Spare a thought for food traders

I read with interest the high praises for the organisers of Pirates Day on July 16.

Spare a thought for the food traders who paid for the pleasure of setting up their stalls in a location that was so far away from the events that barely anybody found them.

Hours of preparation, a waste of a day and little chance of even covering the cost of the food that was wasted. Reports suggest traders were also given the wrong times for closure thus thwarting any last effort they may have wanted to put in, and on top of it all, the area they were in had no toilet facilities, resulting in people using the bushes around the food stalls.

I now also understand that this is the first time the food traders had been moved to this location. They were 25 minutes from the old town and 15 minutes from the pier!

They were told of this new location (different to previous years) two days before the event – far too late for many to change plans.

It would be worthwhile I think to speak to the caterers. Some had prepped all the day before, got up in the early hours to start cooking, spent hours chopping fresh ingredients, most of which were thrown away, set up superb stalls with fantastic displays and employed staff to assist with what was promised to be a huge crowd – which I understand it was, just sadly nowhere near the food traders. People walked past on their way to or way from the main events, no toilets anywhere near ensured that anyone who was there did not stay long

Precious time and efforts wasted and presumably no chance of compensation for substantial loss of income they could have earned elsewhere. I’m sure they all take a risk on poor weather but to be put in an area away from the crowd? Ridiculous.

I am told a single burger stall in the correct area had a queue all day...