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08/02/2007, 12:33 PM Petra's Market Life Joined on 19/10/2006 Posts 4 Markets Markets are a great place to shop too, and a traditional part of British life.  Markets need your support more than ever as the big shops move in to more rural towns.  We don't necessarily live in the best climate for outdoor shopping but when you do get nicer days, why not give them a try.  You'll get friendly individual service, perhaps a bit of cheeky banter, all sorts of interesting and useful items to take home. Fakenham has a market that spreads throughout the town on every Thursday morning, you can get anything from fresh fruit and vegetables to CDs, housewares, plants, jewellery, arts & crafts, make-up, tools, outdoor wear, shoes, books, hoover parts, cards, pictures, socks, hats, scarves (very useful in this weather!) and stacks more.  If bric-a-brac and collectables are your thing, there's plenty of that too.  Visit the Beck's auction house to check out some bargains.  It's well worth a visit, a hidden gem in North Norfolk. Fridays try Dereham or Diss or both if you fancy the drive.  Diss is a gorgeous market town, evoking the atmosphere of old fashioned market day, it has a style and character all of its own.  Cromer and Wymondham also host weekly markets on a Friday. Saturdays drive out to the coast and visit the market at Sheringham.  This is quite a big market and particularly starts buzzing at Easter and then all through the summer.  From March there is a market every Wednesday too.  Bury St Edmunds hosts Wednesday and Saturday markets too. Sundays, try Snetterton or Banham.  Both with a different feel but full of great goods and interesting characters. You can't get more traditional than markets they are an important part of our heritage.  Please keep them alive with regular visits.    Report

08/02/2007, 3:52 PM kenneth Joined on 14/08/2003 Posts 1,095 Re: Markets Petra, I agree that more shoppers should use market places for their supplies. Most people don't recognise that market places were the supermarkets of bygone days - everything in one place.    Report

08/02/2007, 10:57 PM Sinbad Joined on 31/08/2006 Posts 18 Re: Markets    And also they can save you a lot of money - ! The oven on our cooker was unusable beause the seal round the oven door had become loose and was letting much of the heat out. Great if you want to keep the kitchen warm, not so great if you want to cook anything in the prescribed time. Time for a new cooker we thought. But then it was only the seal that needed replacing, so I went to see the nice man on Norwich market who sells all sorts of cooker / washing machine / vacuum cleaner etc., etc. parts. Came away with a replacement oven seal for about £12 and presto - ! No need for a new cooker - ! Yes, markets are wonderful, friendly places and are often less expensive than the Big Five and their like.    Report

10/02/2007, 7:56 AM Petra's Market Life Joined on 19/10/2006 Posts 4 Re: Markets Thanks Sinbad for giving such a good example of how useful markets can be.  Hopefully more people will write about their good experiences of markets.  The media often portray markets as full of dodgy dealers but this is very far from the truth and extremely unfair. 99% Traders want to give their customers a good deal.  It isn't easy to compete with the Big Boys on price because obviously they are more able to buy en masse, therefore knocking the prices down beyond a small trader's capacity.  However, the goods are just as good, if not better and obviously the service is more individual as you have said.    Report

10/02/2007, 11:45 AM Lynda Joined on 22/03/2004 Norwich Posts 2,491 Re: Markets I quite often buy stuff at Norwich market.    I buy free range eggs, fruit and vegetables from one particular stall also I look to other stalls for other things.    The handbag I currently use came from a market stall  - it is just the right type for me - loads of room with different pockets and one for my mobile phone (essential for a woman's handbag!). Market stalls also have a knack of stocking exactly what you need in particular.    Many years ago, when my parents were alive, my mother asked for a table cloth, as a Christmas present, to fit her oval dining room table.    I had a particular type in mind but couldn't find anything in the shops to fit her table.     My grandmother, who lived in Norwich and was then full able and could walk into the city from her house, volunteered to look for the tablecloth for me as she had more time than me (I had a full-time job in those days).   I visited her on the Saturday and she said she had found a tablecloth for me to give Mum.    When I pulled it out of the carrier bag my jaw dropped - it was exactly the same tablecloth I had in my mind's eye!  On Christmas Day Mum put the cloth on the table and it was perfect!  Later on we were able to buy a matching cloth to fit a smaller table in the same room. It is much quicker to buy from the market - I have worked out that it takes me around half an hour to buy from a large supermarket (more if I am daft enough to drive to one) yet, if I buy the same things from the market and small shops, it could take considerably less time and cost me less money.   Lynda  Technology is great when it works.    Report

