Exeter Christmas Market

[Grecian_In_Exile]

These markets might bring people into the city centre, but they're just peddling crap that can be bought elsewhere for less.

Makes me laugh that Google is getting all high and mighty about it and telling us how it makes a difference from the normal High St crap whilst he goes on elsewhere about how good Darts Farm is (you do realise what a marketing con that place is?) because he's trying to be different.

Not trying to be different, I am different, always have been always will be, I was born an individual & I will die an individual. At the Market there were some great craft stalls, selling items not readily available in the overpriced high st chain stores, but hey you carry on paying over the odds, you're just what they want, dumbed down consumer, you be a legend camping out for the next gadget, I'll be a hippy/scum camping out in protest of something I believe in!!

 

[Egg]

Not trying to be different, I am different, always have been always will be, I was born an individual & I will die an individual. At the Market there were some great craft stalls, selling items not readily available in the overpriced high st chain stores, but hey you carry on paying over the odds, you're just what they want, dumbed down consumer, you be a legend camping out for the next gadget, I'll be a hippy/scum camping out in protest of something I believe in!!

At the same time, there was also a coffee outlet within 20 or 30 yards of the Plant Cafe, which espouses the same sort of philosophy as you, and must have seen its trade significantly diminished.

 

[Antony Moxey]

Is 16.5k people a day into the city centre really that unbelievable? Perhaps, perhaps not. I'd suggest though that what probably happened was that at some point a count was made of people visiting the market and this was extrapolated to give an overall attendance figure. In the run up to Christmas I'd guess it to be pretty high, although perhaps a more meaningful figure might be how much the market made during that time, although I guess the irony of that is lost given that it was on the Cathedral Green - didn't Jesus smash up a market or something?

Regarding Egg's comment about 1000 jobs at Ikea, why not? The thing has to be built for a start so there's plenty of work to be had there, plus I'd imagine that the figure include extra support staff that might be employed in the supply chain for the branch. I wouldn't have thought it meant that that particular store would be directly employing 1000 people. Aren't these things usually worded along the lines of 'could create up to 1000 new jobs' or something? Plus I doubt many will be out of work as a direct result of it happening.

One other thing - bigger attendance than City and Chiefs combined? The market was open for the 30 busiest shopping days of the year for probably 8-10 hours a day (or more). City are open for about 25 days for two hours a fortnight, the Chiefs probably half that, plus attendance at the market on a Tuesday isn't dependant on how the market did on the previous Monday. You're comparing apples with hexagons.

 

[Jason H]

I tend to take these figures with a pinch of salt, much like the claims made that (and I'm exaggerating here, before any pedants intervene) 700 billion people watch F1 or the Tour de France each year. No they don't, it's the same people every time.

Not sure how good the Exeter market was, but I went to the Kingston one a couple of times and it had some great food stalls (I managed to have both a Bratwurst and a pork bap in one sitting!) but the other stuff on display was overpriced and not very exciting. Not a patch on the traditional German market.

 

[Chuckles]

Can we replace the Christmas Market with signs saying "No Dogs, No Irish, No Blacks" or is it just ordinary Jonny Foreigners not wanted in Exeter during this Christian period.

Personally I have no axe to grind against our European Brothers and will not join any group intent on keeping Exeter for Exonians at Christmas or indeed at any other time or am I completely missing the point with regard to the OP

 

[Egg]

My point is that, to me at least, the figure seems ridiculously high. At he same time, I'm ready to be convinced.

That being the case, I asked the city centre manager and the city council to explain how they arrived at it - not, IMO, an unreasonable request given they were happy to put it into the public domain and, one assumes, take the credit for it.

Thus far neither has come up with an answer.

As regards Ikea, likewise, if there's some kind of explanation as to how the figure is arrived at then I don't have an issue. What frustrates me is when these figures aren't put into any kind of context. Yes, I could well believe that at some point or other Ikea's arrival in Exeter could be directly / indirectly responsible for the creation of an awful lot of work but to imply it will be responsible for the creation of 1,000 additional full-time jobs in the city is, clearly, nonsense.

 

[Egg]

Can we replace the Christmas Market with signs saying "No Dogs, No Irish, No Blacks" or is it just ordinary Jonny Foreigners not wanted in Exeter during this Christian period.

Personally I have no axe to grind against our European Brothers and will not join any group intent on keeping Exeter for Exonians at Christmas or indeed at any other time or am I completely missing the point with regard to the OP

As far as I'm aware, the vast majority of stallholders at the Christmas Market were from the UK – continental produce doesn't necessarily equate to continental stallholders. Are you suggesting Domino's only employ native Italians?!

Regardless, the ethnicity of aforementioned stallholders has nothing whatsoever to do with the question I asked in my opening post.

 

[Antony Moxey]

Yes, I could well believe that at some point or other Ikea's arrival in Exeter could be directly / indirectly responsible for the creation of an awful lot of work but to imply it will be responsible for the creation of 1,000 additional full-time jobs in the city is, clearly, nonsense.

Perhaps you could quote said announcement Egg, then we could work out for ourseleves whether anything is implied or not. Or perhaps it's just you that's clearly talking nonsense...