Tag Archives: Chichester Christmas Market

Chichester Christmas Market

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Not another Christmas market I hear you mutter. Exactly. That’s what I thought as well as we drove into Chichester and saw the signs at every roundabout. Another market, same stalls, same goods on offer but I was delighted to find that it wasn’t like that at all. It was perfect serendipity – we had arrived for a business meeting and stumbled upon something quite special.

Photo_1_Choir

The tree was up in the square, the choir singing carols, lights lit a little too early but then it is Christmas after all. Even Joseph was there with the baby Jesus and two Donkeys – although Mary was nowhere to be seen.

Nativity Scene

We wandered along the stalls drinking in what each one had to offer. Yes, some stalls were repetitions of what you would find on any market but I was delighted to find most of them weren’t. I was immediately tempted by the festive wreaths at Farmyard Flowers, two of the florists busily working in the background to finish orders. They really were quite stunning and very affordable. A festive table decoration was £10 which won’t break the bank.

Farmyard Flowers

West Green Pottery offered something different for those wanting something more lasting. Potter Sue Mills has been hand-throwing stoneware pottery since 1976 and each item is beautifully decorated with hares, owls, mice, birds, butterflies and oak leaves. She also has an Etsy shop.

West Green Pottery

Dog lovers could be satisfied with the items on Bottle Green Homes. I immediately checked out the Springer Spaniel Tea towels – quite accurate with The VeryVeryVery Spirited Springer. Oh yes, I’ll have one of those.

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Artist Rob Huxley was hard at work behind a beautiful display of his paintings and I was happy to stop for a moment to watch him transform a small canvas into a boat awash on a dark sea. I hope he didn’t mind me looking over his shoulder, it would drive me mad. Suddenly conscious of this I moved swiftly on.

Rob_Huxley_Artist

Working my way among the stalls I slowly filled my bags with a little something for everyone else  but managed to rein myself in before I damaged my credit rating. I’ve always fancied my very own War Horse and this family would look lovely in my garden but sad to say it was still there when we left. I didn’t think I could squash it into a Mini Cooper.

Wooden Horses

We finished off with a pot of tea and a toasted teacake at The Buttery which is housed in an old crypt. It felt very Christmassy sitting there in the golden glow of the afternoon and I was loathe to leave but an aversion to traffic jams galvanised me to move.

The Buttery

The market is certainly something to plan for next year. There is a free park and ride but we always park in the Festival Theatre car park. It’s relatively cheap and you can use the underpass to get straight on to the main shopping thoroughfares.

 

 

THE FAERIE TREE: A book in the making

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Yule: A time to celebrate with those we love. A season full of magic and new beginnings which spring from the darkest days of the year.

When short, dark days stretch interminably ahead the deep human urge to rebel against nature and celebrate is hardly surprising. It is an instinct deeper than religion, broader than faith; whether it’s carols in church, TV and tinsel, or the burning of a sacred log, it is something which touches almost all of us.

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After 21st December the days start to become a little longer. Actually, that’s what I need. Maybe there is some mid-winter magic to create a few extra hours in each one. Maybe I should write to the fairies and ask them. As well as everything else, this festive season I have proofs to check.

The last few months have been particularly hectic as I balance work, writing, preparing for publication of The Faerie Tree and even a stint or two selling books on Chichester Christmas Market. That came about because I’m lucky enough to be part of Chindi, a very active group of independently published authors in the Chichester area. The reason we exist is because there are so many things we can do together which we couldn’t do alone, and one of those was to take a stall on the Christmas Market. It was something of a learning curve and a great opportunity to meet readers. It was also fascinating to see which books sold well and which didn’t – and to try to work out why.

The huge importance of covers was brought home to us very quickly – which was actually great timing for me as far as The Faerie Tree was concerned. The Cheesemaker’s House is pretty striking visually and people tended to head straight for it on the stall. But when it was stacked sideways with other books the title disappeared – and having watched one gentleman struggle with the colour of the print on the back I realised a few things would need to change next time around.

My main concern when briefing the cover designer at Matador was to make sure the book looked as though it was for adults. The title could imply it’s a children’s story so it had to be crystal clear at first glance who it was meant for. I also wanted it to look as much like The Cheesemaker’s House as possible. It’s an inescapable – if a little uncomfortable – fact that authors are brands these days.

When I first saw the cover of The Faerie Tree I had one word for it: wow. It’s a word I’ve heard time and again as I’ve showed it to the people closest to me and to other members of Chindi. So, for the first time, I am revealing it to the wider world through Frost readers and I’m really interested to see what you think. The significance of the candle? Well, you’ll have to wait until Imbolc to find that out.

Now that the cover has been designed there is a plethora of marketing material to sign off. The paperback will be in the shops from 1st May and the book trade need to know about it now, so an AI (advanced information) sheet has been prepared as well as a trade press release. They’ve been languishing in my inbox for over a week but gut instinct tells me sending them out this side of January would be a waste of time. The thought is salving my conscience anyway.