Successful ‘Totally Locally’ market could be back for Christmas

The “Totally Locally” event at St Nicolas’ church hall in West Boldon was for nearby businesses with no premises of their own to showcase their wares.

Despite wet weather, hundreds turned up to buy handmade cards, wood carvings, cakes, jewellery, children’s books, paintings and more besides.

The success of the market could lead to another similar event closer to Christmas.

One of the organisers was Sean Hudson, who runs West Boldon Post Office and Village Store with his wife Katie on Addison Road, which is very much at the heart of the community.

Every Saturday since May the post office has allowed one small business per week without premises of their own to trade outside. This was to remind people to shop locally, giving the small businesses the chance to boost trade and become better known by allowing them to be “table-toppers”.

Sean was pleased with how the market went. He said: “The rain was steady throughout but thankfully so were the numbers with just as steady a flow of visitors to match.

“Everyone from the village entered into the spirit of the event. People were also invited to share their memories of the church hall and their wishes for its future as a community hub.

“So successful was the event that we’re now planning, with the help of the Benefice of Boldon again and Rev Paul Barker, to have a Christmas market too. Although no date has been fixed yet it’s expected to be early in December.”

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