It was a beautiful day; many people were in the town and there were . . . . . three market stalls at the market. David Gardner's being the main stay.
Once again our town councillors have just stood by and watched it happen.
No that's not true you say. Cllr Judy Pickthall has tried hard.
No, you say, it's not their fault - it's the economic situation - people aren't buying.
No, you say our car park charges are frightening our visitors away.
Well compare Ulverston (no web site) with Settle, go talk and learn from David Gardner who is here faithfully twice a week. He sells plants at both markets. (look who's at the bottom).
He will explain why Settle has a successful market and why Ulverston doesn't.
Have come our councillors made an effort to go across and find out the various secrets of their success and strive hard to put their secrets into practice here. I think not.
Well first of all they have their own web site - totally dedicated to bringing in visitors into their Tuesday Market. You'll agree for a market web site they do a brilliant job.
This shows that they have:
5 Food stalls some of which used to come here.
6 Clothes and Fashion stalls
7 General Retail Stalls
Some how making up 27 stalls , they reckon
Most of the stall holders give details of what kinds of things they sell
There are 20 photos of the stalls even one of David's stall with him in 'action'
So why the big difference in the effort put into attracting vistors to their market.
First David tells me the people in Settle are a bolshie lot who stick up for themselves and insist on running thier own market - hence the web site. They don't let the District Councill anywhere near it.
Second David tells me the councillors there make a big fuss of the stall holders and are regularly asking if there's anything they can do to help. Again something I'm told that is very absent here by comparison. Many tell me they have rarely seen a councillor and wouldn't have a clue what they look like.
Aren't there some lessons to learn or are we all going to lie down on our backs, dog like, with our paws in the air , wimpering " Please be nice to me, I'm only a poor little dog and will let you walk all over me is that's what you want."
I suspect you can guess by response to that. . . . Grr Grr snap snap
That's why I've taken up the clarinet to do my bit and add a bit of interest to the square on market days whatever the weather rain or shine snow or swelter. That's why I come with others and play chess there every week. That's why I paid up my trader's Licence (£77) and at least tried . . . and ran a pottery making stall. I used to run a thriving 'health food' stall until I transferred it into the Oxfam Building in 1986 when I ran that community venture.
Come on you lot, ball your heads off and go storming into the council chamber and bang a few dustbin lids until you're heard. Or better still at the next election bring in some independent guys who mean business and not a lot of card holding party politicians. In the North of England, Ulverston is one of the few places where party politicians survive.
Morcambe by contrast has very few. Other towns like Hawaorth near Bradford, which I contacted because they had brilliant work done on their cobbles by contactors (Balfour Beatie for United Utilities ). At Haworth, John Huxley, who is chair of the Parish Council, tells me they have 90 % Independents with party politicians a rarity.
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