Jill Lidgey
Telephone: 07971088465
College: College of Social Sciences and International Studies
Discipline: Sociology and Philosophy
Department: SPA
Research Centre/Unit: CRPR
I'm returning to study a little later on in life: 40 years since I graduated from Durham and 24 years since my Masters at the Institute of Education, London University. My working life has been in professional and higher education institutions and I left Oxford Brookes Universty in 2003 to spend time with our daughter and to run a business from home. I have always been interested in markets and now regularly visit markets in France where we have a home. I became involved in markets and fairs as a producer and seller in Dorset from 2005 to 2018. However, Wareham Home Producers Market closed in 2018 and the difficulty in making craft markets a viable outlet contributed to my interest in researching the role and future of markets in Dorset. The challenges faced from online shopping, high street retailers and cheaper imports of goods have made some markets vulnerable. COVID-19 and consequences of Brexit are added, and significant, challenges. I am very interested in how the markets are supported - nationally, regionally and through trade associations - and whether they are an attractive outlet for entrepreneurs, small farms and artisan producers. I will also be exploring the twinned town relationship between my Dorset case study towns and their counterparts in Normandy and reflect on the relationship, including their market presence.
I have wanted to take up a PhD for some time and finally made the decision to do so last March - just before lockdown. What better way to have time to research and draft my proposal! I am delighted to have been accepted at Exeter, especially in the CRPR.
Our daughter is a final year Exeter student based (occasionally) at Penryn, so took pleasure in welcoming me as a Fresher when I 'started' last week. I didn't realise there were quite so many games involving drinking.
Based in Dorset, just outside Wareham where I live with my husband, John, and daughter, Izzy, and cat Merlin.
