Today saw the second so-called Frome Super Market - an experiment designed to turn the monthly Summer Flea/Artisan market into a "destination event". In addition to the usual Sunday suspects, there were familiar faces from the Wednesday/Saturday general markets plus many newcomers. The centre of town was closed to traffic and stalls stretched from the Market Yard car park through the Westway Centre into the Market Place and up Catherine Hill. The result was an attractive mix of the useful (food, drink, kitchenware, tools etc) and the decorative (jewellery, ceramics and that must-have in every trendy Frome home, dreamcatchers). The place was heaving - the open-air cafe almost managed to make the usually soulless Westway continentally chic and the foody section - coffees, teas, cheeses, hot meals etc - in Scott Road was a neat idea.
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| Catherine Hill Crammed |
However, as the whole enterprise is clearly the antidote to Asda and Sainsbury's, it does seem slightly odd to ape them and adopt the title Super Market. It will only take a small typo and the play on words will be completely lost. But as a couple more shops close on Catherine Hill (Crow - a warren of antiques and second hand stuff - will be particularly missed), anything that boosts the retail health of Frome is good news. And as someone who had to drive all round the houses to get to Shepton in the afternoon, any inconvenience caused by the road closures is clearly outweighed by the wider economic advantages. Long may the Super, er, Mega, er, Big Market flourish.
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