No cause for concern!

I have to admit it - I am very protective so far as the Stone Food and Drink Festival is concerned. So when I was told a few days ago that Newcastle Borough Council was organising a Food Festival this weekend I felt it my duty to check it out to see if we were under threat!

Demonstrating to a packed audience!

I hadn't read or seen anything about it so I carried out a Google search. Nothing on the Borough Council's website - just a fleeting reference on a third party site. No adverts or posters and I heard nothing on Radio Stoke. Perhaps my informant had made a mistake?

A trip to Newcastle was called for and so this morning Janet and I parked on the Midway car park and set off to investigate. Outside the Guildhall we could see a few stalls. In fact I counted nine! This turned out to be the "Bumper Farmers' Market" that was listed in a flyer I was handed! And Allan Jones and Ruby Rainey, our Taste of Staffordshire award winning chefs from Keele Hall, were giving a cookery demonstration to a crowd of at least a dozen!

So I don't think we need worry too much about competition from Newcastle! But to promote this as a Food Festival will give other food festivals a bad name.