WELL well, what an extraordinary end to an extraordinary year.

Coming on the back of last year’s downpour many producers were fearing the worst as the year started off grim and wet and cold.

I think we all feel relieved at how the weather turned out this year. It would have been heart breaking if we had had to suffer another year like 2012. It was the worst year for growers for a long time with nurseries going out of business due to no one doing any gardening and fields of potatoes and arable being decimated.

The sunshine and mild temperatures have been wonderful and created a most unusual year from a growing point of view. Classic examples of the impact of the late spring and long summer/autumn are Julian Harvard still selling flowers in November; a first for sure, and Coleshill and Over farm selling peppers and strawberries in November. Stalls with peppers and tomatoes next to swede and turnip! Most unusual at the farmers market!

And then, at the last, when it seemed we, the stallholders and myself, could happily coast into the final weekend with a relaxed countenance, an ugly storm raises its head and threatens to spoil the celebrations of another fabulously successful year at the market; excellent turnover for stallholders; fabulous support from shoppers from Middle Street to China, and two awards won; Certified Farmers market of the year from FARMA and Outstanding Contribution to Local food in Gloucestershire from Taste of Gloucestershire awards; all in all as good a year as one could hope for.

2014 beckons and we wish you all a year filled with peace and joy and hope.