It's absolutely horrible! I am not sure if it is the same elsewhere in England but where I am, nice Batiks are £10-18 a meter and plain fabrics are about £5-8 a meter and other fabrics can start from £8-£15 a meter while silks cost anything form £18 and up! I try to find bargains at sales usually. I agree with you, it is far too expensive. I think that the mark up is about 2-3 times the cost price. Also, there was mention that cotton price was going up.