Page 23

MarketTimesOctober2016

l Market days: Tuesday is the big market day in Melton Mowbray with the town centre market, the farmers and antiques market and the livestock market all buzzing. There is also a farmers and antiques and collectibles market on Fridays, and a large car boot sale every Sunday. l Melton Mowbray’s claim to fame: Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire calls itself the rural capital for food and it is most famous for its pies which are made from uncured, chopped meat which is grey when cooked and hand-formed pastry which means the sides bow outwards when cooked. It is also where one of the Stilton cheeses is made — the whey from this cheese production is fed to the pigs that eventually end up in the pies. The town claims credit for the phrase “painting the town red”. Apparently the third Marquess of Waterford and his fellow huntsmen found several cans of red paint and painted buildings in the High Street red one night to celebrate a successful hunt. 23 FACTS & FIGURES n wife started it five years ago, said they were committed to the market. Robert buys cattle at the livestock market, takes it to his farm to fatten it up, then sells the meat at the farmers market. In the adjacent shed, the antiques and collectible traders are also hoping for investment and improvements. Ever the optimist, Wayne sells anything and everything including animal skulls and medical instruments. “This business is always up and down,” said Wayne. “But if I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t do it.” He has sold everything from stuffed animals to medical oddities, and even a human skull. Plenty of the traders have been standing this market for a long time, but others, like Jackie Jackson, are giving it a try. “I’ve always been a collector. Then when a friend who was a hoarder left me the contents of her house I decided to start selling it, and this market seemed a good place to give it a go,” she said. A much longer standing trader, Debbie Holland, who has been selling antiques on markets for the past 30 years, has a lot to say about everything. Among her pearls of wisdom are: “Don’t believe what they say on TV that there are antiques experts — we can all learn new things every day so none of us are experts.” “If you want rubbish, go to Ikea. If you want something special, buy an antique.” And on what we owe to the Victorians: “They worked out one of the main things about the human race — we are greedy little devils and we like our creature comforts and to be surrounded by things that are pleasing to the eye,” she said. Debbie got her love of antiques from her Victorian grandmother, whose home was stuffed with antiques. And her advice to Hugh is to up the quality of the antique offering. “If people see anything that looks like it should be at a car boot, they will turn away,” she said. There’s plenty of advice, encouragement and goodwill from the traders on Melton Mowbray market, but most important of all, there are plenty of customers whichever way you look. Investment and promotion can only make a good market even better. Hugh Brown is CEO of Melton Mowbray Market. He decided to invest in the livestock after a successful career on the London Stock Exchange. Running the farmers and antique markets are the icing on the cake, Chris Thomas runs the fruit and veg business on the farmers’ market he says. Debbie Holland is a veteran of the antiques markets scene. Her inspiration came from her grandmother whose home was full of Victoriana Wayne is one of the many characters on the antiques market. He specialises in collectibles and curios including medical instruments and animal skulls


MarketTimesOctober2016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above