IN SEARCH OF THE NEXT BEST FOOD MARKET

Around midday last Sunday,I got a call from the boyfriend . He was running our stall at Chartsworth Road.He sounded exuberant. Whats up? I asked "I may have found us a prime site market  we can  start on Friday and may now not have to come back here",he continued. Easy tiger I said. Prime site and sharp-ish start equal only one thing in street trader land- new and inexperienced market organizer and literally trailer load of us desperate street food traders anxious to be part of the line up. We arranged to meet up with the organizer the next day. I should have known  when as we took a sudden turn on Fulham high road to the right to access the location of this new market a Chelsea tractor bumped our car that this market was a non starter. As we discussed with him,, I saw what other traders must have surely seen in me  as  I tried to organize my own markets  last year, Fear,,trepidation,zeal,nervous energy and  a lot of fast talking and a lot less eye contact. The Site was prime alright as it was near the grounds of Chelsea football club and today the square did look busy-ish. On march days, he told us, we stand to make a killing. Priority to trade on those days will be given to his traders. Become one of his traders we must . And as it turned out, we were not the only ones wanting to identify with him  as he received phone call after phone call of enquiries from traders asking for directions to the site. As we tried to work out where best to place our gazebo on the Friday,we glanced across at North end road market.It seemed fairly busy. Perhaps some regulars to that market might be tempted to visit this new market. Office workers keen to try new food might also come.We hoped and decided to give it a shot.
Come Friday, I cooked and cleaned and the boyfriend went to sell. We prepared for very minimal sales but our prediction was even ambitious for this place. First It confirmed what we knew was going to be a problem from the outset.10 food stalls was way too much  for any new site that has not been heavily advertised.When I hour into lunchtime I rang , the boyfriend used a favourite analogy of his which denotes lack of foot flow or activity. He said all the traders were sat there looking at each other. I laughed nervously. I detected frustration in his voice too . We both knew without speaking it that we will not be going back the next day. You get a feel for a market with potential and I did not feel it with this one.The restaurant will definitely complain when our punters start using their chairs and they also begin to loose trade to the street traders.But how to leave this market without loosing the opportunity to trade during match days or paying heavily for it?
So another market bites the dust for us. In the meantime I  have written the butcher and my grocery suppliers cheques that are due to be cashed on Monday. This is where a miracle would be nice.

KIRU