‘No budget.’ Fiona isn’t really paying attention, she’s still scouting around for any spare inch where we could squeeze in another Christmas tree. ‘We’ll ask the stallholders to bring in their own decs from home, maybe even ask the customers to donate any old ones that they don’t want. I bet loads of people have got boxes of decorations gathering dust in their attics and would be glad of a way to get shot of them.’

‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ I picture those gorgeous trees decked out in faded foil lamettas, fire-hazard lights with half the bulbs missing, and moth-eaten paperchains that had seen better days before the Nineties, let alone now.

Noel meets my eyes like he can tell what I’m thinking. ‘The trees deserve better than that.’

‘You say this is a popular tourist market for the festive season?’ I look around, my eyes wandering to all the empty spots where Fiona’s demanded a tree. ‘Why don’t we ask local businesses to decorate them for the free advertising?’

Noel makes a noise of interest, Fiona’s head whips round faster than a flash of lightning, and even Fergus has looked up from the marmalade.

‘They could do, like, themed decorations for their products, with a couple of big signs saying who they are and where to get their stuff. For example, you …’ I point at Noel. ‘You know those miniature clay pumpkins you were selling as Halloween decorations? You could make more of those with a ribbon through the top and a bit of glitter and hang them like baubles. You could use white tinsel with sparkly orange bits, garlands of green vines, a couple of Cinderella pumpkin carriages, maybe some glass slippers too. Your mum was telling me about her knitting, she could knit Roscoe Farm bunting to string around it, that sort of thing. And you …’ I turn to Fiona. ‘You could hang up some miniature bathbombs and string up chains of bath pearls, pastel coloured tinsel to match your products, with a sparkly bath puff on top instead of a star. Fergus could have strings of gingerbread men, baubles of … well, knowing Fergus it’ll be baubles of donkeys and Mary and Joseph and—’

‘Nutcrackers!’ Fergus shouts. ‘I’ve never made a gingerbread nutcracker before.’

‘But not just the market traders. We pitch the idea properly to big businesses, preferably local, who have products to sell and don’t already have a presence in the Christmas market. It’s a great way to get their products in front of customers who wouldn’t otherwise see them and show that they have a bit of Christmas cheer and community spirit too.’

‘This is brilliant.’ Noel is almost bouncing on the spot. ‘Why have we never thought of this before?’

‘Because we’ve never had a wonderful newcomer willing to donate lots of Christmas trees before!’ Fiona comes over and pulls me into a hug. ‘You’re brilliant, you are!’