Page 44 - Market Times October 2024

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FEATURE • MORETON‐IN‐MARSH
gazebos which were easier to manage with all the restrictions and we have stuck with that ever since,” he said.
With its many upmarket independent shops and pretty Cotswold stone buildings amid stunning countryside, Moreton attracts visitors by the coachload. In the summer the market is full, with a waiting list of traders.
Still a traditional market with plenty of staples for locals, many craft and gift traders sell their wares to tourists during the warmer months and disappear in winter. Jagger says the rent scheme reflects that, with summer traders paying more than all- year ones.
Long-standing traders who have been on the market for many years remember boom times but are still content to stand a market that continues to pull in the punters.
Neil began selling fruit and veg on Moreton market in 1986 when he was 16. “My grandfather started the market busi-
ness in Leicester and we are still based there,” he said. “Markets have changed obviously. These days we offer a lot more variety. People like to pick their own and there are a lot more card payments.”
Neil and his team arrive at four in the morning and have set up their large array of stalls by seven. “We often serve customers before then,” he added.
Mandy Cogger has been running the market’s burger van on the market for 26 years. “It’s a really good market in the summer but it’s smaller and not as busy in the winter,” she said.
At 75, Savvy, as everyone knows him, has been trading in Moreton longer than anyone. “My business has evolved over the years,” he said. “I started selling gold and silver but when the price of gold went through the roof I switched. In business you have to duck and dive.”
He now sells a bit of everything includ- ing leather belts, cosmetics, cloth caps and
Mandy Cogger has been running the burger van on Moreton market for 26 years
At 75, Savvy is the longest serving trader on Moreton market where he sells leather goods, cosmetics, cloth caps and scarves
Mario Nawiesniak sells sheep skins, baskets and wooden items as part of a family business that spans the UK and his native Poland