Sunday meat ban imposed
Wednesday 10th November 2010, 2:30PM GMT.
BRIDGE butcher Charlie Le Poidevin reckons he has lost £3,000 in takings because of delays in granting him a Sunday trading licence – and is calling for the law to be reviewed.
Mr Le Poidevin (pictured), of Charlie’s Family Butchers, took over the former Johns the Butcher a month ago and applied to St Sampson’s constables for a licence. But it has still not been granted and he said the delay was damaging his business.
‘They said originally it would take about three to four weeks, but two people came last week, asked me to sign a piece of paper and said it could take another two weeks,’ he said.
St Sampson’s senior constable Andy Bichard said that anyone who had applied could telephone the constables to find out what stage the application was at.
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I’m truly gutted for Charlie. I’ve known him for a good 10+ years now and he’s one of the hardest working people I have the pleasure in knowing, this latest set back is a real kick in the teeth to local businesses.
Just take a walk around the bridge and see just how many shop fronts are either empty or have been loaned out as ‘charity shops’. It’s unrecognisable
The blame squarely rests on the shoulders of the constables/senior officials. It is criminal that local businesses are being treated as second class citizens. And making him pay full price for a year long license while it can only be used for a few weeks is preposterous!
My2Cents
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The fact that Charlies license is taking a while to be ‘granted’ is clearly not the point here as many store fronts are, as My2cents said, empty or loaned out as ‘charity shops’. Presumably these closed/charity shops did have a license for Sunday trading, yet they still closed, so something else is causing the problem here. Years ago, the Bridge was a very busy bustling business centre and the local supermarket there, LeRiches, was one of the top performing stores on the island. At the same time, the islands population is larger than it was back then in the sixties & seventies. So what has changed to create the lack of business at the Bridge? Perhaps we should revert to no Sunday openings whatsoever. Personally I would love it. We could all have a very enjoyable day off together…..
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Expat80 -If the bridge was a busy bustling business centre then that answers the question as to why the shops are now struggling. The business centre has moved. So perhaps if more of the shops were offices then the business to shops may return – just thinking out loud… Maybe I am completely wrong.
As far as opening on Sundays is concerned – If people want to work then let them. Good opportunity for school kids to work part-time and develop a work ethic.
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Why does it take 2 people to take a piece of paper to be signed? This is an area money saving could be made, yet the States are so incompetent.
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If only things were the same as in the 60′s Expat!
The fact is that they’re not…our way of life has changed whether we like it or not. There are many who have to work longer hours and weekends just to pay the mortgage and keep up with the ever increasing cost of living!
Charlie is providing a service for those who either just can’t get to the ridiculously overcrowded supermarkets on a Saturday, or just prefer the good old fashioned service from their family butcher. Why should they have that choice taken away as well?
With regard to the empty shops on the Bridge,I’m one of many ardent critics of the St Sampsons Parish rating system for commercial properties.
Business is difficult enough these days without having outdated beaurocracy to contend with as well.
If you’ve ever been to Camden Market or such like on a Sunday, you’ll see just how people have a far more enjoyable day off than in Guernsey…
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Par for the course I suppose but the bit in the story that stood out for me was that TWO people arrived with a piece of paper for him to sign!
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Yet another illustration as to why the archaic Sunday trading laws should be swept away and why our meddling, tinpot parish officials should have nothing whatsoever to do with when a trader decides to open/close his or her business.
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Before it changed hands, we bought our Christmas turkey from John’s on a Sunday – right after we had finished our morning meeting at church.
How is this different from going to a restaurant on a Sunday and ordering the roast beef? I’ve said it before, the Sunday Trading laws are ridiculously inconsistent.
As a man of faith I believe there should be provision in the law to ensure everyone has adequate time off work every week to rest, spend time with their families and attend places of worship if they so wish.
Not everyone wants to go to church though and so, providing those provisions are there to protect employees, I agree with Martino that there should be total freedom of choice for businesses who wish to trade on Sundays.
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Whilst I respect Christian sentiments to keep the Sabbath holy, increasing numbers of people are either Christian but not religious, or, like me, not Christian at all. Why shouldn’t they have the choice to shop/trade on a Sunday if they want? Why should the State dictate this aspect of their lives? We are in a recesssion, so keeping shops open drives the economy – that’s obvious. Besides, there isn’t an awful lot else to do on a wet windy November Sunday afternoon in Guernsey! If you go to any British town or city, especially touristy ones, you will see shops and markets open on Sundays, and if Guernsey wants to compete with those other places for year-round tourists, we need to demonstrate a modicum of business sense and readily allow traders such as Charlie to open on a Sunday. That said, the law should continue to protect, to an extent anyway, those who do not wish to work on a Sunday on reglious grounds, but as I say, this should not prevent traders from opening their stores if they wish.
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Observer – first, because whether or not people are Christian (I am by birth, but I’m certainly not religious) it is still part of the heritage of this island that its practices are based on Christian practices. That is not to say that they should not move with the times for good reason, but that heritage should not be ignored, even if it is not your own heritage.
Secondly, having spent many years living in the UK where Sunday is just like any other day, I love the fact that Sundays in Guernsey force you to stop and think a bit, and force you to find things to do (whether by yourself or with friends and family) which are a bit different from other days. I don’t view it as a religious day, just as a day to pause, spend some time on your hobbies and interests, or just spend time with your nearest and dearest. Whether we are religious or not, I believe that the community benefits from this approach.
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TL – I don’t want to get too sidetracked on semantics but nobody is a Christian by birth.
Being a Christian is, by definition, having faith in Jesus Christ as your saviour – something a newborn child is incapable of. If you have not professed faith in Jesus, then although you may hold “traditional Christian values” you are not a Christian.
I am a Christian, as is my wife. Our daughter was therefore born into a Christian home however she is not a Christian until she professes her own personal faith in Jesus Christ. That is one of the reasons my wife and I did not have her christened, as although I sincerely hope she does declare faith in Christ in due course, it is not our decision to make.
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Paul Le Page – of course, you’re right. Correction noted!
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Cheers TL – sorry for being a bit pedantic, it’s just one of my pet peeves, like when people say the UK is a “Christian” country…. ;-)
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There,s no need for him to open on a Sunday,or any other butcher either people have 6 days of the week to buy meat.Sunday should be a day set apart when the majority of people can have a day off.We have shops open 6 days a week some well into the evening,so plenty of time for everyone to shop.
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