Hotel de Fumer

And another thing...

If you were a potential investor in the boutique hotel and you came to see the site, just how put off would you be by the pall of greasy smoke generated by the market?

For the Hospital's sake, I hope they only come to visit on the three days when the market's shut.

A spark of inspiration

In a comment on "If you can't stand the heat...", Anonymous said:

Whistler could we possibly have a section regarding the electrics on the Market. If I remember rightly it was a trader who wired us all up in exchange for free rent, unfortunately this trader was not qualified in electrics in any way. I thought that all major electrical work in business premises had to be carried out by a registered Part B electrician?

This is going to be a bit dull, but bear with me.

Upon the abolition of the power bars (which had become grossly hazardous themselves) it became a requirement that individual extension leads must be used to carry power from the new boxes by the roof columns to each stall. Extension leads were kindly made available for purchase from the market office for a very reasonable cost and many traders bought them.

Unfortunately they were all wired incorrectly, were electrically unsafe and downright dangerous. As my commenter says, they were assembled by a trader who received a generous rent concession in return. That the trader was of a more artistic than practical bent was regrettable.

I think most of us know the most basic principle of wiring a plug (and also an extension socket) - get the right wire in the right place. The arty sparks can't be faulted on that one. There is more to it than that though. Three more essentials for correct wiring when making up an extension are:-

1. No bare wires should be visible in the plug/extension socket - the bare wires should be hidden by the retaining screws. the retaining screws should be screwed down firmly.
2. The cable should be securely held in place by the cable-clamp - the clamp should hold the outer cable and the inner wires should not be visible outside the plug/extension socket.
3. The earth wire should be longest of the three so that it is the last to be disconnected if the cable is pulled from the plug/extension socket.

The first point was mostly covered. The second was sometimes fine, sometimes not with the clamp not always bearing on the outer sheath. The big failing, especially bearing in mind the patchy application of the second point, was the third. In all cases examined, the shortest wire in the extension sockets was the earth. This was due to a failure to understand wire routing in an extension socket, an apparent inability to look at the simple picture in the socket showing you what to put where and a total incomprehension of the function of the earth in electrical safety.

So, for the sake of saving a few quid on an electrician or other suitably qualified person, traders have been using unsafe equipment sold to them by GSM.

If you're a trader and still have one of these leads, please get it checked by someone who knows their live from their neutral.

Accountability update

A very brief update to my "Accountability" post.

I've just been going over GSM's financial statements for the year ending 31st December 2006, the latest filed as yet. Note 11 (Commitments under operating leases) states:

The company is committed to the payment of rent to Greenwich Hospital at £200,000 per annum plus a turnover based supplement dependent on certain performance criteria. The rent commitment ceases in March 2012.

Just thought you'd find it interesting.

Accountability

First a tiny apology - I forgot about this follow-up. I mentioned in an earlier post, "A candidate for promotion", GSM's promotions budget of £30,000 for 2007. I thought you might be interested to see the 2007 budget giving the totals for all categories of income and expenditure. All the figures are net of VAT.

PROJECT INCOME
TOTAL RENT AND FEES	752197
PROJECT COSTS
Service Charge	30000
Building Insurance	1500
Business Rates	31800
Water/Sewerage Rates	1620
Public Liability Insurance	5400
Electricity	5400
Equipment hire	18396
Office phones	2400
Legal	0
Securicor	1800
Office PPS/Sundries	5400
Bank Charges	2400
Maintenance	6000
Market Supervisor	79002
Staff Labour	68347
Other Labour	24413
Stall Cleaners	9807
Holiday Cover	1584
Promotions	30000
TOTAL PROJECT COSTS	325269
PROFIT/(LOSS)	426928

Some of these numbers have me scratching my head somewhat, and wondering what may be possible. I'm sure I can count on my readers for some illumination.

On top of Old Smokey

This is a follow-up to "Smoke gets in your eyes..." which rather than relegating to a comment I think deserves its own space. I have been given the minutes of the first Market Trader Representative Meeting held on the 20th April 2008. GSM/USM were represented by Barny, Patrycja, Ben and John Burton.

Item 3 concerns the new Wednesday market.

The traders asked: Can we cook on site?

GSM/USM replied: This will depend on the individual e.g crepes or bain marie or microwave ok. No smelly or smoky activity allowed, nor a common seating area. Individual seats at stalls allowed.

I repeat; No smelly or smoky activity allowed.

So why the change? And if they didn't find it acceptable for Wednesdays, why is it now allowed on every trading day?

There's a new old joke doing the rounds in the market: How can you tell if the market managers are lying? Their lips move.

Smoke gets in your eyes...

...and your hair and your clothes.

