Yesterday thick pea soup fog, hard frost, sunny.
Today, cold frosty morning on the North Downs.
Archive for the ‘Guildford’ Category
North Downs cold frosty morning
February 8, 2023Experience Guildford idea of a joke?
February 7, 2023A primary school child could have produced.
Gibberish, bullshit and outright lies.
This was produced as financial report to support demand for BID Levy. Bottom right hand corner of second page is not a financial report.
They have made many false claims.
Local farmers market organized by the local Council nothing to do with the BID.
Their summer activities, could count on two hands the numbers.
Providing taxi marshals would be news to taxi drivers.
#Guildford #BIDs #BIDLevy
Guildford farmers market
February 7, 2023This morning, seven in the morning, thick pea soup fog. By midday brilliant sunshine.
Cappuccino in Koja.
Not my day. Miss by a couple of minutes train to Guildford.
On leaving Koja, where are my glasses? At the station where I stopped to buy a ticket. On the train?
Sickening. Half the stalls displaying the Great Taste Award scam.
If see award winning. If Great Taste Award, meaningless.
Lunch at Hanki. Only closed. Not open until five.
Coffee at Krema.
Late lunch at Krema.
Bitterly cold.
Ask at station. No luck. No glasses.
Miss my train.
Experience Guildford private security rifling through rubbish bags
February 4, 2023Not the first time Experience Guildford private unregulated unlicensed security have been caught rifling through the rubbish bags that businesses have put out for collection by the Council.
Until the rubbish is collected, it is the responsibility and property of the businesses. No consent has been granted to rifle through this rubbish.
Town centre clowns. Rarely seen. If anyone sees these clown , take a photo, post on social media, date and time where seen.
Rifling through rubbish bags has been raised in the past with arrogant BID CEO Amanda Masters.
One of many examples of how Experience Guildford squanders the BID Levy.
Empty retail North Street Guildford revisited
December 8, 2022Empty retail North Street Guildford. A photo survey of North Street last year. A year on it is worse.
Guildford has a BID. For perverse reasons only known to themselves they illegally fly post empty shop windows to highlight they are empty.
For good measure a rare sighting of unlicensed unregulated BID private security.
North Street runs parallel to the High Street. The connecting side streets have many empty retail units
#Guildford #BID #ExperienceGuildford
#Guildford
Koja in-house coffee shop New House Gallery Art Space
December 2, 2022Once upon a time there was a coffee shop Turn Fit Deli in Chapel Street that was the number one coffee shop in Guildford, great coffee , great atmosphere. It was taken over by Surrey Hills Coffee, who destroyed it overnight. It was no surprise when it closed, the only surprise it had not closed sooner.
Only it had not closed, it had relocated to Jeffries Passage. Always empty, never saw the same staff twice.
Then a change of tack, sublet as a coffee shop, great businesses opportunity, buy our coffee. Only the lease did not permit sub-let.
One day the poor guy, having put in the effort to turn around the businesses, found himself out on the street. With the help of friends managed to rescue what he had in the shop.
Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, has reinvented itself as the in-house coffee shop for New House Gallery Art Space.
The rubbish Surrey Hills Coffee has been jettisoned now a choice of guest coffee.
My initial thoughts a dumb location, the only clientele struggling artists. I will turn my initial thoughts on its head. As an in-house coffee shop they provide a base line customer base. It is now down to word of mouth as no passing footfall and not easy accessible.
There are steps leading from Bridge Street but a locked gate blocks access. This is a fire risk. If there was a fire at the front off the building the only escape route is blocked.
The easiest way to access is from the foot bridge leading from Guildford Station over the River Wey. Even then not obvious.
Guildford no water
November 30, 2022Not content with dumping shit in our rivers, not dealing with leaks, Guildford today had no water.
Every business, every household will be entitled to compensation for lack of water. In addition businesses forced to close should claim for the loss of revenue. Other businesses that carried on using bottled water should claim for the water they were forced buy to remain open.
Why did Thames Water not have a truck in the High Street handing out water?
Why did the local Council and Experience Guildford do nothing?
A failure of privatisation, failure to invest.
Guildford High Street empty shops revisited
November 30, 2022A year ago I carried out a photo survey of the empty shops in Guildford High Street. I was shocked by what I found.
Today, one year on, I repeated the survey. It has got worse.
Retailers I spoke to confirmed what I was seeing, yes, it has got worse since last year.
This is not at the level of Aldershot, but no other town centre I have visited over the last year has this number of empty shops, with the exception of Retford and Market Rasen. It only serves to highlight the failure of Experience Guildford and why it must be wound up.
I only noted from just below Quarry Street to Jeffries Passage. Had I wandered further up the High Street where I rarely venture, I would have found many more empty shops.
Guildford has a local BID.
If this is what BID success looks like, I hate to think what failure looks like.
BIDs are destroying local businesses across the country, unaccountable Experience Guildford is no exception.
Espresso martini at Tattams
September 30, 2022Krema was closed. Why are they closing at four, it is not winter?
I decided on a coffee at Tattams. Not very good.
Stayed chatting to an attractive blonde. When her friend turned up and the two of them left, I stayed and had an espresso martini.
I was curious. They were using quality ingredients.
Everywhere does cocktails. No expertise. Cheap ingredients, high margins.
Classic espresso martini using Mr Black.
That was the only reason I stayed, espresso using Mr Black, not a cheap coffee liquor.
I can’t recall the vodka.
What I did not like, the fancy glass. Simple is elegance. Contrast with the coupe glass used at Notes.
Expensive, £10-50.
Downside, Mr Black has been acquired by a conglomerate. Not good news.
Lunch at Hanki
September 30, 2022Excellent Korean lunch at Hanki, a little Korean restaurant in Jefferson Passage.
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