Market, Southwark. The Charlton brothers were two great Geordie footballers who never played for Newcastle. Jackie did go on to manage the Magpies but the less said about that the better.



A very congenial meeting of the clans followed, with lunch at Maria's Market Cafe. The market was as colourful and lively as ever:



The highlight of the day was to hold a beautiful young lady of Geordie & Dutch heritage, a wonderful mixture.......



....but everything has a price and in this case it was to participate in the quaint Dutch tradition of 'beschuit met muisjes'.

Beschuits are rusks and Muisjes are, literally, mice but in this case coloured aniseed 'sprinkles'. This name was chosen, because the sprinkles look like mice droppings, mmm, nice.

As early as the 17th Century dutch parents of a newly born baby would give these rusks, with a layer of butter and muisjes, to visitors, with pink and white muisjes for a girl child and blue and white for a boy.

I am indebted to the happy parents for not having had mixed twins.

De Ruijter is the only producer of muisjes.

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