"One Saturday morning in late February I found myself walking along the riverside path from Bath station feeling a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.
I was on my way to The Community Farm market stall at Bath Farmers' Market to do a two-hour session as a volunteer helper...
Once in Green Park Station (a former train station) you pass the Sainsbury’s store and car park where everyone is head down and rushing, then you reach the sounds, smells and sights of the bustling indoor market.At the stall I received a warm welcome from Rhea and Jamie. They gave me an apron, offered me a cup of tea and quickly showed me the ropes. Within minutes I found myself greeting customers, weighing out their vegetables, jotting down the amounts, adding it up, taking the payment, giving them change, and trying to keep up friendly conversation at the same time.
The stall is well laid out with produce all labelled, and plenty of space for customers to browse and choose their own vegetables, which they put in a basket and bring over when they are ready. Rhea was constantly on the go, gliding round the stall, greeting all the regulars, keeping the baskets and tables tidy and replenished, and serving when needed. Jamie and I pretty much served continually, but even when a small queue built up nobody seemed to mind.
I’ve always wondered how market traders manage to chat and keep track of adding up the money all at the same time. For each item I looked up the price per kilo on the list I had, keyed this into the scales, then the display tells you the price for the weighed amount. The customer can see an identical display on their side of the scales as well. Then I jotted down each amount and when everything was done I added them up with a large calculator, rounded it down to the nearest five pence so as to avoid copper change and told the customer the price. The regular staff do a cumulative total and don’t need a calculator, but I didn't think that was wise for a first timer. Then I had to work out the change. Mostly that was fine but occasionally my brain just hit a blank because of doing it continually. When I did get confused the customers helped me out and we had a laugh about it.
In the end I stayed for a three-hour stint, well aware that Rhea and Jamie had been up far earlier and would carry on much later. The morning gave me a real sense of the importance of keeping strong relationships across all parts of the Community Farm venture."
Angela Raffle, volunteer and Chair of the Community Farm's board
