Market day
Tomorrow is market day and I have booked a stall to sell my books. The markets here generally happen three or four times a year, at Easter, Labour Weekend, Auckland Anniversary, sometimes Queen’s Birthday and this year a Matariki one as well, held at the end of June. These times are picked to coincide with the influx of visitors that we receive over the holiday periods. Someone once told me that the markets were planned for the women, while the men went out fishing, though there is always a good representation of both sexes, these days. The markets are also fundraisers for the hall, where they are held.
When I first moved to the Peninsular, I would take my massage chair. Although I didn’t ever make a lot of money, the market provided an excellent opportunity to canvas for more clients at my home practice. I would hand out my card to interested people and get return visits from those who had used the chair. Nowadays, with the increase in social media, new businesses can notify of their existence with much more ease.
Some years, the markets have been full of stall holders, at other times the hall and outside area have been relatively sparse. I am thinking, now that the Covid restrictions have been lifted, that there will be heaps of people at this one. I have already been told that the inside spaces are full. It is raining this morning but the forecast seems ok for tomorrow. Fine weather always helps to bring more people and especially impacts the number of outdoor stall holders.
This will be the first time I have tried to sell my book at this market. It will be interesting to see if I get many sales. For so long, I have hidden this side of myself away but have found that as I open up more, there are more people willing to share their own stories, and it is often those who I didn’t think would be interested. Genevieve has offered to help me with my stall, not because I will be inundated with buyers, but because it is nice to visit the other stall holders and it will be good to have someone in charge while I do this. Stephen and Genevieve are actually visiting Auckland today, with Stephen planning to stay there for a few days, while Genevieve will return this evening. I am looking after Willow. Because it is raining, I have popped on a cartoon. We have already had the mandatory games of Jenga and when the weather fines up, we will go to the beach. I picked Willow up about 7.30am, which was too early for today’s markets in the Bay and she wanted to come back here, rather than attending the one in town. I didn’t think I would get an opportunity to write this blog today, so I am grateful for the rain.
Aha, perfect timing, I see the sun edging its way through the clouds. Time to go.