My purpose was to find out how the Credit Crunch was impacting on their business, and also to discuss a few local issues, including the difficult one of parking.
All the people I spoke to, said that the recession had impacted takings somewhat. They said that high taxes and red tape was making life particularly difficult.
One company even showed me a plotted graph, which illustrated the decline in takings from last year. If you look at the bottom line in the picture, you can see the dramatic difference.
I was struck that, despite the difficult economic times, the shopkeepers were doing all they could not to raise prices. As a result there were still many customers coming into their stores - Joy's Flowers being a prime example. The picture shows Joy, Colleen and I pictured by a refrigeration unit that stores the flowers. To my shock, Joy told me the unit costs more than a car! No wonder she has such nice flowers!
One of the nicest things about Bush Fair is that so many of the shops are independent and are not chain stores - something that is increasingly rare nowadays. I was glad to walk round and be introduced to everyone by Colleen, as she knows everybody and is a walking Encylopaedia of everything that happens in Bush Fair.
I was pleased to have a long discussion - over a much needed cup of tea - with Ken Freeman who is Chairman of Bush Fair Traders and owns three shops. He set out the view of the traders and has asked me to contact the Council regarding some parking issues, which I shall be sure to follow up. Ken cares deeply about Bush Fair, his business and his ten employees, and is a shining example of the special nature of the place.
All in all, it was a good days work for me as Prospective MP, as I heard at first hand the problems facing small business. I look forward to many future visits.
P.S. The excellent Pizzeria Cafe can be found HERE.
A number of traders you spoke to at Bush Fair earlier today asked me to thank you for coming to speak to us.
ReplyDeleteAll of the shoppers and traders you spoke to were very pleased to meet you and to have the chance to discuss the various problems affecting our shopping centre and neighbourhood areas with you.
It was such a relief for some of us too, to have the opportunity to explain the problems that many of us believe the new parking restrictions will cause at Bush Fair. Up until now we've felt as though we've been banging our heads against a brick wall when we try to explain our worries about this new system to the powers that be.
You spent hours going round the shopping centre, listening to the views of so many people. I could see that those who talked with you were both surprised by and impressed with how down to earth and approachable you are - and that you really do listen to us.
Thanks for that, Rob, you're a good bloke!
i don't suppose anyone has considered changing the name of the bush fair to obama fair, just to see if improving the image might help sales?
ReplyDeletefake consultant,
ReplyDeleteBush Fair and it's name are ancient parts of Harlow's heritage.
For many centuries, an annual country Fair, which became known as the Bush Fair, was held on the common at Harlow Bush in the village of Harlow - just where Bush Fair's bowling club and playing field are now, I believe.
This annual fair was a hugely important event in village life because it was one of the very few occasions during the year when very hard working village people - from farm workers to small farmers, shopkeepers and domestic servants - had time off work to let their hair down and to engage in a host of traditional sports, goings on and fun.
These annual Fairs were the people's Fairs, quite radical in their own way as there was often much traditionally silly and wanton conduct at Fairs in centuries past. For those reasons the Fairs were much loved and fiercely protected by ordinary working people.
So important was the Fair that local people talked of the fun they'd had at the last Fair and looked forward to the next one throughout the whole year. This tradition of the annual Fair is of course preserved in our Harlow Day fair - though we understand that the only wild and abandoned conduct these days is over the orange squash in the councillors' marquee ;)
In the countryside's social calendar, the annual Fair was perhaps second only to the Horkey, the wonderful traditional celebration following the harvest, when local farmers would provide a huge meal of good country fare in a large local tithe barn, such as the one we still have near Netteswell pond.
There, locals would sing and dance in the old traditional ways until they raised the dust of past harvests to the rafters to celebrate the safe gathering in of their life saving harvest.
The Fair was also the only occasion when some of the local lads had the chance to court the girls they loved and, they made sure to take their chance :) Fairs were renowned for all manner of goings on.
England's country Fairs were wonderful celebrations of all manner of fun, courtship and silliness. And who can blame our hard working ancestors for having their fun just once or twice a year? These hard working people had certainly earned it.
There were often prudish complaints about drunken behaviour at the Fair and politically correct local killjoys tried to have our traditional Fairs stamped out, would you believe! Yet they were wasting their breath, for we in England are a free people who love our traditions and our silly festivals when we can let our hair down. We are not about to be dictated to by those who would live our lives for us. Politically correct, control freak politicians take heed!
Fairs in times gone by were great competitive ocassions too, when local young blades would demonstrate their skills in horsemanship, archery and ploughing to win prestige in the village and with the girls they were courting.
ReplyDeleteSo the Fair had ploughing matches, archery competitions, horse races, donkey races and women's races, where locals competed for prizes such as buckskin trousers and, on special occasions, silver cups. I have some lovely old photographs of some of Harlow's Fairs which I'll try to scan for you, Rob, you might like to post a few on your excellent blog.
May Day Fairs were wonderful traditional occasions too, which may trace back to the prehistory of our lovely British Isles. In past centuries, troops of young men would march round local woods all night on the eve of May Day, laughing and larking and sounding horns to keep everyone awake and picking boughs of leaves and flowers to place at the doors of their loved ones in the early hours.
There was maypole dancing and the crowning of the May Queen - a tradition which continues to the present day in our English carnivals and the crowning of our carnival queens. We are now told that Carnival Queens and May Queens are not politically correct. The nerve of these people who would control our lives!
Politically correct politicians wish to stamp out our thousand year old English traditions in order to turn us all into grey Europeans, with no historic culture and no national pride. They want us to be a bland, undistinguished people, with blind obedience to the undemocratic dictatorship of the EU. Well, dream on, Europhiles, for we in England are own people, not the slaves of an unelected EU Commission.
The Harlow Bush annual Fair attracted travelling tradespeople and hawkers and might have been the only chance local people would have had to buy certain fancy goods, like special ribbons, and functional things like specially made trousers. Nearby pubs did a roaring trade in the fancy foods of the fair as well as locally brewed ales.
The Fair might also have been the only occasion when local lads had the chance to court the women they loved and, they made sure to take their chance. Fairs were renowned for all manner of goings on.
So, when the traders of the present day Bush Fair serve local working people where the Harlow Bush used to be and locals sit outside the Poplar Kitten or our lovely Bush Fair cafe on sunny Summer days, they are continuing an English and community tradition that will never be snuffed out.
fake consultant,
ReplyDeleteWoops! Missed off the first part of my post about Bush Fair's name, which should have stated:
Bush Fair and it's name are part of Harlow's heritage. For many centuries, an annual country Fair, which became known as Bush Fair, was held on the common at Harlow Bush - where Bush Fair's bowling club and playing field are now, I believe.
This annual fair was an important event in village life because it was one of the very few occasions during the year when Harlow's hard working village people, from farm workers to farmers, shopkeepers and domestic servants, had time off work to let their hair down and to watch travelling shows and engage in a host of traditional sports and fun.
These were people's Fairs, much loved by ordinary working people. Local people talked of the fun they'd had at the last Fair and looked forward to the next throughout the whole year.
This tradition of Harlow's annual Fair is of course still preserved in our Harlow Day.