Hello all. I’m pleased to announce that this Sunday’s annual french Le Marche De Fromage Et Onion (Cheese And Onion Market) will be going “virtual” whilst our town is in lockdown. We had hoped to still stage this once in a year opportunity to buy expensive french cheeses, breads, veg and onions directly from real people but these garlic eating Frenchies are also in lockdown and sadly forbidden to travel. So we have been forced to turn to technology.

Your trade guild and the council’s IT department have created, for one day only, a sort of cheese and onion version of ebay. We just hope it will work. The idea is you can view items on the site, purchase and have them posted to you asap.

To recreate the atmosphere of the real thing the famous Emmental Fromagiers (“Cheese Soldiers”) will be pretending to have the traditional cheese parade to declare the market open by taking lots of selfies and posting them somewhere online.

Local celebrity Noel Edmunds is hoping to recreate a daredevil kite display in his living room which Mrs Edmunds hopes to capture on video and post online…. I must admit it’s all a bit beyond my imagination but if it works all markets could be held this week in future.

Sadly we haven’t yet worked out how to do a virtual crowning of Beckworth’s Miss Garlic 2020, unless you can suggest any

Stay home, stay safe. Yours sincerely, Valerie Saddleworth CBE. Chairlady. The Beckworth Guild of Trade & Commerce

(Above) Le Marche De Fromage Et Onion in happier times before going “virtual” like ebay