I entered the market from the eastern end of Turnpin Lane at the weekend and as I turned the corner by Mr Humbug my eyes started to water. I was also struck my the overwhelming smell of burning fat.

This has become a feature of the market of late, ever since the glorious Wednesday food market opened. This week, however, the wind was coming from a direction that forced all the smoke and stench into the market hall. The actual cooking was taking place at the northern end of the market, the smokier stuff (pig and sausage cooking) located under the entrance portico, but the whole market stank.

I can well imagine how off-putting this was to visitors. For those intending to enter the market from College Approach there must have been little incentive to actually come in. One look at the Wednesday banner and the pall of smoke filling the portico would turn the most inquisitive tourist away, let alone anyone looking for an arts and crafts market.

For the traders, it must have been exceptionally miserable. I remember the occasional waft of bacon from the Meeting Place - even some vegetarians of my acquaintance found that appealing - but this is a wholly different thing. The smoke and stink was bad enough for everyone; I can only imagine how the vegetarian, Muslim and Jewish traders felt. I bet the management didn't waste a second trying to imagine that.

Roasting pork and frying sausages on an industrial scale inside Greenwich Market is such a risibly bad idea that I can't understand why the management hasn't changed its mind yet. Let me make it clear that I am not opposed to cooked food at the market - I support these traders - it's the location that's wrong.

There have been attempts at bringing cooked food to the market before (remember Anson's excellent barbecues?). They have, wisely, always been situated in the car park or nearby in Durnford Street. I think this must be because the more astute managers have realised that such enterprises must be open to the sky. Cooking generates fumes and smells and these have to be allowed to escape.

Let's have a hot food offering at the market - I think it could be good for everyone - but please locate it where common sense dictates.

A candidate for promotion

I've had a little email from a trader. There are some good points and I'm happy to reproduce it verbatim:-

Further to your email from a FoW
Shouldn't the management/GSM be keeping an eye on where the market is mentioned & where it is not.What is said & what is not.
This especially applies to their own web sites & signage.
To make sure the truth is out there; no misleading falsehoods, deceptions & sloppy thinking.
Surely it's in their brief :- to advertise & promote the market for the benefit of all: Visitors ,Traders & Management alike?
Does GSM / USM have a publicist to handle this ? One who'll also monitor Government & Council sites,plus other publications, so that we get a fair crack of the whip ?
And before someone comes up with, " But no market management does that & I've worked on 25 markets around the country blah -blah -blah," none of that stops it from being a good idea.
Come on GSM/USM, you must be keeping an eye on this, talk to us & let us know what you will do, to right the things that are wrong on your websites & signs etc..
A Trader.

I'll be posting some thoughts of my own on this topic soon. As a taster, would it surprise you to know that GSM had a budget of £30,000 for promotion last year?

Earth calling USM

If you'd like a taste of how out of touch with the market Urban Space Management is, just take a look at their wonderful website (at http://www.urbanspace.com/greenwich_market.html).

The first line says:

The Royal Charter covered market is situated in the heart of London’s “Millennium Village” and has over two and a half million visitors a year.

That's odd - I thought the Millennium Village was in the Greenwich peninsula, nowhere near Greenwich Market.

Do watch the slideshow while you're at the website and indulge in a bit of nostalgia at all those traders, artists, goods and "Greenwich Market" signs that just aren't there any more.

The website is also a great place to get clued up on how many markets USM don't manage any more.

A web of deceit

It's been quite a day today. Every time I think I've done my last post for the day, another email flops onto my doormat. The latest concerns my previous post - here's the nub:-

...when you view the [Greenwich Market] site freshly each time you get a new main picture. As far as I can see there are two that might come up. One of them is a bit of a cheat as it wasn't taken on a Wednesday. See if you can see what's wrong with the other one.

Well, I love a challenge and I did laugh when I spotted the cheekiness. Most of the time one views the page this is what appears:

As my correspondent points out, this bustling scene doesn't depict a Wednesday, but was clearly taken on a Saturday or Sunday. Anyone who has been to the Wednesday market may have noticed more tumbleweed than traders (or customers). I do think it's a little naughty to suggest to visitors that they'll be enjoying a vibrant market. Still, at least it's Greenwich...

Sometimes this picture appears instead:

Initially my eye was drawn to the juicy peppers. Then the prices. I did detect a certain wrongness straight away but it took a few moments to fully understand my correspondent's comment. If you haven't spotted it yet, let me pose you a question: where the hell is this? Check out the stall design, the buildings and the clear daylight. This wasn't taken in Greenwich Market! I'm doubtful this is even Greenwich.

I like to be helpful, so here's another picture for USM to put on their site - I'd say it's as relevant, local and truthful as the OFFICIAL pictures.