Lawrence says “50 or 60 years ago there used to be three or four auctions on the market, but now we’re the only ones left.” Lawrence is resplendent in his role as auctioneer, keeping his eager crowd entertained and in high spirits as he sells off the last of the year’s produce. Lawrence loves doing the Christmas Eve meat action and says he “wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
On the morning of Christmas Eve, around 9.30am a hundred or so people are gathered outside Hearts as Lawrence opens the auction by explaining the bidding rules. The meat is held up by the butchers who call for a price to be set, leading to punter cries of “tenna”, “twen’y” or other appropriate multiples of ten pound notes. No coins, no credit cards and no fancy packaging.