12/02/2007, 3:36 PM Petra's Market Life Joined on 19/10/2006 Posts 4 Re: Markets Yes supermarkets at very clever at making us spend more than we probably need to, and it's not that interesting shopping in them either.  With everything spread out within easy reach, it's possible to get round a supermarket and pay without hardly uttering a word to another human being. This is particularly what  the elderly like about the more traditional methods of buying at local shops and markets.  Many people rely on this for their weekly human contact as they get older.  It's not just all about buying goods at the cheapest and most convenient place, there is also the human element that is being gradually replaced with self-service and pre-trained cashiers who don't have time to listen to a few moans and the odd bit of gossip (lucky them I hear some say!) Markets and local shops provide friendly familiar faces which don't change as often as the turnover of staff in the big shops, therefore important consumer/seller relationships get built.  Not only  the elderly but most people like this contact and individual service.   The social apsects are just as important to communities as economics.  Hopefully we can find a happy balance, but it's not looking good.    Report

12/02/2007, 7:00 PM Alan Hardesty Joined on 15/05/2005 Norwich Posts 1,578 Re: Markets There is a cracking stall on Norwich market which I use for fresh chillies, made into a sauce it will blow your head off given the right mix.  One of my favorites though is the sausage stall run by Brian Pickering, wonderful value and mates all over the country love it when we visit - we never go empty handed! In Norwich we should count ourselves lucky not to get a market just once or twice a week, use it for everything you can guys, it is well worth investigating. I never stole your flag, I just rescued it from the gutter where you left it. For the truth go to www.bnp.org.uk just a link, like Denise has.    Report

12/02/2007, 8:14 PM kenneth Joined on 14/08/2003 Posts 1,095 Re: Markets You are absolutely correct about the elderly and shopping, Petra. Studies have found that the elderly, or indeed any person, devoid of human contact, quickly decline in both physical and mental health. But getting them to the shops bcomes a problem.  And if local shops want to go the extra mile to attract elderly (in particular) shoppers, they also need to cater to them by providing seats inside the shops for them to rest on. If the personal touch is what will make local shops more attractive than the mega supermarkets, then personal attention is what should be provided. I think with the discontent many are feeling towards supermarkets these days, this could open up exciting times for small shopkeepers, if they understand and face up to the challenge. But it cannot be 'business as usual' or they will surely fail.    Report

12/02/2007, 8:48 PM Petra's Market Life Joined on 19/10/2006 Posts 4 Re: Markets Yes Mr Pickering is a star.  We are lucky enough to have his shop in our village and he is a true ambassador for local shopping.  He is always friendly, helpful and cheery and supplies fantastic sausages and great meat dishes.  We need more people like him to keep local shopping alive and well.  Quality product is always important but it's the characters who draw loyal custom too and Mr Pickering is truly one of them.    Report

12/02/2007, 8:59 PM Petra's Market Life Joined on 19/10/2006 Posts 4 Re: Markets I agree that small shopkeepers and market traders definitely need to face up to the challenge.  Good service doesn't take much to achieve for the small business person and in a world that seems to grow ever more impersonal it could become a quality much sought after . As you say, it is not just the elderly who need the human contact but with care in the community ever more prevalent there are many people who are lonely and seek company who are treated well by local businesses who appreciate and accept their differences and have the patience to deal with them. During my time on the market I have seen many people who would otherwise have noone be taken under the wing of traders and locals who treat them with respect and include them in the community.  I have just attended a focus group re closure of rural post offices.  Unfortunately this seems to be a government strategy which is likely to close 2500 post offices across the country.  This will obviously have huge economic and community based implications.  Rural markets, shopkeepers and small businesses are bound to suffer which again has a knock on affect on communities. New and inventive ways need to be found to encourage customers to support local business -as you say, 'business as usual' just won't cut it and could end up with small local businesses becoming extinct if they don't achieve the support.    Report

22/08/2008, 1:16 PM JSR Solution Joined on 21/08/2008 Posts 3 Re: Markets Hi, You are absolutely rite from my point of view this whole world is market we are the sellers & we are the buyers too & god is playing games with us. Who knows whoes turn is next. Thanks Soutien scolaire      Report

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