A meander around the shop!

For those as may not have been able to make it to the shop in person or for a goodly while, here is a few minutes madness as we take a walkaround the shop! Oh but we realise we didn't do the outside of the shop and the sheer wonders to be found out there and in the glass gift cabinet too - still leaves us something else to do on another play day :D
Enjoy the visit!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Of course as great as this is we still really love seeing you in person and servng you directly because we really are here to serve you and we really appreciate your support - Go On Shop Local - it's better for all of us when we go local to go global ;-)

So we'll look forward to seeing you, recieving an email from you, chatting on the phone (01522 525557) with you or even facebooking or twittering with you!

Last Chance for Christmas & may it be a peaceful one for all

Well here we are the Thursday before Christmas, I wanted to be able to tell you all that we would be staying open late this Thursday along with all the other shops and the Cornhill Market but unfortunately not as Lincoln City Council bods wouldn't allow it without us traders paying for the staffing, even though the staff are already here for the extra hour or so, ahh well, how very sad.
Still don't despair! I'm here till 4pm as usual and will be here tomorrow for your last minute christmas purchases.
I want to take this time to wish all of my blog friends, customers, minion types, suppliers and visitors a really blessed and peaceful Christmas, filled with Joy, love and laughter, enough to last not only through Christmas but all through what's left of this year and well into the next new one and on.
I really appreciate all of you and thank you for your support, smiles and custom - long may we continue to trade and entertain each other.
Merry Christmas to you all!

Praise where it's due

I believe it's important to give praise where its due and so I want to take this space to thank some people for doing a grand job through this last week or so of horrendous weather.

Andy Bradley, the onsite supervisor here at Lincoln Central Market, has worked really hard to keep the market open and trading every day during this nasty weather, despite the fact that many other places closed and he could have taken that option as many others did. Instead he thought first of the traders and their livelihoods and despite it all came in and ensured it was open and heated for us! Thank You Andy and your Team of Paul & Emma.

I would also like to say thanks to Paul Bolden, one of Andy's team.
Last Monday when the place flooded even though Paul wasn't officially at work, when told of the problem by Ben Lockley, offered to come down with him and then worked hard to finally stop the flood that had been going on for quite a long while by this point. He then acted as a really good and concerned member of the Lincoln Central Market team and family and stayed on in his own personal time to help clear up the spill.

Now if only there were more like Andy & Paul - they are the real credit to my mind and at this time to Lincoln City Council - I am quite sure there are others like them and I only wish I had come across them to date!

If you know of any others who deserve an accolade or even a thanks like this - then do it, say it, post it - you can even put it in the comments here!

Unicorn Tree Books sustains flood damage from Landlords burst pipe.

Phil from the website Christianbookshopblog.org.uk says it so well for me, as of course did the Lincoln Echo:


"DO YOU LIVE in or near Lincoln? If so, please consider contacting the City of Lincoln Council about their failure to take responsibility for a burst pipe that led to flooding, inconvenience, loss of sales and stock damage for their tenants in Lincoln Central Market this week, including our very own Melanie Carroll at Unicorn Tree Books.

Read all about it as reported at thisislincolnshire.co.uk:
Lincolnshire Echo: Market traders angry as council refuses to cover cost of flooding caused by burst pipe

Lincolnshire Echo: Market traders angry as council refuses to cover cost of flooding caused by burst pipe

STALLHOLDERS have reacted with disbelief after the City of Lincoln Council refused to cover the costs of flooding in Lincoln Central Market.

Water cascaded from inside the roof of the Central Snacks café for more than half an hour on Monday morning, and ran “like a river” towards nearby Unicorn Tree Books.

But now traders Barry Reeves and Melanie Carroll say the council has told them to claim on their own insurance as the burst pipe which led to the damage was “not a maintenance issue”.

“The council is trying to wangle its way out of it,” said Mr Reeves, chairman of the Sincil Street Traders Association.

The report continues quoting Mr Reeves as he describes the appalling situation of a leak that simply went on and on pouring water into the marketplace because “the caretakers didn’t know where the stopcock was.” Yet here is the common sense advice that the City of Lincoln Council offers to householders who may be concerned about the possibility of burst pipes in their homes:

Preventing frozen and burst pipes

* Make sure you know where your stop tap is and that it is working.

How can a Council which offers that advice to householders not know where the stopcock is in its own premises — especially when it rents those premises out to other people? Prospective stallholders at Lincoln Central Market are offered the following assurance:

The City of Lincoln Council works in partnership with the regional Business Link service to provide access to all the information, advice and support needed to start, maintain and grow your business.

If you think giving Melanie and other tenants in Lincoln Central Market the brush off instead of helping them to brush up and recover from this flood is an act of negligence, please drop the City of Lincoln Council a line and say:

You made BBC Radio 4′s ‘World at One’ on December 1st when you cancelled the Lincoln Christmas Market because of the bad weather. It was a sensible decision under the circumstances. It would be an even more sensible decision to support the Lincoln Central Market which is there all year round! You have a duty of care towards your tenants to ensure that the space you’re charging them for is fit for purpose — and when accidents happen because of your neglect, the least you should do is cover their costs!

Please take remedial action now for your existing stallholders that will reassure prospective stallholders that you can and will live up to your promise to provide all the support they need to not only start but to maintain and grow their business."

Addendum - I have today added quote marks because it would appear some people who work in certain places didn't realise this was actually a copy of a news article from the 2nd of December from the UK's leading Christian Bookshop Trade blog - www.christianbookshopsblog.org.uk