Farmer's Market news with Gerb Gerbrands.

We are delighted to welcome back one of our long-standing busking bands to the market this Saturday as Bailey’s Beads barn dance band return for the 15th year for the first of their two annual slots at the market.

Allow their gentle yet high tempo traditional dance tunes to guide you around the stalls and maybe swing your partner in the Pippin doughnut queue!

The fact that they are returning for their 15th year says something about the market’s longevity and leads me to announce that in one month from this Saturday (actually 5 weeks) we will be celebrating 20 years since the market first opened in 1999. Come and join us for a day of celebration on July 6!

Days Cottage, Frocester Fayre, The Country Girls, Lansdown Pottery and Adey’s Farm have been there since day one and many more for close to that, joining during the first 12 months of the market. Remembering Stroud before the market started becomes increasingly difficult, whilst no one wants to imagine what it would be like without it! On Saturdays, with the farmers’ market and the Shambles, there are nigh on 100 mostly food stalls in town, bringing in shoppers from far and wide and especially from Stroud. These stallholders are an integral part of the town on Saturdays, with relationships with customers forged over time.

The markets speak of a way of shopping that supermarkets and the web have been unable to destroy - that sense of community, those personal relationships aren’t going to stop appealing to our hearts any time soon.