The Piece Hall - what we don't know

Mini rant...

Every day customers ask whether Three Bags Full will be returning to The Piece Hall when the refurbishment is complete. The truthful answer is that we don't know, but the signs are that TPTB don't want us back. Mainly I'm assuming this from the fact that there has been virtually no communication from the people in charge of the refurb, or from the council, regarding the position of former tenants. No updates on the particular units we'd had allotted to us. In fact, no sign that those unofficial allocations will be honoured. They weren't confirmed in writing, but we were all asked what square footage we'd like and where we'd like our shops to be situated. There was no special tour arranged for former tenants; in contrast, I think all the recent tours were arranged during times when you'd expect little specialist shops like ours to be open and therefore the shop owners  - well, Mike and I certainly - were unable to attend. The obligation - which is in writing - for former tenants to be offered a unit in the refurbished Piece Hall, appears not to have been shared with the people who are arranging the new lets. Indeed, while we all spent many hours in meetings about this, and while the offer of a unit in the revamped building was very important at the time to all of us, it's now clear that it wasn't actually important to anyone on the other side of the table. How could the council not tell those letting the units that we have a prior claim? Did those hours of meetings count for so little?

It's now mid-October and the building should be ready for occupation by next summer. We don't know whether it's on track. We don't know how many retail units will be available. We don't know whether they'll be ground floor or first floor. We don't know how the trustees will square the need to make money from the building with the needs of retail customers (the disastrous Food and Drink Festival of a few years ago springs to mind regarding conflicting needs). We don't know what the terms and conditions for tenancy will be, nor the projected length of tenancy, nor the possible service charge, nor...well, anything else really. Because those in charge aren't communicating with us. Emails to relevant people go unanswered. To his credit, Cllr Tim Swift does answer emails but in July he said we'd all be contacted by the team 'in the near future'. Well, we're almost in the run up to Christmas and there's been no word. No communication; no courtesy; no interest.

Our tenancy at The Old Bank finishes at the end of May next year, so I need to be making some decisions. I don't know what any of the other former PH shop owners want - I suspect several have done better outside the Piece Hall than in, and that they're glad to be free of council control - but the refurb team should at least show a little thought for those of us who were willing to believe the council was acting in good faith two years ago and who would like to possibly take up the option of a return.

Officially open!

Yesterday was the big day - buns were baked, balloons blown up, tablecloths were used, the mayor was invited... I hope you're getting a sense of the occasion? If not, here's a picture to help:

Serendipity (teddy bears and dolls' houses)
Red Patch (puzzles and games)
Maria's Stamps (postcards and...er, stamps)
Three Bags Full (wool, patterns, accessories and knittery gifts)
...all now even more ready to welcome customers old and new.

There, there, soon it'll all be over...

Who would believe moving a wool shop - any shop? - could take so long? Every stage has seen delays and mistakes and things that needed adjusting, plus the landlord's somewhere down south and the agent's representing him not us and the contractor seems like the only person who actually has the motivation to start work on the job, but he can't until we've signed the final papers and given him some cash to buy wood...

Anyway, in a couple of months' time at most we'll be in our new home, which will be renovated and painted and lovely. Furthermore, Christmas will be over, but people will still be knitting. At least half of the passengers alighting from the buses which stop at the top end of town will call into the new building to see what it's all about. The website will feature all manner of additional lovely items and everything will be hunkydory. Oh yes, it will.

Of course! Mercury's retrograde...

That's why we're having all these delays with the start of work on the new premises. But Mercury's back in the old routine from 10th Nov, so why we've been given a vague completion date of 'the week after Christmas' is beyond me. Does that leave much time for carpet fitting and stocking up before we have to finally close our Piece Hall doors mid-January? No, it doesn't.

And what if stuff doesn't work? If there's six inches of snow on the ground? If we have flu'? If all the moving guys are booked up?

Yikes. Not that I'm stressing or anything.

Our new home, from some loosely-defined point in the middle of winter:

Sale time

I'm weaning myself off the exclamation marks. I know any sale announcement traditionally should have many exclamation marks, but I type them and then think: that's so not me. The ellipsis is way more me...

So, what's this sale of which I speak? Y'know the bargain basement baskets in the shop? The ones with many wonderful yarn packs at lovely low prices? Okay, for this week only, everything in them is reduced by a further 20%. I'm loosely tying this in with Wool Week, because if you can't give people a yarny treat in Wool Week, well, when can you? But also, it'd be nice to reduce the amount of stuff we have to move to the new place. But more of that anon...

Remember this week only - 20% off already reduced prices! (I knew one'd creep in somewhere...)

Well, we had a lovely, sunny time yesterday for our Worldwide Knit in Public gathering. We set up just outside the shop but, as the sun moved further over, so did the chairs. At one point I was in the shop for a few minutes and returned to find everyone was several yards away in a cobbled patch of sunlight. Coolish, but bright. Probably the best you're going to get in a UK June.

It kind of developed into a WWKIP picnic - coffee, squash, biscuits, plus gorgeous scones (with clotted cream and jam) made by the lovely Rachel, and a delicious pear and cinnamon cake made by the equally lovely Sarah. Many thanks to you both!

Of course, I forgot to take pictures, so imagine: strawberry jam and cream piled up on scones and dripping onto paper plates, the sun high in the sky, much laughter and swopping of knittery tales, needles clicking, happy faces - all against the lovely Piece Hall backdrop. That's the romanticised version, but it was pretty good anyway. Thanks to all who came along.

Debbie Bliss Paloma

I want to post later today about British Wool Weekend, which was fab, but for now I'm just putting it out there that, to link in with our recent newsletter, Debbie Bliss Paloma is currently £4.50 at Three Bags Full, both in the Piece Hall shop and online.

This is a special price till the end of September so if you love soft, light, beautiful, luxury yarns, this'd be a good time to treat yourself.

You don't have to subscribe to the newsletter to get the great price, but if you'd like me to send it to you 3 or 4 times a year, just email me on threebagsfullwoolshop@googlemail.com and I'll add you to the list.