Was it really profitable to set up a stall at Spring Garden Highway for the Foreday Morning Jam, Bridgetown Market and Grand Kadooment?

This question was put to Brian Mayers, a first timer:

"Friday to Sunday was dead. A lot of people came out but did not really spend any money. It was only on Monday that things went well and I got a chance to sell some stock. The only problem I had was with getting ice from the Fisheries on the first three days but it freed up on Monday. As a first-timer I had no idea it was this much red tape with getting the water supply and so forth, but I'll be back next year."

Major expenses for some stall owners was $50 a day for health and liquor licences; over $2 000 for space plus the cost of stocking, paying staff and other assistants.

Another vendor who has been on Spring Garden for the past 18 years shared his experience:

"The people at the Fisheries have special friends, and then the ice they give you is dirty. I settled for the ice and the inspectors came around and we had to throw it away, we could not even use it to keep our drinks cold. The next difficulty I had was having to purchase drinks from the distributors and then competing with them on Spring Garden. They can sell drinks at the price I bought them so what real chance will I have."

Will he be back next year? "Yes," he said.

MIDWEEK NATION spoke to an official from the Bridgetown Fisheries Division about the complaints about the ice supplied. He requested anonymity stating:

"The ice we have is for the fisher folk. We did not have to sell the vendors any ice so they should not be complaining and any ice we sell is fresh water ice and would not be dirty."