Sydenham Monthly Market this Saturday

[jonathan_har]

Does anybody know who organises the market? I might send them a note with my thoughts. Thanks!

[JMLF]

I think a pretty good simple benchmark would be would you return? I understand people want an event that is well promoted for people to come from nearby areas rather then just sydenham (as previously stated by a poster) but I think it's more important to get the layout and mix of stalls right first. I gather there will likely be different stalls on a monthly basis but the fact is for me, even though I'm only a 10 minute walk from the market I wouldn't return if it was a similar mix of type of stalls and/or the same stalls returning. Nothing to do with the stalls themselves but the mix and lack of range or choice of things a person may buy regularly with some minor exceptions. Therefore the want/need to return isn't there at present for me although I will still make an effort to go. With other markets I make an effort to go to it tends to be things that I regularly need/would like and/or things that can't easily be gotten nearby. Might be a personal thing but that ends up for me being food orientated and I'm always happy to make a small trip to crystal palace, horniman or west Norwood farmers markets and try and drag people along too. On the other hand I was quite glad my girlfriend didn't come from Brixton for the market in the end as I feel she would've been disappointed.
Bit waffly/rambly I apologise but just trying to get across how I feel the market was. As mentioned before I had a nice chat wih a few people, bought a cushion and had a tasty po boy and ice-cream so by no means did I not enjoy it but Would love to go down monthly dragging friends/family down, have a lovely lunch and a bit of a shop.

[robbieduncan]

In all honesty if I thought it was going to be the same I would not make any effort to return. I'd been once previously and thought the mix of stalls was much better.

[Tim Lund]

Does anybody know who organises the market? I might send them a note with my thoughts. Thanks!

I don't know for sure, but I assume the market is organised by SEE3, but within the framework of Lewisham Street Traders' licencing. My views on how it should be done were expressed in a thread you also contributed to - Sydenham's Pocket Parks.

What would make anyone take on the task of developing lively markets here - or anywhere else you care to mention? It should be a fun, rewarding thing to do, but it would also be a lot of work. I mean no disrespect at all to local government officers, but I just don't think someone who goes into local government will be the right person to make these decisions. That's why I think something like a franchise is needed, which would appeal to someone, or organisation, with an entrepreneurial streak, and would give them the chance to earn more than they would in local government. The role of local government would be to set some basic terms and conditions, simple enough for it to be easy to make sure they are adhered to, and they butt out of it until such time as the franchise comes up for renewal.

Rereading this, perhaps I should have said of local government officers that they can be very good at organising a proper franchise tendering process, but it's not the same thing.

That in contrast we don't actually know who is responsible for the Sydenham Monthly Market, and the relevant governance, is a bit of an indictment. I feel that in Sydenham, there is inadequate understanding of what local businesses need, and is why, unlike in Forest Hill, there is so little local business engagement in initiatives such as SEE3. There is only so much micro management business people can take from non business people who probably couldn't even run a whelk stall.

[Tubby]

How easy is a whelk stall to run?

[Robin Orton]

Probably no easier than organizing a piss-up in a brewery.

[Tim Lund]

Just the equivalent idiom of a more decorous age. According to this site, it

may have originated with John Burns, a Labour MP in 1894, who said: 'From whom am I to take my marching orders From men who fancy they are Admirable Crichtons*, but have not got sufficient brains and ability to run a whelk stall '