Market was curate's egg

People often compare Boston Eye with the model Katie Price (aka Jordan) - saying that at the bottom line we're just big knockers.
And we're afraid that that's partly the case after our visit to the Boston Christmas Market.
But first, let's hear from one of our readers, Claire Eadie , who is a newcomer to the town.
"I was very disappointed to find the distinct absence of a 'Santa's Grotto' at the Christmas market on Sunday, as promised in the newspaper," she writes. "The whole thing was actually very half-hearted, I felt.
"Barely any advertising left me wondering whether they were planning to just see what they could organise on the day, and if something fell through then not many people would be disappointed.
"My three year old was saddened to find Santa missing from the celebrations, as he had been looking forward to it all week. Maybe Santa was lurking somewhere, but we couldn't find him, and when we asked a policeman handing out 'security in the community' leaflets, he had heard nothing of a Santa's grotto."
Frankly, whatever we thought about the market pales into insignificance beside a disappointed three year-old who was looking forward to meeting Father Christmas.
But our feelings as a whole were that it looked ok - superficially.
We also thought that it was better than we expected but not as good as it could have been.
Silly little things like market stalls branded "Bargate Green Market" let the atmosphere down, when half a dozen banners reading "Boston Christmas Market" could have been made for peanuts to cover them over.
We agree with Claire when she talks about the absence of pre-publicity.
Boston Eye's lament that Christmas was apparently passing the town by, was followed a day later by a press release from the Borough Council saying that Boston BID and the council were joining forces to stage a market.
Aside from that, a handful of laminated A4 notices tie-wrapped to the lamp posts in Strait Bargate was little short of pathetic.
Why doesn't the council invest a few hundred quid in a programmable scrolling LED display, which could be hung from the balcony of the Assembly Rooms to shout Boston's news to the town?
Answer: Not enough goes on to make it worth it.
And another problem that Boston BID should be addressing is hidden in the phrase in their announcement "the majority of shops will be open on Sunday."
If Boston really wants to draw shoppers, there must be uniformity - all of the shops opening, and all at the same time.
They can do it at the Springfields outlet in Spalding, so why can't we do it here?
Having said all that, for the first time the market stuck to a proper Christmas these.
We rate it as a good starter for ten - and hope for better next year.


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