Trading on the BCN

The 2016 trading season has been notable for its limited boating movement!

Due to Helen's ill health the Jam Butty's sales activity has been much reduced, with just enough events attended to sell the existing stock. Our options were severely limited but we did what we could, linking in with each of the three BCNS Explorer Cruises hosted by Stuart and Marie Sherratt plus the organised events in striking range.

Andy dipped his toe into the solo trading experience at the one day Brownhills Canalside festival in June which although small, was very welcoming and resulted in a good days trade. 

Encouraged by this experience we booked the boats into the IWA's Festival of Water at Pelsall at the end of August. This was a three day event which Andy again attended alone, but was well fed and watered by the other traders and he even managed to be a part of a small scratch team which come equal first in the Martin Ludgate quiz, only to lose out on the tie breaker! The weather was very kind and the Pelsall visitors were enthusiastic preserve lovers, buying just about all the stock he took with him.

Two weeks later the boats were out again, this time attending the 31st Black Country Boating Festival at Netherton. This is potentially a massive event and is a day and a half's cruising away, so our friend Dave was enlisted to help and the lads had nearly a week away afloat.  In spite of a damp saturday the overall sales were good and both Andy and Dave clearly threw themselves into the event sampling the beers and enjoying the entertainment on offer.

The plan had been to move The Jam Butty on to Tipton and then Park Head events, but the window of opportinity afforded by Helen's Chemo schedule closed, so the boats returned to Aldridge for the last time this year and all boat based trading was brought to a conclusion till Droitwich next year.

Whilst 2016 utterly failed to deliver the extended cruising we had planned, we did what we could. We sold the old stock and replaced it with lots of new preserves which will form the backbone of our 2017 trading plan.