Ulverston Market on its last legs?

I talked to David at the plant stall and he says that the internet is taking over.

For his part he is able to remain flexible and achieve sales by tailoring what he sells to the pockets of his customers. We're lucky to have someone like him coming so regularly , especially on Saturday when he has the choice of so many different markets across the North of England.

Local elections are coming up.

What are we doing about the state of our town. The choice of councillors is dire. No one with credibility wants the job.

Few will even be bothered to vote.

Apathy has meant that the North Ward has had no representation on South Lakeland District Council ever since the death of Colin Hodgson.

Few want to get involved and those that do are only interested in party politics not the welbeing of the town.

The Greens are once again going to be offering candidates but only because the want to support the Green Party - you'll find they know little about and do little for the town at present.

Those of us that care need to work together to get some independent thinkers involved who know their town inside out.

I'm willing to strongly support anyone intersted in standing.

Any offers?

Today's market

The Market this last Saturday was disappointing

In contrast to Thursday when the full space of the square was available, Saturday saw four traders leaving their vans in the square causing an untidy mess which can't have impressed visitors and shoppers.

One problem was that access from private cars was not being prevented from New Market Street so vans were left to block this but this was an excuse - one van in New Market Street would have done the job.

It's disappointing that the actions of traders themselves is leading to the market becoming less attractive. They seem to delight in shooting themselves in the foot - a point supported by the long term traders like David and the plant stall who thought more should have been done by Anne, the market supervisor.

New initiative

Seeing the sad state of our Market in town, I've resolved to do what I can to bring the management of our market back into the hands of local people. At the same time I hope to buy back the right to manage the Stockbridge Lane car park.

Both these two facilities are being poorly managed by SLDC.

I'm hoping that they will want to surrender their control.

I'm in touch with a large group of stall holders that would be willing to attend our market if the prices were lower. A full market is worth striving for.

David Gardiner - the guy at the plant stall says that the towns where they have control of their own market stalls are surviving reasonably well, the stall holders here are feeling pretty dispirited.

We can do a lot better.

With the approval of the rest of our committee, I plan to brighten the Market Square up with a few of our flags each Thursday until the Flag Festival starts.

Everything is on track for their being an impressive display of 50 new flags in The Gill. This is the part of The Festival that we're responsible for; the rest is being run the Better Towns Team chaired by Ralph Spours (Jane Kendall has resigned), Jean Povey, Cllr Judy Pickthall and Peter Winston (who took the project back in mid February having given it to us in early January). We are continuing what we had started having been officially been given the job in January.

James Airey, County, District and Town Councillor has agreed to meet me soon to review the present situation regarding the work on the cobbles on Market Street

I put it to him that:

"The main question is :

Will the work down Market Street be completed by Friday April 29th when the Flags go up for the Flag Festival, The Royal Wedding and the influx of people visiting the town for the 10th Anniversary of Printfest ?

The work down Market Street is having a devastating effect on the numbers of people coming to the Market which in turn effects the takings of the local shops.

The relaxed easy going attitude of the I.T. Shaw workers is upsetting to the traders who work hard to earn a living."

Let me know if you think this is a good idea and whether you want to get involved.

Cumbria markets and market towns

There are many of these throughout Cumbria.

Here there are many market towns that have thriving markets.

One of the most popular is the one at Ulverston.

To find out more about this beautiful Market Town steeped in history try an excellent web site done specifically for the purpose of tempting you to visit us.

If you're wondering what this entry is all about , it was to check out how well Google lists this blog.

Very well indeed.

A search for "cumbria markets towns" found it at number nine one hour after it was posted.

So here is a great way of promoting Ulverston over the internet - this blog.

The Monday Interview - David Gardner continued

The familiar face of David - our friendly gardening consultant.

We think of him as living down the road but in fact it takes him an hour and twenty minutes to get here.

So how come he chose Ulverston market to trade at?

Are there many others like him?

Or is this quiet unassuming man part of a well honed team and a real expert at survival?



A quick look at the range of plants on offer.

Who needs a flash garden centre when the quality , range and price are all in our favour when we shop at David's stall.

Worth a trip to Ulverston on a Thursday or Saturday just to buy here, don't you think?

The Monday Interview - The Egg Man introduced by David Gardner

David talks about the future of Ulverston Market in this last part of an impressive interview.



Next week we'll have the first part of David's interview. We all think of David as being a local man - well the next town at least - but just how far does he come:

from 10 miles; 20 miles; 40; 80; or maybe even 160 miles away ? You may be surprised!

Now, a little about someone who has marketing flare though some might think his eggs aren't quite what they appear- brown they certainly are.




To see our other Monday Interviews click here or on the "interview" label below.

Our Monday morning interview - Mr Chirpy

Each week, someone from Ulverston will appear here.

Here's our first one - a little early!

Don't we all look forward to seeing him here every Thursday and Saturday Market Day?