The Framers Forum

A couple of times a year, usually around a bank holiday, we get a French market setting up in the city's market place
and from past memories it was a fine spectacle with a wealth of stalls (mainly food based).

Today however it was far from its usual draw. All around the city there was an emptiness NOT ONE retailer was open (except for the cafes, no super markets, jewelers, fashion or furniture establishment had bothered to open . Don't get me wrong It was nice to think that for once people where at home, I loved that idea but it was DEAD
Only a few had ventured out to promenade through what looked like a pitiful village market on a wet Wednesday (and it wasn't even raining) So the exchange rate will have had a great effect with sterling losing 30% against the euro.......sobering sight

This is one of two main religious holidays - and around these parts it's almost as quiet as it is on Christmas day.

Our local Tesco and Sainsburies are shut and so are the stores around them in the retail parks - Currys, Pets at Home, Halfords and Focus.

No idea what the town centres are like - or the retail parks near bigger places like Brighton and Chichester but if the above is anything to go buy - pretty much like yours - shut, but hopefully not for any other reason than pressure to not open on such a 'sacred' day.

Here is why the shops were not open:

Requirements for large shops on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day
As well as complying with restrictions on opening hours on normal Sundays, large stores of more than 280 square metres (3,000 square feet) mustn't open on:

Easter Sunday (except Scotland)
Christmas Day
Small shops are free to open when they choose on these days.

There are significant fines for failing to comply with these requirements.

See more at:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/ac ... 1073792287

I think your local authority (assuming they arranged it) could have chosen a better day. Long trip for those french folks to make to find the town is shut! Wonder if they will come again next year?

John.

Is this something new? The only reason I ask is that last year the place was packed. Didn't go near the big places as I try to avoid them as much as possible. As far as the visiting traders were concerned there was a hell of a lot of cooked produce going and no one buying. I know these travelling markets stay in the UK for a while moving on from town to town along a route. Maybe it was just a culmination of circumstances that contributed to a false representation ....here's hoping

I'm not sure when the law was introduced but it certainly applied last year as I remember the retail parks being the same.

Are you sure last year was the Sunday; not the Good Friday or the Monday? If it was the Sunday, maybe the smaller shops, under 3000 sq ft, opened and found it not worth their while with all the larger places like M&S, Debenhams, etc etc closed around them and as customers have reduced in numbers as they become more aware that the big places won't be open.

The charity shop next door to us were toying with the idea of opening today and asked us if we were, but we're not - had we been they probably would have been too. There are Morris Dancers in the village today - good enough reason to not open - barf!

barf indeed, something of the devil bout' em. with a hey noney noney!

This law ref. Easter Sunday has been in place quite a few years now.
When the Sunday opening hours were freed up this was a sop to the religious lobby (or essential depending on your point of view).