Friday 15 April 2011

No more Union Jack in Covent Garden?

Tourists in Covent Garden won’t be able to buy merchandise displaying the English flag anymore.

Market bosses ordered traders in the Apple Market area to stop selling souvenirs and gifts with the Union Jack on.

The letter, sent to a number of traders by Covent Garden bosses Capco, reads: "Clarification has been received from Covent Garden Area trust regarding the selling of tourist related items.
"They have informed me that the selling of any items displaying the Union Jack is not permitted from the barrows. Please remove said items immediately."

Traders have expressed their anger over the new regulations: tourists have been coming to Covent Garden for years to buy items displaying the Union Jack, which is a big market indeed.
Businesses have been struggling because of the credit crunch and such restrictions will make it even harder for the Apple Market area.

The order is said to have come after a market official took objection to a handbag which included a flag design and it is feared that market bosses are trying to replace traders on the old-fashioned barrows with up-market boutique-style stands.


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