‘That’s terrible.’ There’s a pang in my stomach and my heart speeds up. Surely it’s not normal to feel this attached to somewhere you’ve only been once?

‘Funding has been cut further every year, to the point where there’s no money for anything now, not even the most basic of repairs. We have to club together and pay for essential maintenance ourselves, which is another chunk out of our earnings that most of us can’t afford to lose, and people are seriously starting to consider giving up. Lots of them have been there since the early days and are long past retirement age, and there comes a point when the work on their products, the setting up every day, the early mornings, the cold weather … it’s not worth it anymore. I’ve had a feeling for a while now that this will probably be the last year that Elffield market exists as we know it.’ His voice breaks and I look over at him, but he keeps his eyes resolutely on the road.

‘What about the relocation?’

‘There’s nowhere to relocate to. If they relocate us, it’s going to be to some industrial estate a couple of miles away, somewhere that no one walks past and little old ladies can’t toddle down to with their shopping trolleys. The whole point is that the market is local and convenient, anyone who pops to the post office or needs a pint of milk wanders in because it’s on the doorstep. If they make it a car journey, a parking fee, or a bus ride away, who’s going to bother?’

‘I’m sorry.’ I bite my lip. ‘Is there anything we can do?’

‘It’s been coming for a long time now. If we have an amazing Christmas season, we might be able to delay it for another year, but we’ve all been trying to figure out how to add year-round interest and none of us have managed it yet. We’d need sponsors or local businesses advertising or something, and that’s fine when you’ve got Christmas tourists coming in, but impossible during the months that you haven’t.’

‘People keep mentioning me selling trees there … I was surprised by how many pumpkins went this morning, but are people really going to buy trees like that?’

‘You’ll be surprised. Peppermint Branches is the only tree farm for miles. People have got to drive a heck of a long way to get a real tree since Evergreene died. Most don’t bother. You’ve already got more of a fanbase than you realise, and Fiona is right that having a huge tree right in the entrance of the market with a Peppermint Branches sign next to it will be amazing advertising.’ He looks over at me and quickly swivels his eyes back to the road. ‘And half the stall is yours from mid-November.’

‘What?’