Trade was down considerably on previous weeks when we were still located near Abington Street. Reaction to the move was mixed. Some shoppers liked the colour of the new red sheets, but complaints from the public about the Lib-Dem wasted space were never-ending. They'll never live it down; particularly as the huge space is there to remind everybody who comes into the town centre. A very public mistake for the Lib-Dems, this one!
Looking across at what's left of the market, with its close-together stalls and its cheek-by-jowl layout, it strikes me as drab. The red and white sheets might seem bright, but when you look at the cramped mini-aisle with its almost-invisible entrance onto the square, you can see they haven't got it right yet. That aisle should be twice as wide, like it was before, with an additional row of traditional stalls across the bottom of the market to accomodate everyone.
We need to open it up to bring back a bit of the sparkle and liveliness that was there before. Traders on the east side feel cramped for space, and that includes me.
I've had a film made of the move, by the way, but haven't decided on the title yet. What about 'Liberal-Democrat Election Suicide Bid'? It'll be going up on the web for everyone to see, as another little reminder.
I do hope that those traders who organised the 'I'm alright Jack' letter sent to the council now feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves. It only supplied ammunition for the move to go ahead, and was signed by a minority of traders many of whom have since asked for their names to be withdrawn.
A bit late to think about that now; the boat may be on its way down. We've already had three traders leave, disatisfied with the pitches allotted to them on the new layout. There will be more to follow in the weeks to come, I've no doubt.
Another bone of contention is that on Fridays and Saturdays they erect a double row of 24 gazebos across the front of the market. Now we pay first-class rents for our bottom-row stalls facing the empty space, presumably because we are on the outside edge and the public can see us from afar, but on Fridays and Saturdays with the gazebos in front of us, we are no longer visible until you walk behind the gazebos. So are they removing the first-class rent premium from our stall rents on those days? It's something they should be looking at if they want to retain any kind of adherence to the rule-book. Your stall can't be first-class if you have someone standing directly in front of you.
Despite the council's poor publicity machine, we do occasionally get wind of the odd event they may be planning for the waste land. There is supposed to be one of the first big events coming to the waste space in early April, details will be on the council's website when they manage to get it up online at:
www.marketsquareevents.com
You might get an early warning of the Mueller Rice event too; always worth knowing. Free rice for the citizenry, courtesy of the Lib-Dems.
As an experienced market trader of many years standing I am always cynical about what councils and their expensive consultants try to do. It usually ends in tears, as I think this market move will. I might be wrong, of course. I would be the first to shake Richard Church's hand if the market were flooded with shoppers coming in to see his events and spending good money on the market. We could certainly do with it. I'll believe it when I see it, like you will.
The market has been good to me over the years; only 15 years ago I was skint and never even had a pot to piss in. But with the market, hard work, long hours, good staff, and the support of my two children Kelly and Joe, I got a second chance. That's why I feel I owe the market a favour and want it restored to a working person's market again.
We've all heard the banks talking about 'toxic assets' in this present financial crisis, but if I remember correctly these always used to be called liabilities. A liability is not an asset, toxic or otherwise. 'Toxic assets' is a modern term to make you think it is actually an asset that has somehow gone wrong. But it never was an asset, it was a liability they didn't want to tell you about.
To continue to pay the people responsible for this state of affairs big bonuses is criminal. They should be punished for their greedy and irresponsible behaviour by having their own assets removed.
Another thing which amazes me is the cry that goes up when it is suggested these people should not get high pay, should not get these absurdly expensive bonuses. 'Oh, our best talent will go abroad!' is the cry. What talent are we talking about here, may I ask? The talent that has just got us into this mess? It's time for the G20 summit, and time to kick a banker downstairs, particularly those responsible for the financial mess we're in!
