THERE have been a lot of people commenting on the fact that January seems to go on forever, but I have always thought February to be the hardest month. After the euphoria of getting through January we suddenly realise that February is just as treacherous weather wise as January!

The first Saturday in February has been featuring the Stroud Potato Day for a few years now, and it returns again this week! The stall will be situated just by the Baptist Hall on Union Street and the team from Down to Earth and Transition Stroud will have a large range of seed potatoes for sale. Come and Pick ‘n’ Mix with reds, whites, earlies or lates and start digging those trenches! There’s nothing quite like a freshly dug potato from your own garden.

Elsewhere this week we have both Stroud Brewery and Uley Brewery, Godsell’s Church Farm Cheeses, Jonathan Crump and Bath Soft Cheeses, Newark Farm and Coleshill Organic vegetables, Frocester Fayre, Adeys Organic, Madgett’s Farm and Hinton Marsh Farm meats, to name but a few!

Winter time is also a very popular time for sweet treats on the market, with sales of such treats often falling off by a third during the summer months. Luckily for our customers we have a really good selection. Back for the first time this year is The Welsh Cake Lady with her huge Welsh cakes selection and elsewhere we have Jack Bakes’ very popular free from baking stall, the Country Girls, Studio Pastry at the market Café and Maryanne’s scones and preserves.