Sunday 22 December 2019

Heard Under The Sheds – 22/12/2019



It was a hot night at Wednesday’s Night Market. Ambulance Officers and Security Staff were busy attending to heat exhausted Traders and customers.

Hot Night 2 – a number of birds were clearly distressed in the heat and one of our Security Officers found time to fill some bollard holes with water to provide relief. Security staff really are a kind bunch.

Hot Night 3 – for many Specialty Traders sales did not really start until after 8:00pm as customers delayed their arrival at the market.

Friday’s scorching heat saw a number of Traders stay away, and many who did trade took advantage of the early finish at 1:00pm. As usual there were some good trading reports but we are not sure if that was because there were fewer competitors or because heat stroke elevates sales estimates.

Some Traders asked why all the new restrictions on Queen St. vehicle access but maybe the heightened police alert on public area safety at Christmas is the clue.


The new bollards on Queen St. certainly attracted attention with one Trader suggesting they looked a bit like toy Meccano pieces. Actually there are videos online showing these exact bollards almost destroying a truck – see link. They appear to be very effective against vehicles.

A Trader says he likes the new QVM paper bags and they appear cost effective but he would like to be able to add his business name to the printing. Can that be done?

Our market is now better mapped. Following a mention in Heard Under The Sheds a few weeks back, the guide map signs around our market have now been re-oriented to reflect directions from each map’s actual location. Customers will be pleased they no longer have to stand on their heads to read some maps. A big thank you to our marketing team for such prompt action.

Old Orientation
Re-oriented map now makes sense.

A customer was horrified when his wedding ring slipped off and fell between the verandah and the container where he was having coffee on Saturday. The ring was stranded halfway under a container with no crawling space. Fortunately many Traders carry extension poles for hoisting stock and one was used to rescue the ring. The customer was having coffee with his wife and Mother-In-Law so he was particularly grateful for the happy outcome.