A bit more of a barney

I had a lot of emails last night about one topic; so many I've only just managed to sort out the full picture.

So it was true. I reported in "A bit of a barney" the terrible news that Barmy (my thanks to an anonymous commenter for that one) himself would be "managing" the market yesterday - and so it came to pass. Ben seems to have been shoved out to Elephant & Castle so Barmy has a free hand to screw up the weekdays as effectively as the weekends. How's he getting on?

According to my informants, brilliantly. He began by taking until almost 10 am to allocate half a dozen traders - finished before 9 if Ben's in charge. As always, the Chinese were dealt with last. The last trader to turn up (Chinese actually) was made to wait while he enjoyed a chat with some of the antiques guys before being allocated a pitch. Making a dog's breakfast of that simple task wasn't enough though.

One Chinese trader, who has always had the same pitch for years, was declared "regular" rather than "permanent", meaning Barmy could give away her normal pitch on a whim. He tried, she resisted and got her pitch. He continued the dispute later in front of other traders and the public (very much his style and the subject of a forthcoming post). If Barmy gets his way - and when doesn't he - she'll be out by the toilets next week.

He's in again today - can't wait to hear from you guys...